The authors of the true history of elephant man, Michael Howell and Peter Ford, vividly re-create 12 medical mysteries and provide their provocative solutions in the beetle of Aphrodite. These episodes demonstrate one of the most intriguing aspects of medical science: how doctors throughout time have been able to track down the elusive causes of infectious diseases and unexplained illnesses and deaths. With doctors as sleuths, and sometimes even culprits, these skillfully drawn histories encompass the fields of exploration and epidemiology, as well as history and anthropology.

Howell and Ford lead the reader through a tracing of reasons behind puzzling ailments such as the one that almost killed Claire Booth Luce during her ambassadorship to Italy; they discover the malady that forced Robert Bruce, King of Scots and hero of his country, to spend his final days in hiding; they show clearly how the Marquis de Sade's use of the poison "Spanish fly" shed light on 2 grisly deaths in modern London. These, among other mysterious medical adventures, baffled the best minds of their times and will baffle the reader as Howell and Ford once again demonstrate the fine writing they showed their worldwide best-selling true history of the elephant man. - from Amzon