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Breakthrough!: How Three People Saved Blue Babies and Changed Medicine Forever by Jim Murphy
alboyer6's review against another edition
3.0
Good book. I was really interested in reading this title and was satisfied just not wowed. Having just read the adult book about Henrietta Lacks, this title was another interesting perspective on John Hopkins at the same time. The only quibble I would have is it seemed to end abruptly. Otherwise good book.
molly_dettmann's review against another edition
4.0
4.5, what a fascinating read about the first blue baby surgery that doubles as an inspiring story about a man whose name I have never heard, but so tributes so much to the medical field. Bravo! It was well-paced and could easily be read and understood by upper elementary/middle school students.
sc104906's review against another edition
3.0
This book discusses the three doctors imperative to the surgical techniques created to save children from the blue baby defect. Children with hearts who could not oxygenate their blood properly and caused blue limbs. The striving force behind these techniques was the efforts of Vivien Thomas. Historical Alfred Blalock receives the credit for this technique because he actually performed the first surgery and because he was white. The author discusses the racial history in America and the injustices African Americans received because of the cultural climate. Helen Taussig played an important role in the development of these techniques, but was also forced into the background because of her gender. Murphy works to tell the real and true story.
The author doesn’t mince words. He puts it all out there. Including several graphic pictures of a lynching and surgeries. I feel that more time should have been spent on Thomas. I also feel angry about the injustices he had to go through in his life. This book was super interesting and quick. However, afterward I just felt mad and in need of something more.
The author doesn’t mince words. He puts it all out there. Including several graphic pictures of a lynching and surgeries. I feel that more time should have been spent on Thomas. I also feel angry about the injustices he had to go through in his life. This book was super interesting and quick. However, afterward I just felt mad and in need of something more.
misspentdays's review against another edition
4.0
Jim Murphy is known for writing well-researched and highly readable non-fiction for young adults and Breakthrough upholds his reputation. Medical history can be quite dry, but Murphy brings out the humanity in this particular piece of history, making it easy to see why he has been honored by the Newbery, Sibert, and National Book Award committees over his career.
The story begins with Vivien Thomas, an intelligent and hard-working Aftrican-American teen, who has worked through out his school days to save up money for college. Acceptance to Tennessee State College was his first step in pursuing his dream of becoming a doctor, but just as he was ready to leave for school, the 1929 economic collapse caused the bank holding his life savings to fail—and also meant that there were no jobs in construction for him to work in order to build up his savings again. A friend gave him a lead on a research assistant job at Vanderbilt University, which is where he met Dr. Alfred Blalock.
Dr. Blalock, while leading a relatively privileged life was not without his own struggles, some brought on by his own actions and others by illness. However, his response to the struggles was to want to be great in his position. He recognized in Thomas an intelligent man who could fulfill the relatively high demands of the research job.
These two became a very effective research team studying the treatment of medical shock, which still killed many people at the time. As WWII began to heat up, the team moved from Vandebilt to Johns Hopkins to continue their research on shock.
It is at Johns Hopkins that story shifts into that of the blue babies, with introduction of Dr. Helen Taussig. Taussig had fought dyslexia to make it to medical school, in addition to prejudices against female doctors. At the time many medical schools would not accept women—or would allow them to study medicine, but not receive a degree. She was in charge of the pediatric heart clinic at Johns Hopkins.
Breakthrough sets all of this in historical context, showing the many ways the story of surgery on tiny Eileen Saxon is not only a breakthrough moment in medical history- it reflects modern American history as well. It also provides stellar examples of hard work, grit, and the power of failure. (A key piece of the blue baby puzzle had been unknowingly solved years before though the failure of another experiment.) It is also an interesting look at the way science is applied in the “real world”.
The main story itself comes it at 99 pages, although there 20 additional pages of notes and citations. The book is filled with pictures of the key players, illustrations of their work, and even copies of their post-surgical notes and newspaper articles. The set-up and length makes this a great non-fiction choice for middle schoolers or as a “quick pick” for older students.
Reading about the ways this diverse team came together to change the course of medical history and the key role each person played was not only informative, but also interesting. Murphy doesn’t leave the reader hanging, providing information on what happened with the members of the team in later years, making for a satisfying read.
The story begins with Vivien Thomas, an intelligent and hard-working Aftrican-American teen, who has worked through out his school days to save up money for college. Acceptance to Tennessee State College was his first step in pursuing his dream of becoming a doctor, but just as he was ready to leave for school, the 1929 economic collapse caused the bank holding his life savings to fail—and also meant that there were no jobs in construction for him to work in order to build up his savings again. A friend gave him a lead on a research assistant job at Vanderbilt University, which is where he met Dr. Alfred Blalock.
