What happens when you reach the threshold of life and death - and come back? As long as humans have lived on the planet, there have been wars, and injured soldiers and civilians. But today, as we engage in wars with increasingly sophisticated technology, we are able to bring people back from ever closer encounters with death. Historian Emily Mayhew explores the reality of medicine and injury in wartime, from the trenches of World War One to the plains of Afghanistan and the rehabilitation wards of Headley Court in Surrey. Mixing vivid and compelling stories of unexpected survival with astonishing insights from the front line of medicine, A Heavy Reckoning is a book about how far we have come in saving, healing and restoring the human body. From the plastic surgeon battling to restore function to a blasted hand to the double amputee learning to walk again on prosthetic legs, Mayhew gives us a new understanding of the limits of human life and the extraordinary costs paid physically and mentally by casualties all over the world.

No-holds-barred, powerful medical non-fiction from the bleeding edge of medicine and war: out now in paperback

About the Author
Dr Emily Mayhew is a military medical historian specialising in the study of severe casualty, its infliction, treatment and long-term outcomes in 20th and 21st century warfare. She is historian in residence in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College, and a Research Fellow in the Division of Surgery within the Department of Surgery and Cancer. She is the author of Wounded: From Battlefield to Blight 1914-1918, which was shortlisted for the Wellcome Prize 2014. Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we think and feel about health. Inspired by the medical objects and curiosities collected by Henry Wellcome, Wellcome Collection exhibitions, events and books connect science, medicine, life and art. wellcomecollection.org

Reviews
An outstanding study of medicine on the front line in Afghanistan and beyond. * The Sunday Times *
A riveting description of the journey from the battlefield through every stage of resuscitation to recovery back home. * Spectator *
A great book, compelling and hard hitting. A Heavy Reckoning is a crucial milestone in remembering the most important lesson learnt from recent conflict in Afghanistan -- Harry Parker, author of Anatomy of a Soldier
The most gripping non-fiction book I have read in a very long time -- Mark Haddon
Moving, thought provoking and informative, it is not one to be missed. * Soldier Magazine *
An extraordinary human story of resilience ... an outstanding study of a lamentably underreported aspect of modern warfare. * Sunday Times *
In her book, Emily Mayhew, a medical military historian who studies the history of severe casualty in warfare, describes all of this carnage in the most extraordinary, close-up detail and by the end you appreciate her for doing it - after all, why on earth would she spare us? -- Mark Smith * Scotland Herald *
Mayhew's book is a valuable contribution to the history of military medicine -- Pete Starling * British Society for the History of Medicine *
Mayhew is uniquely placed to tell this story, which flits between medical science and heart-thumping narrative. -- Miles Amoore * Literary Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9781781255865
Author Emily Mayhew
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Wellcome Collection
Publisher Profile Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 258g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 22mm