Reviews for The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray's Anatomy

The average rating for The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray's Anatomy based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-03-06 00:00:00 Brent Fellows As a former kinesiology student, I was excited for this book. One of my professors swore by Gray's, and I seem to remember a few evenings spent in the library poring over the detailed diagrams, quizzing myself on veins and arteries. Okay, maybe I wasn't in the library. And I probably failed my own quizzes. I wasn't the best student. Regardless, Gray's is such a standard text for anatomy and physiology students that I was intrigued by the possibility of an interesting story behind the book. I've always enjoyed creation/behind-the-scenes stories (other people do, too: this article made the rounds on the internet back in January), and I really dig medical history. I mean, I have The Chirurgeon's Apprentice bookmarked on both my home and work computers, so this book was right up my alley. The first surprise was that there isn't much known about Henry Gray beyond the dates of major milestones (birth, graduation, etc.). You'd think that wouldn't make for much of a book, but Hayes found a way, by focusing on Gray's illustrator, H.V. Carter. As it turns out, Carter was a regular (if brief) diarist, and Hayes uses the diaries as well as other reference materials to piece together not just Carter's story, but the story of Gray's. Unfortunately, Carter's entries are often extremely brief, and Hayes seems to read a fair amount between the lines. I like a little speculation as much as the next person, but the contrast between the entries Hayes quotes and the material he pulls from each word made me slightly uncomfortable. It is likely that there were large parts of the journals that Hayes relied on and didn't quote, but in a biography I prefer details to be clearly referenced, or at least supported by something that can be quoted directly and extensively, if at all possible. I'm all about the block quotes. The Anatomist would have been a solid 3/5 book, except that Hayes worked his way through Gray's by observing and participating in anatomy courses. After watching television shows where dead bodies are a dime a dozen and hearing the now-ubiquitous references to med students literally lending a hand to friends, it was nice to read about their reactions to their cadavers. Coupled with the lack of material Hayes had on Gray and the inference he had to do with regards to Carter, the sections of the book focusing on the anatomy classes felt a bit like padding. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Hayes' reactions to exploring the human body, to seeing Carter's drawings in flesh and bone, but it felt a bit as if Hayes had committed to the book, but needed to find more material. It was good material, but felt like an odd fit. Overall, The Anatomist was a solid read, and if you have an interest in anatomy or medical history it is worth a look. More reviews at Books Fizz.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-05-17 00:00:00 Brad Lott There's very little information about the Dr. Gray of Gray's Anatomy that survives, which is problematic for a biographer. There's more about Gray's illustrator, Dr. Carter, but not *that* much more. And so, to fill the pages, we get author Bill Hayes' personal life and his investigations into Gray and Carter. Sometimes this was a good thing. Even better than good: the parts where Hayes takes and re-takes anatomy with students of different medical professions were great. I've been able to spend a limited amount of time in a cadaver lab (fortunately, not as a demonstration specimen), and appreciated Hayes' detailed view of the goings-on. But, all in all, I wasn't nearly as interested in Hayes' adventures, neuroses, and feelings as he is.