The Matter of the Heart: A History of the Heart in Eleven Operations - Couverture rigide

Morris, Thomas

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1847923917 ISBN 13 : 9781847923912

Editeur : Bodley Head, 2017

Synopsis

‘Thrilling… The “dizzying” story of heart surgery is every bit as important as that of the nuclear, computer or rocket ages. And now it has been given the history it deserves’ Sunday Times


For thousands of years the human heart remained the deepest of mysteries; both home to the soul and an organ too complex to touch, let alone operate on.

Then, in the late nineteenth century, medics began going where no one had dared go before. The following decades saw the mysteries of the heart exposed, thanks to pioneering surgeons, brave patients and even sacrificial dogs.

In eleven landmark operations, Thomas Morris tells us stories of triumph, reckless bravery, swaggering arrogance, jealousy and rivalry, and incredible ingenuity: the trail-blazing ‘blue baby’ procedure that transformed wheezing infants into pink, healthy children; the first human heart transplant, which made headline news around the globe. And yet the heart still feels sacred: just before the operation to fit one of the first artificial hearts, the patient’s wife asked the surgeon if he would still be able to love her.

The Matter of the Heart gives us a view over the surgeon’s shoulder, showing us the heart’s inner workings and failings. It describes both a human story and a history of risk-taking that has ultimately saved millions of lives.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Thomas Morris is a writer and historian. His first book, The Matter of the Heart, a critically-acclaimed history of heart surgery, was published in 2017 and won an RSL Jerwood Award for non-fiction. His second, The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth, was chosen by Mental Floss as one of the best books of 2018. He was previously a BBC radio producer for 18 years, and his freelance journalism has appeared in publications including The Times, The Lancet and the TLS.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Bodley Head
• Date d'édition: 2017
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1847923917
• ISBN 13: 9781847923912
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 432
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible