5 comments about The Soul of a Doctor: Harvard Medical Students Face Life and Death.

1. If you ever wondered what it feels like to become a physician, I would highly recommend reading this book. Not designed to be entertaining but is instead an intimate look into the real life experiences of young and idealistic medical students as they move from the classroom to encounter the realities of patient care and the limitations of the health care system. These are very powerful and human stories, sometimes disturbing and heartwrenching and other times more positive. It's hard to imagine anyone reading this book and not be profoundly moved.



2. Getting to understand someone else's point of view is always wonderful. This book helped me imagine what it is like to be given a gift to heal and then have to learn what that means in real life. This book is not just for medical minded people but for everyone as the lessons these students learn can be applied to all of our lives/works. If nothing else, I am thankful for my health and all the doctors/nurses in my life.



3. all of the true stories in this book have promise - they are interesting and thought provoking but unfortunately, the writers never follow through with the outcomes. You meet a patient, find out their problem - usually involving some sort of dillema for the dr. - they make their point but the outcome is left out. Did the patient die? They never say. (even a brief update after the essay would make a difference).



4. I have been very interested in becoming a doctor for a very long time, as such, I like to read as many books as possible about individual's experiences as a doctor or while becoming a doctor. I do feel as though some of the experiences shown were very intimate, but overall I just couldn't force myself to maintain interest. I feel as though the students who wrote these accounts received more benefit from writing them thean I did from reading them.



5. This is a great book. It tells the story of Harvard medical school graduates and their interactions with patients. Some of the stories are particularly moving and give hope, others remind me of how difficult it must be to become a doctor. Nearly all of the stories are well written. This book would be a great gift for anyone starting medical school, anyone who has an interest in medicine or even someone with a passing interest who watches television shows like Grey's Anatomy.

5 comments about Walk on Water: The Miracle of Saving Children's Lives.

1. I love to read medical non-fiction, and have read Danielle Ofri, Tilda Shalof, Atul Gawande, and about fifteen other authors who have written about their own journey as a medical student, resident, doctor, surgeon, or nurse. The time I spent as a teen in the hospital for a lung problem left me with a strong desire to understand how hospitals work and how people in the medical field think.
   
   This book's strength and weakness are, strangely, the same thing. Most medical non-fiction that I have read focuses on a variety of procedures, situations, and settings, even when it focuses on one surgeon or doctor. This book focused exclusively on congenital heart defects, so over and over again they described similar surgeries - heart surgery on newborns or older babies. This is wonderful if you are wanting in-depth information on congenital heart defects and how they are treated surgically, but as a casual reader, I got bored of having the same surgical staff, the same kind of operation, the same hospital.
   
   That said, Ruhlman's writing is excellent. I found the level of technical detail perfect for my needs, really enjoyed the historical background info he gave on congenital heart surgery, and got a lot out of learning about Roger Mees and his surgical staff.
   
   But the question is, with all of the generally interesting medical non-fiction out there right now, is this book your best choice among all of the competing books on similar topics?
   
   If you have a particular interest in congenital heart defects, then this is an amazing book. It even gives tips at the end about getting the best care you can for your child with congenital heart disease. The writing is accessible and interesting, and is very focused. I didn't notice the swearing, myself.
   
   But if, like me, your interest is more general, then maybe read a few other books first, like Complications by Gawande, On Call by Transue, A Nurse's Story by Shalof, Singular Intimacies by Ofri, or Baby ER by Humes, and see if your interest leads you in this direction.



2. I recently became a pediatric cardiac intensive care nurse. I never really understood what it was like to be a family, or cardiac surgeon until reading this book. It is so amazing that someone could write such as informational insiring book, that has no health background. It makes me proud to be a nurse for this type of unit.



3. Imagine opening a newborn baby's chest and holding his plum-sized heart in your hands, confident that you can repair it and give the child a healthy life.
   
   Meet Dr. Roger Mee, one of the world's top pediatric heart surgeons. Dr. Mee and his team at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio do just that, two or three times a day, five or six days a week. Author Michael Ruhlman spent a year as an embedded observer in this center of excellence, exploring an elite surgical specialty and the professionals who devote themselves to perfecting it.
   
   "Walk on Water: Inside an Elite Pediatric Surgical Unit" is the wonderful product of that year, and you won't find a more fascinating or inspiring story. Ruhlman gives us a satisfying mix of history, anatomy, biography, and personal interest.
   
   The unit specializes in the repair of congenital heart defects. Each chapter starts with a case or an individual, suffering from or exemplifying some condition. Then the author catalogues the development of treatment options for that condition. Finally, he returns to the clinical setting to finish the story.
   
   Ruhlman discusses medical politics and the story behind outcome statistics. What is the impact on a unit's statistics when that unit is a referral center for the sickest babies? How can a patient -- or a parent -- know the importance of the BEST care versus GOOD care? Thorny questions are raised.
   
   But this is first and foremost the story of New Zealand-born Dr. Mee and his team, and the huge demands they make on themselves every day for the sake of these babies who got an unlucky draw -- at least, unlucky until they come under Dr. Mee's care.
   
   "Walk on Water" is action-packed and sensitively written. If you are interested in medical non-fiction, you WILL be stunned by this book. It's a completely absorbing read and I highly recommend it.
   
   Linda Bulger, 2008



4. Roger Mee, the surgeon profiled in this very well-researched and well-written book, would be the first to tell you that he possesses no divine powers. As he stresses, and author Ruhlman emphasizes, the craft of surgery is in attention to detail. An interesting contrast is drawn between Mee, who strikes the reader as very down-to-earth, and a brilliant but difficult intern, who (after this book was published) took his own life.
   
   The book also contains excellent portraits of Mee's surgical nurse, the difficulties facing anesthesiologists when working with 5-pound neonates, and is very sensitive to the awful, gut-wrenching torment suffered by the new parents, who would rather be anywhere than inside a pediatric ICU.
   
   Ruhlman is at his best when writing about how difficult it is to do things right, as in his other great book "Wooden Boats."



