Details:
- author: Sam Kean
- full title: The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science
- narrator: Ben Sullivan
- genre: history, science
- topics: #science #sabotage #murder #fraud
- publisher: Little, Brown & Company
- publish date: 13.07.2021
- timing: 11:45:00
My Rating of the Audiobook:
- content: 💙💙💙💙
- narration: 💙💙💙💙💙
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| Goodreads |
Excerpt from the Book:
In our society, scientists are the good guys - usually. They're cool and clever, rational and clear-headed, calmly dissecting the world around us. But as the story of Cleopatra shows, sometimes obsession grips them. They turn things inside out and twist what's normally a noble pursuit into something dark. Under this spell, knowledge isn't everything - it's the only thing.
This book explores what pushes men and women to cross the line and commit crimes and misdeeds in the name of science. Each chapter is devoted to a different transgression - fraud, murder, sabotage, espionage, grave-robbing, and more: a comprehensive tour of the criminal arts.
(from the Introduction)
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this audiobook a lot. It is full of dark deeds committed in the name of science. If you are sensitive about that, maybe it is not for you. But, if you like good and sometimes weird true history stories, then this is an excellent choice for you. Like the subtitle says, the author is writing about fraud, murder, piracy. But also about grave-robbing, animal cruelty, slavery, and more.Most of these stories were new to me. I knew part of the story of the rivalry between Edison and Tesla and Edison's way to prove his idea is better. Since I first heard the story, I can't see Thomas Edison as a great inventor for what he is known today.
I enjoyed this book a lot, and I would recommend it to all who like unusual and not commonly known true stories. This was my first (audio)book by this author. I will make sure to read another one in the future. Also, the narration is very good and engaging.
About the Author:
Official bio: Sam Kean spent years collecting mercury from broken thermometers as a kid, and now he's a writer in Washington, D.C. His new book is The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons. His first two books, The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist's Thumb were national bestsellers, and both were named an Amazon "Top 5" science books of the year. The Disappearing Spoon was nominated by the Royal Society for one of the top science books of 2010, while The Violinist's Thumb was a finalist for PEN's literary science writing award. His work has also been featured on "Radiolab" and NPR's "All Things Considered," among other shows. You can follow him via Twitter @sam_kean, and read excerpts at http://www.samkean.com.
(un)Official bio: Sam Kean gets called Sean at least once a month. He grew up in South Dakota, which means more to him than it probably should. He's a fast reader but a very slow eater. He went to college in Minnesota and studied physics and English. At night, he sometimes comes down with something called "sleep paralysis," which is the opposite of sleepwalking. Right now, he lives in Washington, D.C., where he earned a master's degree in library science that he will probably never use. He feels very strongly that open-faced sandwiches are superior to regular ones.
