The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery.

Before John Hunter, 18th-century medical orthodoxy consisted of usually ineffective treatments such as bloodletting and the adjustment of "bodily humors." But then Hunter, a foul-mouthed, uncivilized physician in Georgian England, changed much of that. He pioneered life-saving surgical techniques that are still in use today. Moore examines the often-gruesome, borderline-obsessive work Hunter engaged in, including macabre dissections of both dead and living animals, in his pursuit of a complete understanding of anatomy. The author explains how Hunter's contacts in the seedy underbelly of society, including London's infamous body snatchers, led ultimately to a revolution in medicine. Despite his affinity for cutting into flesh for the sake of learning, Hunter promoted surgical restraint and shunned the unnecessary amputations and invasive treatments that were fashionable at the time. Journalist Moore offers a fascinating, if at-times stomach-turning, biography of a maverick to whom many people have owed their lives. Broadway, 2005, 352 p., hardcover, $26.00.