Overview

Longlisted for both the Guardian First Book Award and the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, Do No Harm ranks alongside the work of Atul Gawande, Jerome Groopman, and Oliver Sacks. With compassion and candor, leading neurosurgeon Henry 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. If you believe that brain surgery is a precise and exquisite craft, practiced by calm and detached surgeons, this gripping, brutally honest account will make you think again. Henry Marsh studied medicine at the Royal Free Hospital in London, became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1984 and was appointed Consultant Neurosurgeon at Atkinson Morley's/St George's Hospital in London in 1987. He has been the subject of two major documentary films, Your Life in Their Hands, which won the Royal Television Society Gold Medal, and The English Surgeon, which won an Emmy. He was made a CBE in 2010. He is married to the anthropologist and writer Kate Fox.

Full Product Details

9781665154420

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""A surprising page-turner...[a] fascinating blend of derring-do and humble pie...Marsh's prose is elegant and seasoned, with no false bravado...Marsh's gift for words helps him share his sense of wonder with his readers."" -- ""Seattle Times"" ""Delivers plenty of hospital drama. Yet what sticks with you are the moments when the lens flips and...you're gaining insight into life itself."" -- ""Wall Street Journal"" ""His love for brain surgery and his patients shines through, but the specialty--shrouded in secrecy and mystique when he entered it--has now firmly had the rug pulled out from under it. We should thank Henry Marsh for that."" -- ""Times (London)"" ""Jim Barclay's authoritative British-accented narration is befitting for the purveyor of delicate and exacting medical procedures."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""Marsh reveals both a 'weary and knowing skepticism' and a striking determination to help the desperately ill despite the uncertainties...This thoughtful doctor provides a highly personal and fascinating look inside the elite world of neurosurgery, appraising both its amazing successes as well as its sobering failures."" -- ""Publishers Weekly (starred review)"" ""One of the best books ever about a life in medicine, Do No Harm boldly and gracefully exposes the vulnerability and painful privilege of being a physician."" -- ""Booklist (starred review)"" ""Riveting...[Marsh] gives us an extraordinarily intimate, compassionate, and sometimes frightening understanding of his vocation."" -- "" New York Times"""

A surprising page-turner...[a] fascinating blend of derring-do and humble pie...Marsh's prose is elegant and seasoned, with no false bravado...Marsh's gift for words helps him share his sense of wonder with his readers. -- Seattle Times Delivers plenty of hospital drama. Yet what sticks with you are the moments when the lens flips and...you're gaining insight into life itself. -- Wall Street Journal His love for brain surgery and his patients shines through, but the specialty--shrouded in secrecy and mystique when he entered it--has now firmly had the rug pulled out from under it. We should thank Henry Marsh for that. -- Times (London) Jim Barclay's authoritative British-accented narration is befitting for the purveyor of delicate and exacting medical procedures. -- AudioFile Marsh reveals both a 'weary and knowing skepticism' and a striking determination to help the desperately ill despite the uncertainties...This thoughtful doctor provides a highly personal and fascinating look inside the elite world of neurosurgery, appraising both its amazing successes as well as its sobering failures. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) One of the best books ever about a life in medicine, Do No Harm boldly and gracefully exposes the vulnerability and painful privilege of being a physician. -- Booklist (starred review) Riveting...[Marsh] gives us an extraordinarily intimate, compassionate, and sometimes frightening understanding of his vocation. -- New York Times

Author Information

Jim Barley has worked as an actor, stand-up comedian, and theater performer for over forty years. He starred in the title role of the 1980s BBC comedy-drama Jossy's Giant and continues to work in comedy at the Comedy Store, the Edinburgh festival, and other venues. Henry Marsh studied medicine at the Royal Free Hospital in London, became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1984, and was appointed consultant neurosurgeon at Atkinson Morley's/St George's Hospital in London in 1987. He has been the subject of two major documentary films, Your Life in Their Hands, which won the Royal Television Society Gold Medal, and The English Surgeon, which won an Emmy. He is married to the anthropologist and writer Kate Fox.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available