Friday, May 15, 2009

Nonfiction..it's what's for breakfast

If you're one of the hoards of people who are absolutely in love with all things medical when it comes to TV (anyone up for an episode of House?), you might want to try out The Woman with a Worm in her Head: And Other True Stories of Infectious Disease by Pamela Nagami.
For an infectious disease specialist, she's not a bad writer. I will admit she might give too much background/scientific detail for some...but if you can get through that, her descriptions will make you squirm uncomfortably in your seat (think descriptions of worms tunneling through the body with a possibility of it tunneling through your brain causing death). You'll sweat a bit, get a few uncomfortable chills, feel a bit sick to your stomach and generally never want to travel anywhere ever again after reading certain accounts. How fun!

Pamela Nagami has also written another book called Bitten, which is aptly named but which I don't recommend to a casual reader as her background information can sometimes be the equivalent to a course in Entomology. However, if the worm book hooks you... look it up. The description of ants attacking a baby (the baby lives) still haunts me... and if you like that sort of thing, then you'll love this book.

After reading, you can horrify your friends with detailed accounts and giggle with glee at their discomfort, and in that moment, you'll know for certain that nonfiction rocks.

2 comments:

  1. OOh, May I also suggest the autobiography Coroner, by Thomas T. Noguchi, M.D. He writes about his involvement in the cases of marilyn monroe, belushi, natalie wood, bobby kennedy, sharon tate, and others. the CIA tried to shut him down. very quick fun macabre read, but is currently out of print.

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  2. OOOOOO this sounds delightful. As long as we're on the subject of the dead, I recommend David Sedaris' Esquire magazine essay on his ten-day visit to a morgue. It's included in his latest book: When You Are Engulfed in Flames.

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