THE TOP 10 BOOKS (NON-TEXTBOOKS) WRITTEN BY MDs

THE ANESTHESIA CONSULTANT
THE ANESTHESIA CONSULTANT
Latest posts by THE ANESTHESIA CONSULTANT (see all)

  1. THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1880s – 1890s), by Arthur Conan Doyle. Few people are aware that Conan Doyle was a physician in England. Doyle created one of the most popular and enduring characters in literature when he dreamed up detective Sherlock Holmes. Multiple books and movies featured the master sleuth solving crimes with a paucity of apparent clues. Holmes is known for the famous quote, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” The fact that Holmes’ s sidekick Dr. Watson (who can forget “elementary, my dear Watson”) was a medical doctor was a nod to the author’s background as a physician. If you haven’t read the original Sherlock Holmes stories, proceed to your local library or to Amazon ASAP for some unforgettable entertainment.

  1. JURASSIC PARK (1990), by Michael Crichton. Harvard Medical School graduate Crichton could not have predicted or imagined the billion-dollar industry he spawned when he wrote this tale of centuries-old dinosaur DNA preserved in amber. The reach of the Jurassic Park movies and sequels is broad. It’s hard to imagine anyone on earth who hasn’t heard of or seen some sample of the franchise. The original Jurassic Park film in 1993, directed by Steven Spielberg, marked the introduction of computer-aided graphics into movies. Who can forget the initial sighting of the living, breathing brontosaurus munching in the valley of Crichton’s tropical island? In a past era when Americans went to movie theaters instead of watching streamed movies on flatscreens at home, I bought a ticket two days in advance to witness opening night of Jurassic Park in 1993, and at the time it was money well spent.

  1. CUTTING FOR STONE (2009), by Abraham Verghese. Dr. Verghese, a current Stanford faculty member in internal medicine, published this novel of twin brothers who were orphaned because of their mother’s death at their birth. The brothers grew up in Ethiopia, traveled disparate paths in Ethiopia and America, and were then reunited at the story’s conclusion. Cutting for Stone was on The New York Times Bestseller List for over two years, an astounding feat. While thrillers like Jurassic Park feature page-turning plots, the literary fiction Cutting for Stone examines the human predicament, and will be read and analyzed for decades to come. Cutting for Stone isn’t light reading—it took me over a year to finish the book—but for serious readers of serious books, this is a classic.

  1. THE KITE RUNNER (2003), by Khaled Hosseini. Dr. Hosseini is a physician living in the San Francisco Bay Area who is of Afghani-American descent. The Kite Runner is another example of literary fiction, a book which illuminates the plight of growing up in Afghanistan under the influence of the Taliban. The Kite Runner was developed into a successful film in 2007, which made $73.2 million on a budget of $20 million. There are some squeamish scenes of abuse in the novel, but by the conclusion the reader is left with a new understanding of Afghani culture in this coming-of-age novel set in a culture and land few readers know anything about.

  1. THE HOUSE OF GOD (1978), by Samuel Shem. The House of God is a fine example of medical satire. Samual Shem is a pseudonym for Harvard physician Dr. Stephen Bergman. The novel describes the misadventures of a group of internal medicine interns at the fictional House of God hospital in Boston, a send-up of the actual Beth Isreal Hospital in Boston. I read this book just prior to beginning my internship in 1980, and the vibe, the characters, the intern jargon, and the conclusion were spot on describing the medical training of that era. Who can forget The Fat Man, The Fish, buffing the chart, turfing, the patients voicing “PURRTY GUD” or “Go avay,” and the eventual exodus from internal medicine to the non-patient-care specialties (Gas, Rays, Derm, Path, Eyes, and Psych), i.e. anesthesia, radiology, dermatology, pathology, ophthalmology, and psychiatry at the end of the book?

  1. THE TENNIS PARTNER—nonfiction (1999), by Abraham Verghese. Dr. