Great River Runs Red

While reading through a list of book reviews, I came across a favorable review of “Five Quarts, a Personal and Natural History of Blood” by Bill Hayes. Intrigued, I ordered the book. Surely this book will be of interest to others, I thought. I knew that I would find it interesting reading.

We all think we know a little about blood. After all, it’s just a scrape or a pin-prick away. Five quarts, hum, I thought I had five pints. But then again, if the American Red Cross worker takes a pint (and then some), surely I wouldn’t have been drained of one-fifth of my blood. Even the title of this book—“Five Quarts”-- is educational. Now, I will always remember that I have quarts---not pints--- of blood.

The author takes the reader on a grand journey of the history, literature, mythology and science of blood, “… this great red river that flows though the sixty thousand miles of our individual body’s arteries, veins, and capillaries.” The history in “Five Quarts” begins in ancient Rome, where gladiators drank the blood of slain foes to gain their strength and sometimes invited privileged spectators to join in a blood-drinking binge.

In the mid-1600, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek’s advances in microscope technology enabled the eye to see the various particles, which he described as “red globules” floating in a “fluidity” now known as plasma. It wasn’t until the eighteenth century that a gentleman-scientist, William Harvey, discovered the circulatory path of blood. .

Ignorant and harmful medical techniques have long been associated with blood. The practices of bloodletting via incisions and the use of leeches to drain blood from a body had wide repute. Great men have died prematurely because of dangerous “medical” practices. The health of George Washington was seriously compromised through bloodletting.

“Blood is a brew of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, all flowing in a watery medium that carries nutrients to, and waste from, the body’s trillions of cells.” This ever- changing brew is often spiced with medications, alcohol, nicotine and other ingredients—many beneficial, others deadly, like the AIDS virus.

The author, Bill Hayes, has written a whimsical yet provocative account of this bodily fluid that will appeal to the layman. An earlier book by the author, “Sleep Demons: An Insomniac’s Memoir” has been ordered and will soon be available for those who liked reading “Five Quarts” and want to read more by Hayes.

Visit the Library’s website at www.columbuslibrary.info to search the catalog for library holdings, check out the car repair manuals accessible online, or check the local obituary index for a death date of a former friend or family member.
. Recent donations to the Columbus Library Foundation include one in memory of Earl Ellis by Mr. and Mrs. John Rohde and one for Jessie Yost from Mr. and Mrs. Richard Luebbe. Donor may specify subject areas for book purchases or they may add their contribution to the new book fund.