Mortal Lessons
Notes on the Art of Surgery
1st Edition
Published on 1. November 2017
224 pages
978-0-547-54233-1 (ISBN)
Description
A surgeon shares true stories of life, death, and the human body in an essay collection that "will nail you to your chair" (
Saturday Review).
With settings ranging from the operating theater to a Korean ambulance, and topics as varied as the disposition of a corpse and the author's own childhood, these nineteen captivating, wry, and intimate vignettes offer a poignant examination of health, humanity, and, of course, mortality. Sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous, the essays offer a physician's viewpoint that goes beyond the medical to also consider the most meaningful issues and questions we face, whether as doctors or patients, cared for or caregiver.
Praised by Kirkus Reviews as "an impressive display of knowledge and art, magic and mystery," Mortal Lessons is a classic reflection on the human body and the human experience, and will resonate with readers for generations to come.
With settings ranging from the operating theater to a Korean ambulance, and topics as varied as the disposition of a corpse and the author's own childhood, these nineteen captivating, wry, and intimate vignettes offer a poignant examination of health, humanity, and, of course, mortality. Sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous, the essays offer a physician's viewpoint that goes beyond the medical to also consider the most meaningful issues and questions we face, whether as doctors or patients, cared for or caregiver.
Praised by Kirkus Reviews as "an impressive display of knowledge and art, magic and mystery," Mortal Lessons is a classic reflection on the human body and the human experience, and will resonate with readers for generations to come.
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Richard Selzer
Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery
Book
04/1996
Thomson Learning
€14.50
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Person
Richard Selzer (1928-2016) was for many years a surgeon practicing in New Haven, Connecticut, where he was also on the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine. He was born in Troy, New York, and graduated from Union College, Albany Medical College, and the Surgical Training Program of Yale University. In 1975, he won the National Magazine Award for his essays on medicine. Dr. Selzer's books include
Letters to a Young Doctor,
Mortal Lessons,
Down from Troy,
Imagine a Woman and Other Tales, and
Raising the Dead.
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Contents
- Frontispiece
- Dedication
- Copyright
- Preface
- I. THE ART OF SURGERY
- THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE SOUL
- THE SURGEON AS PRIEST
- LESSONS FROM THE ART
- II. THE BODY
- BONE
- LIVER
- STONE
- THE KNIFE
- SKIN
- THE BELLY
- THE CORPSE
- III. ESSAYS
- BALD!
- SMOKING
- ABORTION
- THE TWELVE SPHERES
- IV. DOWN FROM TROY
- DOWN FROM TROY
- CAR SICKNESS
- LONGFELLOW, VIRGIL, AND ME
- JACOB STREET
- BIRDWATCHING
- Picture Credits
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
