Overview

This collection of essays illustrates various anomalies of human development, the lives of the remarkable individuals concerned and social reactions to the extraordinary bodies. Jan Bondeson examines historical cases of dwarfism, extreme corpulence, giantism, conjoined twins, dicephaly and extreme hairiness; his broader theme however, is the infinite range of human experience. The dicephalous Tocci brothers and Lazarus colloredo (from whose belly grew his malformed conjoined twin), the Swedish giant and the king of Poland's dwarf - Bondeson considers these individuals not as ""freaks"" but as human beings born with sometimes appalling congential deformities. He makes use of original French, German, Dutch, Polish and Scandinavian sources and explores elements of ethnology, literature and cultural history in his diagnoses. The heavily illustrated book combines a scientist's scrutiny with a humanist's wonder at the endurance of the human spirit.

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9780801437670

Table of Contents

Reviews

As Bondeson looks at the cases of the so-called hog-faced women, dog-faced boys, and people with horns throughout history, he shows an acute sensitivity to the nuances of historical interpretation and for the humanity of those whose lives and conditions he chronicles. --Publishers Weekly A sober, informative disquisition on the sundry forms that humanity can assume and endure. --Kirkus Reviews

The number of two-headed boys and hairy-faced girls in Jan Bondeson's new volume of miracles and marvels of medicine is astounding! But their stories illustrate how the myth-making of medicine functioned in a past in which the main means of communication was the broadside. Today with the Internet and a rich web of urban legends, Bondeson's volume serves as a corrective. It is not how far we have come in dealing with the anomalous but how little we have changed in our telling of wondrous stories. Great stories; greater lessons! Sander L. Gilman, Henry R. Luce Distinguished Service Professor of the Liberal Arts in Human Biology, The University of Chicago

Clearly and engagingly written, and with sympathy and tact for those persons maliciously exploited and taunted for their anomalies, Bondeson's Two-Headed Boy is a well-researched, humane, and entertaining work that deserves a larger audience than most university press books generally garner. A highly recommended read. -Tom Bowden, Techdirections

Clearly and engagingly written, and with sympathy and tact for those persons maliciously exploited and taunted for their anomalies, Bondeson's Two-Headed Boy is a well-researched, humane, and entertaining work that deserves a larger audience than most university press books generally garner. A highly recommended read. Tom Bowden, Techdirections

A sober, informative disquisition on the sundry forms that humanity can assume and endure. * Kirkus Reviews * As Bondeson looks at the cases of the so-called hog-faced women, dog-faced boys, and people with horns throughout history, he shows an acute sensitivity to the nuances of historical interpretation and for the humanity of those whose lives and conditions he chronicles. * Publishers Weekly *

Author Information

Jan Bondeson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Rheumatology, University of Wales College of Medicine. He is the author of many books, including The Feejee Mermaid and Other Essays in Natural and Unnatural History (also from Cornell), The Great Pretenders: The True Stories behind Famous Historical Mysteries, A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities, and Buried Alive.

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