BOOK REVIEWS |
‘ Invisible Light - The Remarkable Story of Radiology’ by Adrian Thomas
Taylor and Francis 2022
Reviewed by Dr Arpan K Banerjee
Chair International Society for the History of Radiology (ISHRAD)
The title of Adrian Thomas’s latest book is essentially a play on the title of Sylvanus Thompson the Victorian scientist’s book from 1897 ‘Light visible and invisible’. Radiology historians will also be aware that ‘The Invisible Light’ is the title of the British Society for the History of Radiology’s in house journal which has been edited by Thomas for many years.
The book is very much a personal account of the history of radiology and gives the author a chance to expand on his previous contributions in this field with extracts and references from previous books and contributions published previously in The Invisible Light and other places.
The opening chapter covers the discovery of X-rays by Rontgen which leads on nicely to the next chapter on early radiology departments and the problems they faced. The chapter on radiology anatomy serves to remind us all about the importance of understanding the large variations in normal appearances in radiology practice which is a prerequisite for being able to identify pathology accurately.
A chapter covers dangers which were inherent in early X-Ray departments including electrical and radiation injuries. The history of the early X Ray tubes and early plates and screens is of particular interest covering the progress from Crookes and Coolidge tubes through to modern PACS. The book also covers the development of contrast media and there are chapters on CT tomography and MRI.
The final chapter concludes with thoughts on the future of imaging. The text is accompanied by black and white illustrations and useful references for further reading and there is a helpful index. The book is a welcome addition to the literature in this field.
Book review of ‘Imagining imaging’ by Michael R. Jackson CRC Press,
Taylor and Francis Group, UK 2022 p260, ISBN 9780367427825
Reviewed by Dr Arpan K Banerjee Chair Int Soc Hist Radiology (ISHRAD) .
Dr Michael Jackson the author of this interesting new book is a radiologist with an interest in art both classical and modern.In this new book he has set about exploring the relationships and unusual interfaces between modern diagnostic imaging and artworks from various eras. The exploration covers not just paintings but also the modern media such as cinema which today borrows from ideas emanating from modern imaging technology. A chapter on visual neurophysiology serves to remind us of the complexities of the perceptual process on which image appreciation and analysis all ultimately depend.
The breadth of western art has been fertile material for analysis. We are taken on a journey from historical cave paintings, Egyptian art, through to the development of perspective in art with examples from Durer in Germany through to the Renaissance painters well versed in anatomy who depicted the human body in astonishing detail in their painted dissected studies of the body which today can be reproduce from modern CT scanning technology. Examples of the anatomical drawings from Vesalius and other ecorche examples of religious iconography demonstrated the interfaces of anatomy and art with modern imaging.
Picasso interestingly dabbled with bizarre perspectives in his artistic portrayals of the body and provided much material for analysis. Modern artists have explored art and radiology with many being inspired from radiological studies and images especially MRI and CT angiographic studies of the brain. Others such as Hugh Turvey have used radiography as a tool to create artistic images.
An analysis of the interface of radiology and cinema is illustrated with the film ‘The Man of Steel’ about Superman who has X-ray powers but other films such as the Avengers franchise and Transformer films have also tapped radiology resources to provide entertainment.
