A New York Times BestsellerShortlisted for both the Guardian First Book Prize and the Costa Book AwardLonglisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-FictionA Finalist for the Pol Roger Duff Cooper PrizeA Finalist for the Wellcome Book PrizeA Financial Times Best Book of the YearAn Economist Best Book of the YearA Washington Post Notable Book of the YearWhat is it like to be a brain surgeon? How … Notable Book of the Year
What is it like to be a brain surgeon? How does it feel to hold someone’s life in your hands, to cut into the stuff that creates thought, feeling, and reason? How do you live with the consequences of performing a potentially lifesaving operation when it all goes wrong?
In neurosurgery, more than in any other branch of medicine, the doctor’s oath to “do no harm” holds a bitter irony. Operations on the brain carry grave risks. Every day, leading neurosurgeon Henry Marsh must make agonizing decisions, often in the face of great urgency and uncertainty.
If you believe that brain surgery is a precise and exquisite craft, practiced by calm and detached doctors, this gripping, brutally honest account will make you think again. With astonishing compassion and candor, Marsh reveals the fierce joy of operating, the profoundly moving triumphs, the harrowing disasters, the haunting regrets, and the moments of black humor that characterize a brain surgeon’s life.
Do No Harm provides unforgettable insight into the countless human dramas that take place in a busy modern hospital. Above all, it is a lesson in the need for hope when faced with life’s most difficult decisions.
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I found this book fascinating. An insight into the mind of a neurosurgeon. Also a look at the British National Health Service which I know very little about. Dr. Henry Marsh’s comes across as many would expect of a surgeon with being a little difficult but usually with great regard for his patients. I loved the fact that he washed the hair after surgery for his female patients. I had never really thought about the mess that brain surgery must cause. This simple act of kindness for the female who has had to have part of her head shaved but at least is now clean and can feel better about the way she looks
Having worked in hospitals this was a fascinating book, thrilling and makes you feel like you were stood in the theatres and clinic rooms witnessing his stories first hand. I love this book and couldn’t put it down.
I’ve never thought much of the mechanics of brain surgery. Why would I? I’m no doctor and I’ve been lucky to never had to deal with the ordeal of either myself or a loved one needing brain surgery. So it was on a whim that I decided to read this book, and I’m so happy that I did. Dr. Marsh is a genius at his craft and the way he describes the complexities and realities of brain surgery left me on the edge of my seat. His description of operating on an aneurysm had me holding my breath. I liked that Dr. Marsh did not shy from discussing the difficulties of making a decision on whether or not a patient should have a surgery, and the amount of pressure surgeons feel before going into surgery.
Since I have this book in both book and audiobook, I was able to both read and listen to the book, which was what I did. I found I liked the book in both formats. The writing is good and easy to read, plus the narration was smooth and easy to follow.
Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars. This was a wonderful look into the life and craft of neurosurgeon. I learned a lot about the human brain as well as the workings of surgery room. I highly recommend this book in either book or audio format.
I would recommend this book for reading if you like medical tales. This book follows an English neurosurgeon and his cases. If found it to be realistic and informative. The only downside is that since it was written by an English doctor all references was to their medical system which is different than in the US.
I find this novel tp be very entertaining as well as informative.The author writes very well and in a manner that does not let the subject matter overwhelm the reader.
Not very interesting
A well-written memoir from a neuro-surgeon; sounds boring and complex…right? Not at all: easy to follow the technical parts; incredibly informative as to what it is like to hold someone’s life in you hands; emotional as it related to how he deals with the successes and failures; and inspirational as to what science and technology brings to the operating theater in the western world. Also an eye-opening view of what the same profession and technology is like in the former Soviet Union (Ukraine). Well worth the time to read.
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Although the author is a neurosurgeon he is down to earth and sees things as they are and not from a pedestal. He often discusses his mistakes and and superficially presents some of his successes. The subtext is government run health care hires quality people but is inefficient and provides few hospital amenities for patients. I have been recommending this book to my friends.
Don’t be a neurosurgeon.
This was written by a brain surgeon and yes, it is about brain surgery. The early chapters are interesting and then it gets rather repetitive.
Henry Marsh gives us the surgeon’s perspective on his craft, which, doubtless, many of us never consider. This informative yet touching intertwining of tragedy and happy endings will make you think next time you have a serious face to face discussion with your health provider. You will come to understand the physician’s need to preserve their own inner strength and, if possible, peace of mind, while they deal with other people’s life threatening illnesses and deaths. This book was as riveting as any novel, and made even more intriguing by the knowledge that the main characters are all real flesh and blood, people who have had to face the things that we all fear most. And right in the trenches with the was their surgeon.
An amazing view of what really is one of the most fascinating but difficult job in the world.