A History of Quackery, by Lydia Kang, M.D., and journalist Nate Pedersen, is a history of the worst treatments practiced by doctors, healers, and scammers from antiquity to the present day. Today, many of these methods seem incredible to us: imagine a time when doctors prescribed opium for infant crying, mercury for yellow fever, and cauterization with a hot iron as a cure for love pains. These stories of strange and downright dangerous treatments, illustrated by ancient engravings, photographs and advertisements are not only an important evidence of man's irresistible desire for life, but also an opportunity to reflect on the fact that quackery is not limited to the past. After all, someday our modern methods of staying healthy, beautiful and young may also turn out to be meaningless or dangerous.