“The Story of Charlatanism” by doctor of medicine Lidia Kang and journalist Nate Pedersen is a story of the worst ways of healing practiced by doctors, healers, and fraudsters from ancient times to the present day. Today many of these methods seem unbelievable: imagine an era when doctors prescribed opium for infant crying, mercury for yellow fever, and cauterization with red-hot iron as a treatment for love’s pains.
These tales of strange—and frankly dangerous—treatment, illustrated with old engravings, photographs, and advertising leaflets (in a print edition), are not only evidence of humanity’s irresistible urge to stay alive, but also a chance to consider that charlatanism isn’t limited to the past. After all, someday people might discover that our modern ways of staying healthy, beautiful, and young are also meaningless—or dangerous.