- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; Revised edition (Nov 30 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0822958368
- ISBN-13: 978-0822958369
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.5 x 2.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 562 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #740,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Powerful, poignant, deft, this memoir in itself serves as a masterful argument for organ transplantation as Starzl, a retired pioneer in the field, re-creates the intricate history, the stunning breakthroughs and the tragic failures of the controversial surgery. Born in Iowa in 1926 to a nurse mother and a journalist-science fiction novelist father, Starzl as a young doctor showed himself to be tenacious in perfecting kidney and liver transplants, while overcoming medical infighting and resistant medical and government bureaucracies. Moving from the University of Colorado to the University of Pittsburgh--he established renal transplantation centers at both--he takes us through the advances, from the technique requiring related kidney donors to cadaveric kidney and liver implants to the development of drugs to aid in managing rejection and infection, to programs for finding donors and transporting their organs. Starzl pays tribute to colleagues who either paved the way or helped set the course, while firmly judging those he views as impeders. If he does not lay to rest the philosophical and financial issues surrounding organ transplantation, he succeeds in making us reconsider reservations, reminding us that "All triumphs in medicine are the forgotten sorrows of past days." Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Distinguished surgeon Starzl here spends relatively little time on his patients or even in the operating theater. Instead, he focuses on research funding, the politics of hospitals and medical schools, and the great number of people and scientific advances necessary for achieving successful organ transplants. He also discusses the ethics (and dilemmas) of defining brain death, of human experimentation and randomized clinical trials, and of obtaining donor organs. Though he uses his autobiography to settle a few old scores, Starzl is a good writer, skilled at explaining medical complexities in lay language without oversimplifying. He also gives credit to his nonphysician technicians and other medical colleagues. With the current debates on healthcare costs, "rationing," and perceived scientific irregularities likely to continue, this topical book is recommended for collections with strong medical or scientific/technological interests.
- Mary Chitty, Biotrends Research, Natick, Mass.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Mary Chitty, Biotrends Research, Natick, Mass.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting personal account of recent surgical history,
By Alon Kahana (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Puzzle People: Memoirs Of A Transplant Surgeon (Hardcover)
This book, by transplantation pioneer Dr. Thomas Starzl, is an easy read, a wonderfully inspiring story, and an interesting history of modern surgical medicine. I was compelled to write the review because of several reviews that disparage Dr. Starzl and this book.The book is an inspirational story of a young mid-westerner, with no connections or wealth to help him in his journey, who innovated, struggled, competed, succeeded, and eventually became THE transplant surgeon in the world. The reason Pittsburgh is a transplant mecca is that Dr. Starzl is there. Now, certainly Dr. Starzl's personality has a reputation that casts him in a negative light - I don't know the man, but I suspect that great succeess also breeds great resentments. Whatever his failings are, his contributions are beyond dispute. Dr. Starzl's ability as a surgeon has also been questioned. Again, I have never operated with him, but the success of his transplant program speaks for itself. Also, if his only contribution was to innovate and educate a generation of transplant surgeons, then that by itself would be a fine legacy. Finally, some reviews bash the book, so here goes my actual book review: The book is an extremely personal account, with all the beauty and failings that are an inherent part of such a personal endeavor. Yes, he settles old scores. Yes, he portrays himself as the greatest man on earth. Yes he does not dwell on important social and ethical issues that confront modern surgery. However, these "problems" with the book are also what makes this book such a wonderful read - it is really like a conversation with a great man. He lets you in on his most secret fears (he hates operating), his most painful memories (his father's health and death, his failed family life, his second wife's history of physical abuse), his greatest triumphs (successful liver transplantations), his greatest failures (failed surgeries, inability to get along with colleagues and superiors in academia, his family/children). This is such a personal account that any other perspective on it completely misses the point. Dr. Starzl pours his heart out, which is what makes this book so interesting. I've recently read the autobiography of Francis Moore, the great chair of Surgery at Harvard. It is such a boring book ! It offers nothing personal, nothing intimate, just a dry listing of accomplishments and people who were involved in them. One learns more about Dr. Moore from Dr. Starzl's book than from his own autobiography. In conclusion, this is a very captivating account of a personal journey. For all his failings, Dr. Starzl is not afraid to reveal himself, and the result is a compelling and inspirational book that most readers will thoroughly enjoy.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Man with a heart, a real heart.,
By Grace Lee (Hong Kong SAR PRC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Puzzle People: Memoirs Of A Transplant Surgeon (Hardcover)
Dr. Starzl saves lifes not only with his skills, but with a real heart. A genuine human being.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling at times,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Puzzle People: Memoirs Of A Transplant Surgeon (Hardcover)
The author disparages several people in this book, including those who are not alive to defend themselves. This reflects more negatively on the author than on the persons he criticizes. Nonetheless, the book is compelling at times, particularly where the author talks about the patients he has helped, or those he has tried to help but who did not survive. The author was and is clearly a major figure in a field which has done much to prolong and improve the lives of many people. If the book accomplishes nothing else, hopefully it will encourage its readers to provide for the donation of their organs after death, or those of their loved ones.
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