Dr Jackson has used a vast range of illustrated source material from art, cartography, religious iconography, medical history, television, cinema and journalism and personal anecdotes to synthesise a smorgasbord of diverse subject areas into a very enjoyable and readable account of his thesis that the foundations of our modern image interpretation were laid by the works of artists, painters and scientists of yesteryear. All connected with medical imaging will find something of interest in this volume
There are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindnessby Carlo Rovelli, Allen Lane 2020 p 230 £20 ISBN 9780 241454688Reviewed by Dr Arpan K Banerjee Former Chair and current Trustee Brit Soc Hist of RadiologyCarlo Rovelli is an Italian physicist best known for his books ‘Some brief lessons in Physics’ and ‘The Order of Time’ both worldwide best sellers. In the 1960’s to the 1980’s Richard Feynman was considered the great populisers of physics, an accolade passed on to Stephen Hawking at the end of the twentieth century and now the baton is being bestowed on Carlo Rovelli. Rovelli is an Italian theoretical physicist who has made significant contributions to the study of space and time. He is probably best known to the public however for his books popularising physics.This new collection of his translated pieces ( translated by Erica Segra and Simon Carnell) are a delightful smorgasbord of his varied interests and are a collection of short essays previously published in a variety of Italian newspapers and periodicals. The title I think is a great one and should be applicable to the NHS!Essay topics range from Aristotle, Copernicus and Newton through to Black Holes, global warming and scientific philosophy and even the author Nabokov’s interest in butterflies. Einstein’s many errors are the subject of an interesting piece ( if the great man made so many errors what chance do we mere mortals have?! ) Darwin gets a mention and readers will find the essay on the double Nobel Laureate Marie Curie of interest.The essay on the brilliant British mathematician Roger Penrose written in 2011 is now of topical interest– he was awarded the Physics Nobel Prize in October 2020. Finally an essay on the current Covid pandemic written in April concludes this collection. A truly eclectic and thought provoking collection.Rovelli in this collection of essays provides us with a glimpse of his wide interests in science, history and philosophy. The essays are short and pithy , well written and the translation has done him justice. Most people outside Italy will probably have not read them before and the collection produced here which can be dipped in and out of and provide both entertainment and education will no doubt also go on to be a bestseller like his previous books. |
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Taming the Rays -
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Genes, Flies , Bombs and a Better Life -
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Bones : Orthopaedic Pathologies in Roman Imperial AgeA Piccioli et alPublisher: Springer 2015,154pp.Reviewed by Dr Arpan K Banerjee, Chairman British Society for the History of Radiology.This new book from Italy is an interesting publication from the distinguished publishing house Springer which presents the results of analysis of over 1800 cases of bone pathology recovered from a recent archaeological excavation outside Rome. It is a truly multidisciplinary work involving orthopaedic specialists, radiologists, palaeopathologists, anthropologists and medical historians who have used scientific analysis including radiography and CT scanning to uncover information about the bones of Roman bodies from the first and second centuries AD unearthed from an excavation site from a Rome suburb.The scientific survey has unearthed fascinating, detailed information about ancient human osteology. Examples of infection including osteomyelitis, degenerative changes such as osteoarthritis and gout as well as of course trauma are all identified in specimens from 2000 years ago.There are chapters on the study of ancient bone remains, estimation of age of death, dentoalveolar disease, as well as information on orthopaedics in ancient Rome. The clinical case studies include examples of a wide range of fractures, degenerative diseases and even bone tumours, and metabolic and infective conditions. The book reminded me of the recent exhibition in the British Museum in 2014 on the ancient Egyptian Mummies in the British Museum collection which had been studied with CT scanning to reveal a wide range of diseases including tooth abscesses and peripheral vascular diseases to name a few. The studies from the Italian group shed light on medicine in early Rome and the scholarly well researched and illustrated volume is an important contribution to palaeopathological studies and will be of interest to a wide audience including medical historians. All the contributors should be congratulated in producing this fine work of scholarship |
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The History of RadiologyAdrian Thomas and Arpan BanerjeeIn 1890, Professor Arthur Willis Goodspeed, a professor of physics at Pennsylvania USA was working with an English born photographer, William N Jennings, when they accidentally produced a Rontgen Ray picture. Unfortunately, the significance of their findings were overlooked, and the formal discovery of X-
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Physicists and Physicians –A History of Medical Physics from the Renaissance to RöntgenFrancis DuckIn this book, Professor Francis Duck has written a fascinating story of the origins of medical physics. It starts in Renaissance Italy and ends with the discovery of x-