5. My daughter was born with a heart defect in 2007. She had had one open-heart surgery by the time I was introduced by word-of-mouth to this book. I can't say how important it was to me as a parent to read this book. It gives an insider's view of the world of congenital heart surgery and if you are a parent who wants to know what doctors really think and do, you have to read this - if you are a parent who wants to put all of your faith in the perfection of doctors, then don't read it. My family is very grateful that things have turned out well for my daughter, who is now 15 months, and can't thank her healthcare team enough... but if she needs another surgery, we are going to go to one of the surgeons mentioned in the book. We'll fly her to another state - whatever it takes to get the very best care for her. I hope if you are looking at this book because someone you love has a heart defect, that things turn out well for you, too. What a living nightmare. Read the book.

5 comments about The Intern Blues: The Timeless Classic About the Making of a Doctor.

1. I agree with some reviewers that the book is tedious at times and pleasant and entailing at others. I also agree with the author that the experiences in this book are not unique. The book is written in a journal style summarizing each of the three interns' own 'tape-recorded' account of their stories on a month by month basis. Hence, at times you may think the book is not very well structured or written because the whole book really seems like a word-for-word retyping of what each intern said to their tape recorder.
   
   It's tedious because so many times the reader (me in specific) gets aggrevated with a constant "same old, same old" coming from the interns. Pretty much, every month the interns complain about exactly the same thing: long and dehumanizing hours, lack of sleep, lack of social contact with other peers (Amy keeps on talking about her daughter all the time, which also gets frustrating after a while). What makes the book interesting, though, are some of the stories that the interns manage to describe in between all the complaining: stories about a mother of a patient trying to kill an intern because she thought the intern molested the little infant by doing a straight catheterization (actually that was the author's story). But nonetheless, plenty of very interesting experiences.
   
   Also, what's nice about the book is that you get a perspective from both males and a female, interns with no kids and a kid. Unfortunately no experiences from completely single interns, but Mark comes close.
   
   One thing I didn't like about the stories, but got used to it, was that some aren't explained to the end. They stop as if in the middle of the most interesting moment where you want to know more as to what happened to the patient. That's because once these interns sign the patient out to another unit they lose contact with that patient and only rarely follow up. You realize soon that this book isn't about the medical diagnosis and treatments but about the experiences, fears, anxiety, and emotional dilemmas these interns must go through to survive.
   
   Overall, I liked it quite a bit and still recommend it. But don't read it if you're (for example) a fourth year med student who is easily disturbed and already frightened about the internship. Reading it might only stress you more.



2. This book is not intended to be entertaining, it's meant to portray the hard year of internship. But somehow, it still manages to be a good read. For someone who wants to get an idea about what it's like to take call every fourth night and get very little sleep, dealing with life and death in a very difficult arena, it is a nice start. The book is composed of transcribed audio recordings from the interns on their experiences.
   
   I'm not going to lie. They whine a lot. If you don't have the patience for that or don't like to be unloaded upon, this may not be the book for you. And it can be depressing, and droning, and hard to read. What keeps you going is the urge to know what becomes of these interns.
   
   They're actually pretty entertaining themselves. The two guys, Mark and Andy, have a great sarcastic sense of humor that keeps the book afloat and that the young woman and new mother, Amy, lacks. Her chapters move the slowest.
   
   While it isn't the most optimistic in the world (One of Mark's excerpts reads, "There was a point there where I swear I was this close to taking all the charts, throwing them out the window, and saying 'Forget it! I'm sorry I ever applied to medical school! I never really wanted to be a doctor anyway!') and advises against the intern-to-be reading, it is ultimately a satisfying and honest account, without any processing or gloss. It is gritty, and it is real, from nights in the Bronx's Jonas Bronck ER to the intern's personal lives. They're young and inexpirienced doctors without yet the trademark sense of entitlement and confidence. We watch as they grow into their white coat.



3. I served a nine-month rotating internship at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver Colorado. Having done much of my training at Tulane Medical Center, I decided I wanted to be in a Louisiana public hospital for my residency. I returned to New Orleans and completed my internship and residency at Charity.
   Although the internships in the book took place at large New York City hospitals, like Charity they both primarily serve medically indigent populations.
   The emotional struggles (combined with the organizational conflicts) described in the book hit home. These individual stories highlight the common thread of experience shared by all physician's who refined their skills in public ERs.



4. Another book by Marion that is an easy read and really tells the whole story behind becoming a doctor. There are several interns that tell their story through internship. Great book if you are interested in the meidcal field.



5. Oustanding book! Action-packed! Gives one an enormous appreciation for all that interns must endure to become doctors. Each of the three interns profiled in the book provides a unique look at what their internship year was like in an extremely diverse environment at a pediatric training program in the Bronx, NY. Read it twice!

5 comments about Maimonides (Jewish Encounters).

1. it shows you right way about life
   i think it is possible to adopt it to today.
   it was very interesting book for me.
   it is the kind of book that i always enjoy reading



2. Nuland has accomplished the difficult task of summarizing Maimonides' complex writings in a way that is accessible to the common reader. Nuland's style is clear and concise, and he obviously admires Maimonides as a sort of Renaissance man before the Renaissance. It is true that the book gives considerable attention to Maimonides' life as a physician, but as someone who has dipped a bit into Maimonides' writings on Jewish law and thought but knew little of his place in medical history, I didn't see that as a problem. In fact, I found that that made this book even more enlightening.
   
   I could have used more discussion of the Guide to the Perplexed, however, beyond the notions that the book is difficult and that some see it as a hidden confession by Maimonides of his lack of belief (an unlikely hypothesis). The Guide is an extraordinarily fascinating book, from all I understand, and Nuland does not do it justice.



3. The most interesting parts of this book focus on Maimonides the physician (as opposed to Maimonides the religious leader, where Nuland's discussion is a bit too sparse here and there). Maimonides (known to most Jews as Rambam) did not develop new medical knowledge, but wrote ten books synthesizing existing medical knowledge in a clear and concise way, and even occasionally criticizing the Greco-Roman masters whose works dominated medieval medicine. By the low standards of the Middle Ages, this passed for genius.
   
   Nuland links Rambam's religious and medical careers by pointing out that in both areas, Rambam focused heavily on codifying existing knowledge in ways that would be easy for the public to use.
   
   Nuland also engages in interesting speculation about a variety of other issues, including:
   
   1. Why were Jews so likely to be doctors in the Middle Ages? Nuland asserts that (a) Christians were uninterested in medicine because they were more ascetic, (b) because priests could not take employment as doctors, the Christian talent pool for medicine was artificially diminished and (c) because Jews' wealth could easily be taken away, Jews had a strong incentive to seek portable skills (as opposed to investing in fixed assets such as land).
   
   2. Why was Rambam so uninterested in accommodating or discussing competing religious views? Nuland speculates that because of Judaism's dire condition in those days (beset in persecution in some places and the temptation of assimilation into Islam in more tolerant places) Rambam may have felt the need to "circle the wagons" by encouraging as much uniformity as possible.
   
   3. Why did Rambam (who generally opposed Messianic speculation) suggest in his letter to Yemenite Jews that prophecy might return in 1216? Nuland suggests that Rambam may have been trying to defang Messianic fever by setting a date so far in advance that he could not be disproven during his lifetime.



4. Maimonidies' two biggest contributions to civilization were his religious writings, and medical practice. As author Sherwin Nuland himself points out, Maimonidies' truest, lasting legacy are his religious writings. Yet probably because he himself is a doctor, Sherwin Nuland emphasizes the medical Maimonidies at the expense of not giving the religious Maimonidies his proper due. When reading this book, Maimonidies sounded like quite an ordinary man, nothing special, and the truth is, as a doctor he was nothing special. Yet in religious circles, he is a giant. This specialness of Maimonidies was lost in this short biography of this great man.



5. It's an interesting read, but Nuland cites absolutely no sources, a problem when you have a subject with as much scholarship - much of it conflicted - as there is on Maimonides. One spot where this actually leads to him to make a pretty egregious error is when he cites the Maimonidean 13 'principles of faith.' Nuland correctly states that Maimonides writes these principles in his mishnaic commentary, but he then proceeds to give a word for word translation of a watered down version of these principles that appears in all Orthodox prayer books. This is highly problematic because the anonymously authored (not by Maimonides!) prayerbook version often inaccurately summarizes or even 'censors' Maimonides' statements in his commentary, and Nuland doesn't even bother noting that or even crediting the anonymous author as a source! He disingenuously makes it appear that this is his own correct paraphrase of Maimonides' formulation - a total inaccurate impression. I find this an alarming sign of Nuland's lack of in-depth research or even understanding of this important topic. I would not recommend this book to anyone who wishes to actually understand Maimonides' life and works.

5 comments about The Knife Man: Blood, Body Snatching, and the Birth of Modern Surgery.

1. I found the book immediately tedious and repetitive, a seemingly endless series of similar case histories of operations by the great John Hunter, in squalid conditions as he was reviled and admired. The book needed much stronger editing. The prose reminds me a little of articles in Readers Digest. There doesn't seem to be much drama or unpredictability here, the whole book's course is immediately plain. I guess if you like to know how modern operations originated this is the book for you, but it lacked something like vitality and sophistication to keep my interest. A real disappointment.



2. Funny how I'd always confused John Hunter with his brother William whose reputation as a prig more concerned with titles and position than with surgery filtered down to me through histories of science and the times that I'd read. And of course I'd come across the Hunter name in connection with lurid tales of body snatching and the gut-dabbling "Jack Tearguts" of Blake's "An Island In The Moon," which gives us the verbal equivalent of a Gillray print. Now Wendy Moore has brought clarity to this subject, and I now see that John Hunter was indeed on the cutting edge (forgive the pun!) of his profession! Moore takes us through the streets of Johnsonian London, complete with pavements slick with chamber pot slops, poor children willing to sell healthy teeth and mangle their smiles forever so that the smiles of the elite could be temporarily refurbished for tremendous sums, and every kind of illness ready to hurry man, woman and child to an early end and task their brief existences with gleets, tumors, stones, tremors, rots and imposthumes before they expired. Through it all stalked keen-witted John ("Jack") Hunter, skilled in teasing apart the threads and fibers of nerves and separating the anatomical processes for preparations that are still pointed to for the genius they display, and unafraid to spend long hours in the presence of the dead when the Ghost of Cock Lane made headlines in the daily papers. Like William Blake, Hunter was a plain speaker, totally sure of his abilities, and this of course brought him enemies by the dozens from among the tribe of doctors and surgeons who relied on reading "the Ancient Classics" on medicine and an old boy system to put them in positions of power. Hunter, on the other hand, was almost alone in his insistence on learning from close observation and trial and error. In an age when surgery was done with dirty fingernails and aprons stiff with dried blood, this system perhaps did not bring much visible change to the sad lives of those stricken by ill health, but it was the key to the invention of new techniques and the arrival of our modern understanding of the human body. But this is not all; Moore also shows us that this wide-ranging intellect was intent on understanding the well-springs of life and the "living principle" itself and fashioned an early form of evolutionary theory which he taught to his students. However, there is indeed an unsavory, and even a sinister side to this story. Hunter grows obsessed with obtaining the bones of a young Irish Giant, and he does so against the poor man's death bed wishes. The literary salon that Hunter's beautiful wife sponsors once a week takes place while Hunter and his crew of helpers and students unload bodies delivered by the resurrectionists to the basement door. We can only imagine the occasional smell of decay wafting up the stairs while Horace Walpole holds forth in powdered wig on the superiority of English literature. The surgeon grows more and more eccentric, because perhaps his mid-life experiment involving syphilitic self-innoculation was having unexpected ramifications. Moore also tells us about Hunter's menagerie and his practice of wide-awake, bug-eyed, howling vivisection-unto-death, which would horrify animal rights activists today. Still and all, the Jack Hunter of Wendy Moore's book is a real hero.
   
