Book Review

Tarnished Idol: William T.G. Morton and the Introduction of Surgical Anesthesia

N Engl J Med 2002; 346:70January 3, 2002

Article

Tarnished Idol: William T.G. Morton and the Introduction of Surgical Anesthesia
By Richard J. Wolfe. 672 pp., illustrated. San Anselmo, Calif., Norman, 2001. $125. ISBN: 0-930405-81-1

“Tarnished idol” is an apt description of William Thomas Green Morton (Figure 1Figure 1William Thomas Green Morton. (Courtesy of the Boston Medical Library in the Countway Library of Medicine.)). After his successful demonstration of surgical anesthesia in the Ether Dome of the Massachusetts General Hospital on October 16, 1846, Morton attained the status of a hero. But he himself besmirched that reputation by a reckless pursuit of fame and money and an underhanded way of denying recognition of the contributions of others to the discovery. In this book, Richard Wolfe, former librarian at the Countway Library of Harvard Medical School, examines both aspects of Morton's character.

Wolfe's study of Morton entailed an exhaustive examination of court records, newspaper articles, personal letters, and two 19th-century biographies. Morton himself commissioned one of these biographies and wrote large sections of it to promote his claim to be the sole discoverer of surgical anesthesia. Wolfe traces Morton's career as an unsuccessful businessman, an embezzler and a cheat, and a poorly trained dentist who saw in the anesthetic properties of ether an opportunity to become rich. The book reviews the legal, personal, and publicity battles between Morton's competitors — the dentist Horace Wells and the chemist Charles Jackson — for recognition by the French Academy and the U.S. Congress as the discoverer of surgical anesthesia. Many others have written about these events, but Wolfe gives the story fresh life with his inclusion of new material, attention to detail, and insightful analysis of character and situations.

Wolfe's scholarship is meticulous, his writing clear, and his thesis convincing. He has written not only a definitive biography of Morton but also a fascinating account of the rough-and-ready character of 19th-century American medicine, politics, and society. The book is large, but then so is the subject. Only the most avid medical historians may wish to read it from cover to cover; more casual readers may read only sections of the book and still enjoy it. It contains a wonderful trove of stories, commentary, and information.

Donald Caton, M.D.
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610
dcaton@ufl.edu