"A fascinating chronicle of jealousy, greed, chicanery, and outright fraud, sometimes darkly funny, sometimes appalling." — Richard Snow, editor, American Heritage
"The personal side heroic, comic, and tragic—of the early history of anesthesia has never been more vividly recreated than in Julie Fenster's well researched and crisply written book." — Roy Porter, author of The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity
"A riveting saga.... This is non-fiction story telling at its absolute finest." — Douglas Brinkley, Historian
"A steady and witty guide to the fascinating charges and frustrations that grew out of Ether Day." — New York Times Book Review
“It would not be inappropriate to compare anesthesia history to a Shakespearean play. Here we have all the ingredients: tragedy, comedy, farce, a well-drawn set of characters, and intricate subplots. All this and more can be found in Ether Day.” — Journal of the American Medical Association
“The cast of characters here is a rich one. . . . A thoroughly compelling account, well told and well situated in its larger context.” — Kirkus Reviews