   Though the writing in The Knife Man can sometimes be redundant, the style is good and the content compelling, if at times, a little grim. I recommend this book highly.



3. John Hunter was a blunt, irascible sort who was not disposed to accept established opinions on health and the functionings of the human body. Living in London during the 18th century, he quickly developed a reputation as an iconoclast who rejected tradition and sought to learn as much as he could about human anatomy. This necessitated a strong stomach and a willingness to flout the law. Since dissecting a human body was against the law, Hunter and others who wished to do so had to be willing to deal with unsavory body snatchers who haunted cemeteries and execution sites.
   
   This fascinating biography is divided into chapters with headings similar to those found in hard boiled detective stories. Each describes one of Hunter's famous human or animal dissections and traces the expansion of knowledge that resulted. The descriptions are colorful and vivid and do an excellent job of depicting the full sight, sound, and smell of London in the 1700s. The stories of Hunter's dissections and his surgeries, many surprisingly complex and invasive despite the lack of anesthesia and antiseptics, fill the reader with awe and admiration.



4. Not a quick, easy read, but an interesting and intriguing read to see how far all medicine, especially surgery, has come. The story begins and is largely finished even before handwashing was known to be a preventative of disease and infection. The reader is left to wonder how far medicine and surgery will progress in the next 300 years and how doctors,surgeons and readers of that day will look back on what we consider "state of the art" medicine today.
   
   (When discussing this book at recent book club meeting, one of our members, a physican, said he believed people will ultimately look at what we are doing with chemotherapy and radiation in the treatment of cancer to be the equivalent of bleeding and humors in John Hunter's day...an interesting thought.)
   
   This is a book a that will stay with you and come to mind weeks and months after the reading is done. Fascinating read. Most fascinating. At times amazing and mesmerizing.



5. The surgeons of the 18th century faced a dilemma that would tie any of today's bioethicists into a pretzel shape.
   
   They had inherited a crude, limited, unsystematic and usually ineffective technique from medieval or even classical times, but to get to today's comprehensive, delicate and scientific methods they had to experiment on the living and the dead.
   
   The question of experimenting on the living presents obvious difficulties, but in some ways experimenting on the dead was an even more problematic question 250 years ago. Many people held a religious belief that a corpse disassembled on Earth could never be reunited in heaven after the Second Coming. There was also a deep horror of autopsy itself.
   
   Few if any of the surgeons of the day or their admirers spent time worrying about this, and certainly not the greatest body investigator, John Hunter, subject of Wendy Moore's "The Knife Man."
   
   Many writers have commented on the brutality of 18th century London, but none that I know of presents it in such a chilling way. Not only the descriptions of surgeries done without anesthetic (other than alcohol or opium) and without concern for either asepsis or antisepsis, and not only the lack of social fastidiousness that allowed both surgeries and autopsies on stinking corpses to be done in private homes.
   
   There was also the social brutality of the grave robbing and corpse stealing. At public hangings, there were brawls that lasted for hours between families of the condemned and surgeons' "recruiters" for possession of the bodies of the hanged. Most different from our own conceptions was the indifference toward crime and brutality on the part of the leading lights of this age of the most particular personal fastidious (in behavior if not personal hygiene) among the upper crust. Both the logic-chopper David Hume and the moralizing historian Edward Gibbon, whose favorite word was "specious," attended a full course of anatomy lessons on stolen corpses, and Moore observes that Gibbon, the cultivated gentleman, courteously thanked the surgeon following every session.
   
   Into this brawling maelstrom of medieval savagery and only slightly less savage Enlightenment wandered a possibly dyslexic Scottish farm boy, John Hunter. Never have a man and a place been better suited to each other.
   
   Hunter had an astonishingly deft touch with a scalpel, which would not have meant much to us except that he also had a fearless, keen brain coupled with a fanatic desire to learn what life was. There were other, bigger cities (like Istanbul), but if Hunter had ended up there, we still would not have heard of him. London was in his time (1728-1793) the world's emporium, and he cut up not only stolen people but whales, dormice, lizards and lions. Anything could be had through money or influence.
   
   Moore's biography is an odd combination of popular biography and scientific monograph (with over 40 pages of endnotes). It can be read for information about the origins of surgery, evolution, physiology and medical care; or as a real-life novel with unbelievable plot turns that would shame the scriptwriter of an opera , soap or grand.
   
   Hunter was consulted about the infant Byron's twisted foot and Hume's cancer; his wife was rather too friendly with Joseph Haydn; he discovered the separate circulation of the blood in mother and fetus; he helped found the first medical and first veterinary schools in England, he . . . well, you will have to read Moore's book, the list is almost endless.
   
   Hunter introduced a rigorous, scientific method into biological investigation -- ironically, in opposition to his older brother, William, who was also a famous anatomist but stuck in medieval ways -- and he made numerous discoveries. Some were correct (bees make wax) and some were incorrect (syphilis and gonorrhea were the same disease).
   
   Famed among the medical community, Hunter is probably best known generally for his relentless pursuit of the pitiful Irish giant, Charles Byrne. Byrne had such a horror of being "anatomized" that he asked his friends to put his body in a lead coffin and sink it in the English Channel. Hunter got it anyway, and Byrne's bones can still be seen in Hunter's museum, even though half the collection was burned by Nazi bombs in 1941.
   
   Hunter's bones are in Westminster Abbey.
   
   This book badly needs illustrations of Hunter's "beautiful" natural history preparations, but it does not have them.

5 comments about Out of My Life and Thought (The Albert Schweitzer Library).

1. "Since my first years at the university I had grown increasingly to doubt the idea that mankind is steadily moving toward improvement. My impression was that the fire of its ideas was burning out without anyone noticing or worrying about it. ... What was just and equitable seemed to be pursued with only lukewarm zeal. I noticed a number of symptoms of intellectual and spiritual fatigue in this generation that is so proud of its achievements."
   Albert Schweitzer was a man of action -- humanitarian, theologian, historian, musician, musical technologist, medical doctor, author, philosopher, missionary, professor, environmentalist, prisoner of war, recipient of the Nobel Prize. He writes an interesting autobiography, which is not surprising when one considers the breadth of his interests and of his achievements in science, the humanities and the arts. In his later years he was perhaps the most widely admired and respected person in the Western world.
   Jimmy Carter offers a foreword in this volume; it is economical, a mere six sentences. Schweitzer's philosophical work may be well studied, but does not particularly distinguish itself in this volume (with some notable exceptions). His theological work (i.e., Christology) is generally questionable -- bound to Enlightenment fallacies of a "historical Jesus." I was happy to be concurrently reading the thoughts of a far better theologian, CS Lewis, on the idea of "discovering" a "historical" Jesus. While some of Schweitzer's ideas are [rightly] not highly regarded, his "life and thought" makes for unusually interesting biography. His "reverence for life" precept certainly has great value, but seems to be a less profoundly unique idea than he held it to be. Perhaps my view here is merely ignorant of the world in which Schweitzer lived.
   He considered this book to be his best, or at least his preferred, writing, but if you are going to read only one book considering theological and historical exegetics, this is probably the wrong book. On the other hand, Schweitzer makes many observations cleanly and powerfully: "Our world rots in deceit. Our very attempt to manipulate truth itself brings us to ... [a truth] based on a skepticism that has become belief... It is superficial and inflexible." Kant had observed the intellectual paralysis of such "a skepticism that has become belief," but Schweitzer goes further, recognizing it as an even deeper spiritual paralysis.
   While Schweitzer's Christology is, at the least, arguable, his firm commitment to Christ's commandment of love is a strong example of the Christian life led in the light of its Teacher's example. The author is [rightly] given to referring to Christianity as "the religion of love." In this aspect, Schweitzer at once offers the non-Christian a true image of Christianity and offers the Christian an important, if gentle, reminder. "[God] announces Himself in us as the will to love. The First Cause of Being, as He manifests Himself in nature, is to us always impersonal. To the First Cause of Being that is revealed to us in the will to love, however, we relate as to an ethical personality." And quoting Paul: "Love never faileth: but where there be knowledge it shall be done away."



2. There is no better short book available on the mind and thoughts of Albert Schweitzer than this book. His theology on Jesus and Paul, his thoughts on Bach and organ building, his philosophy on Reverence for Life are all laid out here.

   George Marshall (see my review of Marshall's excellent biography: Schweitzer) once asked Dr. Schweitzer what professors would best provide him an education on Schweitzer's thoughts. He replied that Marshall should not go to professors but "read my books! No one can express the ideas of a man as well as he has expressed them himself.... read my books".

   Bob Frost of "Biography Magazine" once wrote, "Albert Schweitzer is not exactly forgotten today, but his name won't crop up in daily conversation. Fifty years ago, though, people talked about Schweitzer all the time. An American magazine selected him, ahead of Albert Einstein, as the "world's greatest living nonpolitical person." He was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary, won the Nobel Peace Prize, and appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Fueled by idealism and burning spiritual passion, this medical missionary led one of the most intense lives of the 20th century."

   Be apprized that "Out of my Life and Thoughts" is not an easy read. Dr. Schweitzer's theology and philosophy, though dense, is not incomprehensible. And due to the translation from French to English, you many find yourself reading a passage multiple times to get the gist his thoughts.

   That said, for students of this great mind, this is a must read. Strongly recommended. 4.5 stars.




3. This is an elegant though brief memoir written by the great man himself. One should not expect too much detail, however, as the text only gives us glimpses into the man's life and the singular events that shaped who he was and what he became and, more importantly, what he accomplished. Schweitzer focuses mainly on the development of his theological and philosophical thought, beginning with his early endeavours leading to his famous work, `The Quest for the Historical Jesus'. From this point, he continues on towards the shaping of his magnum opus, `Philosophy of Civilization'. It is in this section of the text that he discusses two worldviews of life-affirmation and life-denial and pessimism. This work evolves into his philosophical perspective of Reverence for Life.

   The biography ends in the year 1931, well before the advent of the Second World War. Schweitzer was only fifty-six years of age when he penned this work, well before receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, living and working for another forty-four years. Curiously, when his publisher requested that he write an autobiography, he was hesitant, as he was more or less still in his prime. However, as he wrote to his publisher fourteen years later on his seventieth birthday, memory fades with age, and he believed that writing about himself at that stage of his life, he could put down those important memories that remained fresh in his mind.

   Schweitzer is certainly an inspiration - a man of immense strength, physically, emotionally and spiritually, with an almost endless capacity for work. The man worked in the most difficult of circumstances. Practicing medicine in intense tropical heat, day after day, disease run rampant; constant worry over funds to purchase much needed medical supplies. Moreover, the terrible events of two world wars - the odds he worked against to maintain the Lambarene Hospital, to my mind, is simply unimaginable. But the man persisted, rising every morning to meet disease, suffering, violence, death and loneliness.

   This is an inspiring little book, charming and entertaining.




4. This book is not an easy read, but it is an interesting and worthwhile read. The chapter on why Dr. Schweitzer chose to be a medical missionary to Africa is especially interesting and meaningful. His thoughts on "Reverence For Life" are interesting and worthwhile reading, most provacative. His wide array of talent, abiltiy and interests are amazing and especially interesting, almost beyond belief and comprehension. His experiences as prisoner of war are revealing and somewhat shocking. At times the book gets tedious, especially in his philosophical thought,but don't let that stop you for slow you down. This book is well worth the read.
   
   Do men like Albert Schweitzer exist anymore? Could or would our culture let them exist?



