Dead Ends!: Flukes, Flops & Failures That Sparked Medical Marvels

From a New York Times bestselling author, a gruesomely engrossing nonfiction book about failures that changed the history of medicine.



From the dynamic duo that brought us Plague-Busters, here are astonishing stories of medical failures and “dead ends”—the beliefs, diagnoses, experiments, and treatments that were completely ineffective (and often actively harmful), but also history-making, paving the way for breakthroughs, discoveries, and new understandings in medical science.



Organized around the various parts of the body—from brain, to heart, to limbs—Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal take readers on a journey through the centuries of dead ends, replete with riveting facts, pitch-perfect humor, and vivid illustrations. This history reminds us that flops, flukes, and failures have ultimately led doctors to a better understanding of human physiology and its treatment.



Here is a morbid, gross, and fascinating book sure to delight young readers and inspire them to embrace their failures, too!