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A History of Neuro-
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European Society for RadiologyThe European Society for Radiology, in cooperation with ISHRAD and the Deutches Roentgen Museum have published two excellent free books entitled The Story of Radiology to celebrate the International Day of Radiology. Click here for Volume 1 and here for Volume 2. |
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Practical Mystic: Religion, Science, and A. S. EddingtonM StanleyHardcover; £24.70Hardcover: 320 pagesPublisher: Chicago University Press; illustrated edition (16 Oct 2007)Language EnglishISBN-
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Science Isn't Everything: Memoirs of a ScientistLloyd KempSoftcover: 402 pagesPublisher: Aspect Designs (2009)Language EnglishISBN 978-
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Team Twenty Ten: A Global Problem One Solution: A TeamGeorge KorankyePaperback: 290 pagesPublisher: McTaggart Publishing (15 Oct 2010)Language EnglishISBN-
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Godfrey Hounsfield: intuitive genius of CTStephen Bates, Liz Beckmann, Adrian Thomas and Richard WalthamPublished by: The British Institute of Radiology (April 2012)261 pages, dimensions 234 x 152mm[Paperback] ISBN 978-
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Radiation and ReasonWade AllisonIn "Radiation and Reason" Wade Allison explains, in simple terms and without using fancy maths, how radiation affects life. Wade is a Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford with 40 years experience of teaching these things.His account challenges the traditional view that nuclear radiation is very hard to understand and an extreme hazard. Modern scientific and medical evidence makes it obvious that this view is wrong -
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Radium Girls: Women and Industrial Health Reform, 1910-
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The Nuclear Option: A Philatelic DocumentRev John WaldenThis beautifully produced book is written by the Reverend John Walden and deals with the discovery, development, tactical use, devastation and aftermath of the use of 'The Nuclear Option.' It has 560 pages, and is a full colour hardback of 23 chapters with 1,800 illustrations and weighs 2.1 kilos! There is an excellent accompanying CD which may be purchased.The book is beautifully illustrated and is recommended for all radiological philatelists. There are a very large number of stamps with a radiological or atomic theme.The Reverend John Walden MA, F.Inst SMM(Rt), APS is a British Combined Forces nuclear test veteran and he participated in the 1957 'Antler' series of nuclear tests in Maralinga, Australia. He is a retired Church of England Pastor and now lives in Norwich. He has been a philatelist for over 60 years, and is the current President of the Norfolk & Norwich Philatelic Society.You can order the book by writing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and if you mention my name he may give me a commission! The web address is: www.atomicstamps.eu |
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Shocking Bodies: Life, Death and Electricity in Victorian EnglandIwan Rhys MorusPublished by: The History Press LtdPublication date: 01/Mar/2011Format: Paperback -
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The Transparent Body: A Cultural Analysis of Medical Imaging(In Vivo: the Cultural Mediations of Biomedical Science)Jose van Dijck(Paperback -
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An Interventional Radiology Odyssey: The Story of my Life and Work
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Louis Harold Gray: a founding father of radiobiology by S Wynchank.Springer 2017 pages 137Reviewed by Dr Arpan K Banerjee Past Chairman British Society for the History of Radiology.This slim volume is a publication from the Springer Biography series. The last contribution in the series I read was the superb autobiography of Rosch the interventional radiology pioneer.This biography is of Louis Harold Gray the British physicist and a giant in the field of radiobiology which is the basis of modern radiotherapy. Hal Gray as he was known was born in London in 1905 an only child educated at Christ’s Hospital and subsequently the physics department at Cambridge University where he was taught by Rutherford. He was a brilliant student and continued to do a PHD at the Cavendish labs under the supervision of Chadwick discoverer of the neutron and a Nobel Laureate. Gray was interested in nuclear physics and was interested in how ionising radiation could treat tumours. He moved to Mount Vernon Hospital to pursue his interests as hospital physicist. He used a neutron generator to measure ionising effects on tissues. After the War he moved to the MRC Radiotherapy research unit at the Hammersmith Hospital where his team did much pioneering work.In 1949 he became President of the British Institute of Radiology. Sadly, after differences with his boss at he MRC unit he had to leave the Hammersmith Hospital in 1953 and returned to Mount Vernon where he built a superb world famous radiobiology unit. He did much travelling in the late 1950’s when he was at the height of his fame. Gray was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. Gray’s stroke is described and he sadly passed away in 1965 aged only 59. In 1975 he was honoured by having the absorbed dose of radiation named after him.This well researched biography is a delight to read and tells the story of a remarkable scientist whose contributions laid the foundation stones for future radiotherapy. |