Joseph Babinski's contributions to French medicine have been well-documented, but there has yet to be a significant and an authoritative biography of him--until now. Two French physicians, Jaques Philippon and Jacques Poirier, analyze Babinski's great scientific achievements, explore his unique family history, and publish, for the first time, a complete bibliography of his publications. The "Babinski sign," considered as his greatest diagnostic achievement, is typically one of the first neurological tests performed by a specialist or primary care physician to determine the existence of an injury to the pyramidal tract. Joseph Babinski, however, is more than just the "Babinski sign" that has made him famous and revered. As the authors explain, he was an early contributor to the fields of cutaneous and tendinous reflexes, cerebellar and vestibular semiology, hysteria and pithitiasm, localization of spinal cord compressions, and the birth of French neurosurgery. This book chronicles his family's emigration from Poland to France, his tutelage and early career under great teachers such as Alfred Vulpian, Victor Cornil, and Jean-Martin Charcot at the Hopital de la Salpetriere in Paris, his methods and observations during 27 years as department head at La Pitie, as well as the close and unique relationship with his brother, Henri, the well-known Ali-Bab. Finally, Babinski's life and times can be accessed in one fresh and intriguing book
Industry Reviews
"Joseph Babinski is a fresh and balanced assessment of the man and his many contributions. Its authors illuminate the man behind the eponym, thoughtfully consider his legacy, and provide valuable (and surprisingly modern) insights on academic power struggles, the relative benefits of academic and nonacademic practice, and the difficulties of defining one's own career path as distinct from that of a supportive mentor."--As reviewed in the New
England Journal of Medicine
"...the new book on Babinski is by far the most extensive presentation of his life and work....The book highlights a great historic chapter of French and world neurology..."--Archives of Neurology
"...this volume makes a delicious read, absorbing us in the world of fin-de-siécle psychiatry and neurology....the volume will remain compulsory reading for students of medical biography for decades to come."--The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
"...the definitive biography of this major figure in French neurology...extensively annotated and charmingly illustrated wtih photographs from the period...This book will delight those who seek to learn not only about Babinski himself, but also about French neurology in the social, political, artistic, and gastronomic milieu of the late 19th century. It belongs on the shelf of every clinician and investigator who occasionally casts an eye back toward the roots
of contemporary neuroscience."--Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology
"...excellent...well written and gives frequent fascinating insights into the highly competitive medical life in Paris at this period....An extensive bibliography and a useful index complete the book, which thus offers a thorough, thoughtful and affectionate appraisal of this most interesting, private and hardworking man."--Vesalius
"...a beautiful book. It is a scholarly work of the highest caliber (some of the footnotes occupy 2/3 of a page, in a very small form), very educational and intellectually stimulating, but at the same time it is fun to read. The book is richly illustrated with many photographs, drawings, and copies of documents revealing Babinski's professional and private life, making this book a treasure...I stronly recommend this book to neurologists, both practicing and in
training, as well as physicians of other specialties, medical students, and other healthcare providers. I also recommend it to anyone interested in the history of medicine and history in general. This
book has been long overdue. It is a seminal contribution to the history of neurology and a great tribute to Joseph Babinski, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, clinical neurologist ever, a great Frenchman, with a Polish heart."--Reviewed by Andrew Waclawik, MD, in Neurology
"Chronologic stories are presented in the body of the chapters, which are particularly useful in the scientific reconstruction and the history of the journey of the one name known in all of our schools. This is a volume to read and to discover, that is to be appreciated in our English-speaking milieu in order to know the universality of medicine."--Histoire des Sciences Médicales
