Overview

Few of the great stories of medicine are as palpably dramatic as the advent of open heart surgery, yet, until now, no one has brought to life all of the thrilling specifics of this triumph. G. Wayne Miller has dramatically and meticulously reconstructed the amazing true story of how a group of renegade Minnesota surgeons, led by Dr. Walt Lillehei, accomplished what many experts considered to be an impossible feat: he opened the heart, repaired fatal defects, and made the miraculous routine. Drawing on archival research and exclusive interviews with Lillehei and legendary pioneers such as Michael DeBakey and Christian Barnard, Miller takes readers into the lives of these brave doctors and patients as they risked reputations and lives to revolutionize health care.

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9780786191000

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Reviews

""King of Hearts is breathless reading."" -- ""Amazon.com, editorial review"" ""Could not have come at a more opportune time."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" ""Cullen heightens the drama through good pacing and inflections that are breathtakingly exhilarating at appropriate moments. Even listeners uninterested in medical history will find themselves entranced."" -- ""Booklist"" ""Fast-paced and scrupulously researched."" -- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""Highly recommended for all readers."" -- ""Library Journal"" ""The reader's restraint from characterization or drama, while retaining the power of the gripping story, appropriately commands the listener's fascination up to the sad, almost operatic, ending."" -- ""AudioFile""

Author Information

G. Wayne Miller is one of the most acclaimed journalists in New England. He is a staff writer at the Providence Journal, where he has won numerous journalism awards. He is also the author of a novel, Thunder Rise, and a number of highly acclaimed nonfiction books. He lives in Rhode Island and can be reached at www.gwaynemiller.com. Patrick Cullen (a.k.a. John Lescault), a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.

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