As I entered retirement my wife Louise encouraged me to consider writing a book as a way to have at least a modest interest in some reasonable activity. Accordingly, after mulling over possible topics I set to work on a book principally about the origin and development of my specialty of thoracic surgery, more precisely general thoracic surgery. General thoracic surgery is a subspecialty within Thoracic Surgery, the other subspecialty being cardiac surgery. Several years on a book has been hatched as titled above. Written for the general reader, it is more a tale than a formal history with stories of the pioneer surgeons in and out of the operating room. These early surgeons had to overcome cultural and religious  obstacles, work through rudimentary understanding of anatomy and physiology, and deal with rudimentary or even non-existent medical knowledge. As I progressed I realized that a reader might be interested in also knowing of more recent times. Where did early developments lead? What is life like for thoracic surgeons in more recent times. Accordingly, I added my own story from medical school through residency and an academic career (I was a faculty member of several medical schools.) to fill that gap.

So I am pleased to say Louise’s idea and continued encouragement have borne fruit.

If you think this might interest you, you can purchase it here