Review of “Devils, Drugs, and Doctors” by Howard Wilcox Haggard. Or: “Let’s All Be Grateful We Weren’t Born When Brain Surgery Involved a Rock and a Prayer”

 

There are books about medicine that soothe you. Devils, Drugs, and Doctors is not one of them. Instead, it grabs you by your sterilized hospital gown, throws you into a 6,000-year-old fever dream of leeches, holy water, bone saws, and pure 1929 academic sass and it never lets go.

Written by Yale professor Howard W. Haggard (yes, that’s his actual name and yes, it’s perfect), this book is a feverishly entertaining march through the bloody, bizarre, and frankly embarrassing history of humanity’s attempts to not die horribly. First published in 1929, now revived for modern readers because what’s more comforting during a post-pandemic age than revisiting the dark timeline of when we used incense to treat the plague?

The Content: Medicine as Horror-Comedy

Haggard’s book is essentially the medical version of watching a civilization fumble its way toward germ theory while shouting, “We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas!” You’ll get a front-row seat to:

• Obstetrics so bad you’ll want to apologize to your uterus retroactively.
• Public health systems based on vibes and goat sacrifices.
• Renowned physicians mixing theology, astrology, and vintage nonsense into your prescription.

It’s like a history class taught by someone who’s seen House of the Dragon and said, “Too realistic.” And yet, this isn’t just historical rubbernecking. Haggard’s real gift is how he tracks the evolution from outright madness to legitimate science, with all the revolting pit stops in between. Surgery without anesthesia? Sure. Bloodletting as a catch-all cure? Naturally. Being a woman in labor while surrounded by men with crucifixes and zero experience? Oh honey, buckle up.

The Voice: 1920s Yale Professor, But Make It Snarky

Haggard writes with the same energy you’d expect from a man who’s read everything, seen too much, and is deeply tired of your nonsense. His tone veers between grimly fascinated and dryly savage. He does not coddle. He does not sugarcoat. You’ll leave this book knowing two things:

1. History is wild.
2. Most of your ancestors were being treated by certified lunatics with knives and crosses.

This isn’t a passive lecture; it’s historical drag, and Haggard has the receipts.

Who Is This Book For?

• Medical students who need to feel superior to 16th-century barbers.
• History nerds who love gore, plagues, and professional shade.
• Anyone who’s ever wondered how we made it from “demon possession” to “hand sanitizer.”

If you enjoyed The Body by Bill Bryson but thought, Needs more medieval bloodletting and fewer polite footnotes, congratulations. This is your jam.

The Cover:

The modern reprint tries to trick you into thinking this is a chill, accessible read with bright, friendly pill graphics. Don’t be fooled. This book contains graphic depictions of medicine so primitive, it makes witch trials look like clinical trials. The cover is your aesthetic reward for surviving 300 pages of history’s worst flu seasons.

Final Verdict:

Devils, Drugs, and Doctors is chaotic, disgusting, brilliant, and necessary. It reminds you how far we’ve come, mostly through fire, blood, and very little actual evidence. Haggard’s writing is vivid, his insults are historically rooted, and his respect for science is hard-earned.

It’s like Gray’s Anatomy meets Dante’s Inferno, narrated by a cranky genius who’s just done with your ignorance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (one for the blood, one for the brains, one for the gallows humor, one for historical excellence, and one because it’ll make you thank your pharmacist)

Devils, Drugs, and Doctors: A charming little reminder that your ancestors were once treated by people who believed sneezing was demonic.