Phineas Gage : A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science
2 journalers for this copy...
I've been fascinated by the story of Phineas Gage since I first read it - in, I think, a magazine article some time in the '60s, though it's turned up in a number of other places as well. Gage was tamping powder in a drill hole when an accidental spark set off the powder and sent his custom-made, three-foot-long iron tamping rod through his skull and a good way into the air. The blow - or the blast - knocked him down, but he didn't lose consciousness and was soon trying to stand; but it became apparent to his appalled workmen that he was severely injured, and the rod was lying in the roadway "all blood and brains".
Not expecting him to live long, they helped him into a wagon, got him home, and called the doctor, who was appalled and intrigued by the nature and extent of the injury. But Gage didn't die, though he did come closer to it than the early accounts I read had suggested - infection set in, and he was comatose for a while, but after a couple of months he was back on his feet and clearly on the way to a good recovery. But his personality had changed, and his former employers no longer wanted him; I don't remember hearing much about his life after that, although as his skull is now in a medical museum in Harvard (along with the tamping rod, which has been inscribed with the details of the incident!), it's clear that somebody followed up on his case.
This book is an attractively-produced volume that covers the (relatively few) facts known about the case, with lots of impressive photographs and illustrations. It seems to be aimed at a young-adult audience or perhaps a bit lower - not for children exactly (though they'd probably love the gruesome bits, I know I did!) but not a scholarly treatise either. [For that, check out An Odd Kind of Fame, which I bought and read at about the same time as this book.]
The covers of this book alone are spectacular; on the front is a photograph of Gage's skull, clearly showing the healed damage to the bone (though it only suggests the magnitude of the injury); and on the back, a color photo of his life-mask, made shortly after he recovered from the accident - it reminds us that this happened to a real person, a healthy young man (and not a bad-looking one either) whose life was changed because of it.
Inside there's a photo of the Gage memorial plaque in Vermont [update: I released another copy of this book there in 2016].
There's an account claiming that Gage appeared in P. T. Barnum's sideshow for a time, complete with a poster showing him sitting there with the bar still through his head - an interesting rumor, but apparently there's no evidence that he actually did work for Barnum or appear in any sideshow - still, lots of records were lost in fires, so maybe he did. And there's a haunting photograph showing mounds of old gravestones, undoubtedly including Gage's, that were used as landfill after the graves were moved to the mega-cemeteries in Colma when San Francisco had expanded to need the space. [Gage's grave had been disturbed once before, when his skull was removed; by the time the rest of him was shifted as well I doubt it bothered him much!]
For an interesting and readable overview of the Gage case, I recommend this book highly - and I think I'll be hanging on to it myself. How could my death-and-disaster collection be complete without it?
[2009: the Wikipedia page about Gage has a dageurreotype of him that was only recently discovered and verified; it's a reminder of the living man and not just the skull-with-a-rod-through-it!]
Not expecting him to live long, they helped him into a wagon, got him home, and called the doctor, who was appalled and intrigued by the nature and extent of the injury. But Gage didn't die, though he did come closer to it than the early accounts I read had suggested - infection set in, and he was comatose for a while, but after a couple of months he was back on his feet and clearly on the way to a good recovery. But his personality had changed, and his former employers no longer wanted him; I don't remember hearing much about his life after that, although as his skull is now in a medical museum in Harvard (along with the tamping rod, which has been inscribed with the details of the incident!), it's clear that somebody followed up on his case.
This book is an attractively-produced volume that covers the (relatively few) facts known about the case, with lots of impressive photographs and illustrations. It seems to be aimed at a young-adult audience or perhaps a bit lower - not for children exactly (though they'd probably love the gruesome bits, I know I did!) but not a scholarly treatise either. [For that, check out An Odd Kind of Fame, which I bought and read at about the same time as this book.]
The covers of this book alone are spectacular; on the front is a photograph of Gage's skull, clearly showing the healed damage to the bone (though it only suggests the magnitude of the injury); and on the back, a color photo of his life-mask, made shortly after he recovered from the accident - it reminds us that this happened to a real person, a healthy young man (and not a bad-looking one either) whose life was changed because of it.
Inside there's a photo of the Gage memorial plaque in Vermont [update: I released another copy of this book there in 2016].
There's an account claiming that Gage appeared in P. T. Barnum's sideshow for a time, complete with a poster showing him sitting there with the bar still through his head - an interesting rumor, but apparently there's no evidence that he actually did work for Barnum or appear in any sideshow - still, lots of records were lost in fires, so maybe he did. And there's a haunting photograph showing mounds of old gravestones, undoubtedly including Gage's, that were used as landfill after the graves were moved to the mega-cemeteries in Colma when San Francisco had expanded to need the space. [Gage's grave had been disturbed once before, when his skull was removed; by the time the rest of him was shifted as well I doubt it bothered him much!]
For an interesting and readable overview of the Gage case, I recommend this book highly - and I think I'll be hanging on to it myself. How could my death-and-disaster collection be complete without it?
[2009: the Wikipedia page about Gage has a dageurreotype of him that was only recently discovered and verified; it's a reminder of the living man and not just the skull-with-a-rod-through-it!]
I'm sending this to BCer devon612 in Florida to fill a wish, for the US/Canada wishlist-tag game. Enjoy!
Thank you GoryDetails! I'm fascinated by this case as well. I read a lot about psychological issues stemming from brain injuries (Oliver Sacks, etc). The fact that they learned so much from his experience and surprising survival is amazing to me. I really appreciate you sharing it with me!