Dr. Blalock, while leading a relatively privileged life was not without his own struggles, some brought on by his own actions and others by illness. However, his response to the struggles was to want to be great in his position. He recognized in Thomas an intelligent man who could fulfill the relatively high demands of the research job.
These two became a very effective research team studying the treatment of medical shock, which still killed many people at the time. As WWII began to heat up, the team moved from Vandebilt to Johns Hopkins to continue their research on shock.
It is at Johns Hopkins that story shifts into that of the blue babies, with introduction of Dr. Helen Taussig. Taussig had fought dyslexia to make it to medical school, in addition to prejudices against female doctors. At the time many medical schools would not accept women—or would allow them to study medicine, but not receive a degree. She was in charge of the pediatric heart clinic at Johns Hopkins.
Breakthrough sets all of this in historical context, showing the many ways the story of surgery on tiny Eileen Saxon is not only a breakthrough moment in medical history- it reflects modern American history as well. It also provides stellar examples of hard work, grit, and the power of failure. (A key piece of the blue baby puzzle had been unknowingly solved years before though the failure of another experiment.) It is also an interesting look at the way science is applied in the “real world”.
The main story itself comes it at 99 pages, although there 20 additional pages of notes and citations. The book is filled with pictures of the key players, illustrations of their work, and even copies of their post-surgical notes and newspaper articles. The set-up and length makes this a great non-fiction choice for middle schoolers or as a “quick pick” for older students.
Reading about the ways this diverse team came together to change the course of medical history and the key role each person played was not only informative, but also interesting. Murphy doesn’t leave the reader hanging, providing information on what happened with the members of the team in later years, making for a satisfying read.
abigailbat's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, well, first of all, I really had no idea that "blue babies" (children born with congenital heart defects) were so common. And then I read this interesting book about the history of pediatric cardiac surgery and an African American man and a woman who were instrumental in pioneering this new type of surgery (okay, a white man was the surgeon who actually performed the surgeries, but this book makes the argument that he could/would not have done it without either of them).
What I really liked about is that it showed the hard work, the failures that lead to eventual success. Since small tools to work on small infant organs did not exist, Vivien Thomas actually created them, cutting down larger needles to make needles that would work, etc. This is a biography and a microhistory that applauds the importance of inventiveness and the scientific method and shows what a difference it made (an immediate, life-saving difference to kids who had this surgery).
I do wish that there had been more diagrams to show exactly how the surgery was done. Although it's described in the text, it was described in a highly medical way that was hard for me to follow. I guess that's not the most important part of the book, but it did leave me with questions.
I would hand this to middle school and high school readers who are interested in medical history, science, and invention.
What I really liked about is that it showed the hard work, the failures that lead to eventual success. Since small tools to work on small infant organs did not exist, Vivien Thomas actually created them, cutting down larger needles to make needles that would work, etc. This is a biography and a microhistory that applauds the importance of inventiveness and the scientific method and shows what a difference it made (an immediate, life-saving difference to kids who had this surgery).
I do wish that there had been more diagrams to show exactly how the surgery was done. Although it's described in the text, it was described in a highly medical way that was hard for me to follow. I guess that's not the most important part of the book, but it did leave me with questions.
I would hand this to middle school and high school readers who are interested in medical history, science, and invention.
amdame1's review against another edition
4.0
In the 1940's, many babies were dying from a lack of oxygen because something was wrong with the valves of their hearts. They were called blue babies because of the color of their skin. Several people set out to see if they develop a surgical procedure to save these babies' lives. One of them was a black man who wanted to be a doctor but couldn't afford college; many people thought he was a janitor, even though he was the one that perfected the procedure in dogs and had to supervise the white doctor who did the first operation on a baby. The third person was a woman who had brought the plight of the blue babies to their attention.
Well told and compelling. Also quite disturbing the racism that almost prevented this important medical advancement. Includes many primary source photographs, a thorough source note section, a bibliography, and index.
Well told and compelling. Also quite disturbing the racism that almost prevented this important medical advancement. Includes many primary source photographs, a thorough source note section, a bibliography, and index.
thisgrrlreads's review against another edition
4.0
Jim Murphy is always phenomenal. I read a digital ARC of this book and I can't wait to get my hands on the final copy with all of the photos--though I had quite a few included. This was less of a mystery than some of his other books and more of an incredible story that is almost miraculous. He does not shy away from discussing racism and sexism, which was rampant. The notes were well done and great for kids who might be interested in some of the real nuances of the story.