5. Albert Schweitzer had a high intellect and sought to improve the lives of many people through hard work, and dedication while sacrificing position and individual wealth. The man could have been a university professor of theology and philosophy, a Pastor of a prestigious church or a wealthy doctor. He became an accomplished organist as a musical artist, playing concerts to large audiences, and an expert in organ building; He wrote a book that became a standard in how quality instruments are to be built. Albert Schweitzer was a man of much intelligence and accomplished skills. After forging a bright future for himself he had an epiphany to be Christ like was to serve his fellow man. So he studied to become a medical doctor, so he could practice medicine where one was remote from what constituted modern society in the early twentieth century to practice medicine in Africa.
   This is an interesting read. The autobiography ends in 1932, so 25 years of his life is missing. I disagree with how this man perceived God and Jesus. He interpreted the Bible as if it were purely man made; that the Christian faith evolved through time. He determines theology based on the idea Jesus was a confused individual that expected one thing and events made Him adjust his thoughts. His view makes Jesus out to be quite pathetic. The author also believed Paul's thoughts were more informed and formed by events and his surrounding culture. Albert Schweitzer did not believe God's word was inspired through the Holy Spirit but by individual interpretation and culture.
   
   This book is an interesting read. How this man worked as a doctor - a physician in Africa yet still pursued practicing playing the Organ and intellectual pursuits. He even did this when he became a prisoner of war in the Great War. Where he eventually served as camp doctor to his fellow prisoners? I found this book a relatively easy read.

5 comments about I'll Carry the Fork! Recovering a Life After Brain Injury.

1. I never fully understood my dad's head injury, but after reading this humorous story of Kara it made me realize the frustrating effects of brain injury. Just a great book over-all and written on the level of a sixth grader, so it makes it an easy read.



2. A delightful book which takes the author from a tragedy and life change to making her new life the best it can be. A wonderful message for those of us having a family member who is a recent traumatic brain injury survivor. It is written with humor but with a valuable message. The chapters are short and written in a manner our TBI survivor is able to read and comprehend it. Thank you for this book.



3. A delightful book which takes the author from a tragedy and life change to making her new life the best it can be. A wonderful message for those of us having a family member who is a recent traumatic brain injury survivor. It is written with humor but with a valuable message. The chapters are short and written in a manner our TBI survivor is able to read and comprehend it. Thank you for this book.



4. A great read for a survivor or family member of TBI. Slightly larger print and easy to follow story line. This book puts you in touch with the TRUELY important things in life. Showing some of possitive and humorious bumps in her new learning curve keeps this book from reading like a text book. Wow does it feel better knowing that others share similar experincies.
   I have purchased several of these, one for my daughter, and a couple for friends to help them understand me now.
   If you ever get the chance to meet Kara DO IT, she is uplifting to speak with.



5. My son received a severe brain injury in a car accident almost two years ago. He has made a remarkable recovery. However although I ask him how he feels he can't always tell me, says " I just want to be back to normal" I have really wanted to know exactly what goes on in their brain during the recovery -which of course is on going. This book was just delightful. I loved Kara's honest comments and the way she expressed her feelings. My son does not want to read it but my daughter-in-law does.
   I have to say though, for all of you parents out there who's child has been diagnosed with a severe brain injury, don't despair, Kara's mild brain injury seems a lot more severe in her recovery than my son's!
   Thank you Kara for a wonderful insight into the feelings of a brain injured person. Best of luck for a continued recovery.
   Judy Knott
   Auckland
   New Zealand

5 comments about A Leg to Stand On.

1. This book draws on Dr Sack's personal experience of trauma and recovery. It is an interesting perspective for the doctor to view things from the standpoint of the patient, and it drives home the point that apart from professional competency, excellent interpersonal skills are vital. One must never forget that in dealing with a patient, you relate to him/her as a person first, and as a doctor second. This insight is conveyed clearly here, and as obvious as it might seem, it is often relegated as being of a lesser importance by most medical professionals.
   
   The experience recounted though is overtly detailed and can become rather heavy to digest and a challenge to get through at some parts of the book.



2. I'd not read any of Sacks' books before, so was unprepared for his writing style. The first chapter is perfect, detailing the frightening encounter with a bull in Norway. In his frenzy to elude it, Sacks terribly injures his leg. He describes his ordeal where he transports himself laboriously down the mountain using his two arms and one good leg.
   Reappearance of the bull or getting trapped in the cold mountain area overnight would mean death. His rescue at the eleventh hour completes this part, which could stand alone as a short story.
   His hospital stay puts the doctor in the role of patient, and not a very patient one. The impersonal setting, discovery of any lack of feeling or movement in his leg and his active mind dominate this section of the book. He vividly recalls his thoughts, actions and every nightmare from this time. It's a frightening experience to find one's leg insensate and alien to one's self.
   I've been reading quite a few biographies about paralysis (Best Seat in the House, My Stroke of Luck, etc.) and this one is in a category by itself. It's extremely cerebral, literary and alternately fascinating and off-putting. At moments you feel his horror at the situation while at other times you think, "pull yourself together."
   Since each reader brings their own perspective to reading a book, I still recommend it. See what you think.



3. Neurologist Oliver Sacks was startled by a bull while climbing a mountain in Norway and fell, tearing his quadriceps muscle entirely free from the knee. This horrible injury was life threatening, occurring as it did high on a cold mountain, but he managed to splint his leg and crawl down the mountain to be rescued.
   
   He was airlifted to a London hospital and had surgery to reattach the muscle. After the surgery he was shocked to discover that he had completely lost the "image" of his left leg. He couldn't feel it or move it -- couldn't even think how to move it. He was like a one-legged man with an unknown "chalk column" lying next to him in bed. In vintage Sacks style, "A Leg To Stand On" discusses this phenomenon with reference to music, philosophy, literature, and of course neurology, since this is what he calls a "neurological novel." While learning to use crutches, he suddenly regained the concept of his leg and how to use it; in his words, "...suddenly...I believed in my leg, I knew how to walk."
   
   "A Leg To Stand On" explores from his own point of view what it means to be a patient and to have this devastating though not uncommon loss of body image. His synthesis of the experience delves into the basis of the "old" neurology, focused on neural function, and the "new" neurology which he describes as neuropsychology, studying what people do and how they do it.
   
   I recommend this to anyone who has read and enjoyed other books by Oliver Sacks. If you are new to his work, you may like to start in the shallower end of the pool with Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (Picador) or An Anthropologist on Mars.
   
   Linda Bulger, 2008



4. Sacks brilliantly chronicles his experiences as a neurological patient. His experience came from a mountain climbing expedition, where he totally broke a leg and severed or damaged the femoral nerve in his leg. This book is his story of recovery from that intense and serious accident.
   
   What Sacks concentrates on in his story are the feelings of patients, particularly his own, who have serious neurological problems and how those feelings translate to the condition itself, or the condition translates to the feelings. His most significant commentary has to do with the feelings regarding the disassociation with the affected body part. One starts to feel that it is foreign, no longer a natural part of the body. And, that it no longer exists and will never again exist to the patient.
   
   In addition, he carefully points out the non-recognition of these patient feelings by his Neurologist who sees himself more as a fixer of mechanical problems with the body, rather than a Dr. treating a real live human being with feelings of alienation of the limb and alienation from society. Sacks writing style is sophisticate and beautiful, a rare combination for a doctor, but he achieves it like always with exquisite aplomb. The book is highly recommended for all readers interested in physical recovery, especially those who have had a significant neurological problem.



5. Oliver Sacks is better in theaters than read. I consider "The man who mistook his wife with a hat" the only readable book from him.

5 comments about The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray's Anatomy.

1. The Anatomist is another winner from Bill Hayes. The book tells the story of Gray's Anatomy, the definitive anatomy text that was first published 150 years ago this year. Most likely your doctor has come into contact with the text somewhere in their training or career. Until The Anatomist, very little has been written about the two others of Gray's Anatomy. Yes, there are two authors. While the book is named after Henry Gray who wrote the text, there was another author/artist who drew the meticulous, detailed drawings of the human body. As a matter of fact, it could be argued that the book is most well known for the drawings by Henry Vandyke Carter who has mostly been uncredited since the early editions. The story of the book is fascinating. After copious research very little is known about Henry Gray. I won't give away why. But in his research on Gray, Hayes stumbled upon Carter's journals which are filled with details about his life during those times. The journals provide a fascinating glimpse into the troubled life of Carter who is tortured by the religious doctrines of the time and his burgeoning sexuality. Of course scandal ensues for Carter and I also want give that away. The book is also a fascinating examination of the practice of journaling. Hayes himself is journal keeper and finds many similarities in the practice of keeping a journal with Carter who lived 150 years earlier. If you keep a journal, you must read this book. Hayes also includes side by side with the story of Gray and Carter his own experiences in the gross anatomy lab learning about the human body through dissection. Hayes is a beautiful writer. His choice of words and his descriptions of the human body are eloquent and strangely beautiful even when he is describing something that most would want to turn their gaze from. His sentences flow with grace and he seamlessly mixes all of the different elements of the story with his own memoir. Like his other two books, Hayes has a unique gift of combining traditional memoir with science. I can't recommend this book more highly.



2. Author Bill Hayes pursues parallel stories:
   * The back story on that medical reference icon, "Gray's Anatomy"
   * His own anatomical education in exploring dissection of the human body with classes of pharmacy, physical therapy and medical students
   
   He deftly shifts back and forth between the two narratives. He finds that he cannot do justice to Gray's Anatomy without chronicling the life not only of Henry Gray but also the book's illustrator, H.V. Carter. With the patience of a skilled investigator and historical sleuth, Hayes unearths a fascinating narrative of how Grays Anatomy came into being, a tale befitting the 150th anniversary of the book's publication.
   
   Hayes also touches on some interesting points regarding current medical student education, where hands-on dissection may be reduced if not supplants by CD-ROMS and computer-aided tutorials. Do fledgling doctors get the same benefit from that approach or is The Old Way the best?
   
   This is a good book but is somewhat marred by the distraction of Hayes' insistence that all the readers know he is gay. He inserts references to his "partner" Steve, how he got into body-building as a youth to attract the boys, etc. With a clicking sound in his jaw, Hayes suffers apparently not only from TMJ but TMI - Too Much Information! This undercurrent in the book adds little or nothing to the book's narrative thread. OK, we get it. You're gay. Move on! For the medical laity he insists on flaunting his gaiety.
   
   Despite this quibble, "The Anatomist" is a good book that will especially (though not exclusively) appeal to those interested in medicine, health and medical education.



3. Very interesting book with a different perspective of being a biography
   with a personal story of the author. Lots of background on everybody
   concerned. Its not just Gray's Anatomy but the collaboration of Gray and
   Carter. Not too technical but informative.



