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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
Brain surgery is messed up. We're pretty much scrabbling around blind in there. The book was entertaining, kind of, but a tad disjointed. It could have used an overarching narrative and a coherent story, rather than just a collection of anecdotes. This guy is funny, and clever, and the narrator was perfectly posh, but it just didn't grab me quite the way I would have wanted it to. Ah well.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
After first reading his second book ‘Admissions’ I gave his bestseller a read and loved it. Mr Marsh has had a remarkable career as a neurosurgeon and recounts several of his interactions with patients, their families and explains his honest feelings during each situation. His mantra is that doctors are only human. As such they make mistakes but also have feelings that they often try to mask for the good of the patient. Some of the cases are incredibly sad, others uplifting and some just infuriating, especially the ones about the seemingly senseless bureaucracy of the NHS.
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
An excellent medical memoir. Beautifully written with insight offered into the work of a neurosurgeon. I found some of the chapters left me in a state of nervous energy unable to sleep
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Fantastic, honest memoir about the human experience of being a surgeon. I don't think this book could have been published by an American physician. Due to our litigious healthcare system, it would be career and legal suicide to ever admit a mistake in the way Henry Marsh does multiple times in this book. And yet, American physicians are just as fallable as British ones. I think this stark honesty is something we desperately need in the American healthcare system.
Marsh is a fantastic writer, and you can feel his passion for his craft through his writing. Definitely recommend.
5/5
Marsh is a fantastic writer, and you can feel his passion for his craft through his writing. Definitely recommend.
5/5
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Each chapter is titled after one specific medical condition and Henry Marsh then tells the story of a patient he has treated with that condition. He is raw and honest in his accounts and does not shy away from admitting his faults and failures. However, he does it in a way that does not undermine his authority as a surgeon, perhaps this is due to the humble and awe-inspiring way he regards his work. He does not try to hide or excuse the conditions the patients are treated under and how the system does not seem to favour them. In fact, he criticises the politics of it all and how the patients should always be put before economical gain several times. Still, this is not the main focus of the book, which I like because it reflects that this is not his main focus; he does not seem interested in the politics but is rather driven by pure passion and wonder. His awe of the human mind and brain is weaved through every part of the book and this is what makes it fascinating to read. He is doing what he loves despite the personal and moral sacrifices he seems to have made and all of the burdens he bears, and that is my ultimate take away.