4. The Anatomist. Bill Hayes. New York: Ballentine Press, 2008. Pp. 250
   
   For those who do not know, Gray's Anatomy is not the television series, Grey's Anatomy, it is the medical school anatomy textbook after which the series is named. The Anatomist is a nonfiction book about the author and the illustrator of this famous textbook which was written 150 years ago and is it in its 39th edition. Physicians all over the world use it in dissecting cadavers and learning human anatomy. Additional stories that Bill Hayes skillfully weaves into the main story are his own experiences participating in anatomy classes with doctors, physical therapists, and pharmacists, and the story of working with his partner sifting through books, manuals, catalogs, diaries, and letters in libraries and archives in England and India as they uncover the story of the lives of these two men, both named Henry, Henry Gray, M.D. and Henry or H.C. Cartwright, M.D., Illustrator.
   Henry Gray is a man driven by ambition, fame, status, and money and is the principle force behind the writing of a concise and inclusive manual of anatomy to be used as a guide to dissection of the human body. He does achieve his goal but meets an early painful demise at the peak of a successful career. H.V. Carter, the illustrator, is the coauthor but was not given credit in name or financially to the degree that Dr. Gray was. He is a complicated, driven, obsessive, self deprecating man with strong Christian beliefs whose motivations regarding the book are to make the world a better place and live a life commensurate with his religious values. He pursues it with little regard for status, fame and fortune. His life is productive but tortured, and his career takes him to India studying and writing about tropical diseases. He has a scandalous marriage in India that leaves his wife and himself leading separate lives, he living in India, she in Europe with an occasional rendezvous when he is able to take a break from his work in India. She dies at an early age. He eventually acquires stature and fortune in the British government Indian Medical Service and remarries. At the age of 50, he presents his research on tropical diseases to peers such as Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, and Joseph Lister. I will leave the rest for the reader to discover. It is an interesting tale.
   To research the book the author, Bill Hayes, participates in anatomy classes and cadaver dissections with medical students, pharmacists, and physical therapists. Interwoven in the story of the two authors is a tour of the human body and the process of learning anatomy through dissection of human cadavers. It involves teamwork and getting to know the different types of people and their feelings of awe as they visualize, touch and feel the parts and understand the workings of the human body. It is an anatomy education for the lay person as well as some insight into the personalities of the different professionals. The other part of researching the book involved working with his partner who assists with the research by sifting through letters, diaries, notes, medical research papers, anatomy manuals, etc. both in Great Britain and in India. The materials are 150 years old and frequently illegible or very difficult to read. Of interest also are the authors' experiences gaining access to archives and dealing with various archivists. There is a much unexpected ending to the book that I will leave the readers to find.
   Personally, as a Physician, I have read Gray's Anatomy and used it in my dissection of a cadaver. That experience made the reading of this book particularly appealing. The book is of educational value to those without a medical background. It also gives insight into the personality types of the different professionals that the author worked with. The three stories of Dr. Gray and Dr. Cartwright, the anatomy classes, and Bill Hayes and his partner's research experiences were cleverly interwoven. The only negative I would say about the book is that the descriptions of Bill Hayes' experiences in anatomy class occasionally became a little long to sustain interest. The stories were fascinating, and I would rate the book as excellent. It was well researched, well written, and very interesting reading. I would recommend it to anyone. It is not a book with the gay theme but has a gay author. It is not written for the gay reader only but is a mainstream book.



5. The Anatomist is a delightfully told story about Henry Gray and Henry (HV) Carter, the author and the illustrator, of the landmark and still in use monumental tome, Gray's "Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical".
   
   I was first introduced to "Gray's Anatomy" while taking Human Anatomy in College on my way to degrees in the psychological sciences. That was many years ago. Years later, my interest in anatomy was again piqued while studying the life and works of Leonardo Da Vinci whom many consider the father of medical illustration.
   
   So it was that when I came upon a copy of "The Anatomist" I grabbed it, sight unseen as it were.
   
   It proved a good read, interesting, full of the history of the study of human anatomy, and as the title purports, Gray's Anatomy in particular. It is largely seen through the eyes of H.V. Carter the illustrator. The historical tract for Carter is extensive. That for Gray himself has been lost.
   
   Hayes takes one not only through the history of anatomy, but manages with some skill to take the reader right into the dissection room where the wonders of the unveiled human body are revealed. Tastefully done this short work is well work reading.

5 comments about Losing My Mind : An Intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer's.

1. For those interested in this subject this book is an engaging and rewarding read. Some may find DeBaggio's anguish a bit excessive, but to me it was a genuine expression of his emotion, not buffered by what is 'proper'.



2. Mr. DeBaggio is so wonderful to have shared his experiences with diagnosis, physicians, others reactions, and his own struggle to understand and deal with what is happening to him. This book brought a new enlightenment to me, newly dealing with a family diagnosis. It is so easy to forget the person who is actually fighting with the disease when it affects so many in the family. His true account of what his feelings are throughout the months it took to write the book has given me more compassion for my mom and the ability to be angry at the disease as the culprit for all of the cruel things that are happening to all of us while we watch the progression. Thank you, Mr. DeBaggio, for opening my eyes to my mom's struggles.



3. 
   At one point in this sad autobiography the author states, "We are foolish, those of us who think we can escape the traps of aging." In Mr. Debaggio's case he found himself caught in one of those traps when he was 57 years old. Healthy and robust, with an optimistic look to the future he one day is told that he is a victim of early onset Alzheimer's disease. The author, who is a talented writer of books on gardening, decides to write a book describing his gradual mental deterioration.
   
   Losing My Mind shifts back and forth between comments on his present condition, excerpts from medical articles, and reminiscences on his past life. This is not an inspirational book. Mr. DeBaggio is depressed, frightened, and filled with despair over his future. Fortunately his writing skills are still intact enough that he can fluently describe his descent into the abyss.
   
   It is not the author alone who suffers. His wife is grief stricken that she is going to gradually lose her life's companion, and she feels totally frustrated in knowing that she can do nothing to help him. His grow son shares her grief, and also worries that he will eventually suffer the same illness.
   
   Increasingly he has to hunt for words to express himself. He raises herbs for a living, and begins to forget their names. He goes to a store to operate a copying machine, and finds he can't figure out how to operate this rather simple device. Writing this book helps him to hold on to our world. He spends a lot of time reminiscing about his childhood, because those memories still are clear in his mind.
   
   Mr. DeBaggio has received, as he puts it, a death sentence, and that thought remains constantly in mind. He courageously tackles each day one by one, but knows he is fighting a losing battle. I am an older person who has a deteriorating condition that gradually causes me increasing pain, so I have a glimmer of what he is going through. What will our status be next month, next year? It is interesting that he mentions that dealing with his diagnosis is one thing, but dealing with some of his well-wishers is often more difficult. There are the people who suggest that if he would just take some sort of sea weed or herbal medicine he would be restored to normal. Folks like that mean well, but their suggestions show a total lack of understanding of the forces at work in his physical condition, and, in a sense, diminish the seriousness of the problem (I've experienced the same thing).
   
   This book is remarkable. It gives us a view of the problems, thoughts and torment that are part of an Alzheimer's sufferer's life. It is anything but a joyous book. It is one that points out how close we live to the threat of ultimate disaster.



4. We can probably all relate to this title, however, this is a road map into the mind of Thomas DeBaggio, who was a professional herb grower and journalist, and how he dealt with his journey into Alzheimers disease. It wanders a bit, as the mind does with this disease, and your heart will go out to him struggling to be his own person.This disease robs you of your person.



5. This book was written by a gentleman with Alzheimer's disease. I had the privilege of hearing him read part of it in person. It is quite moving.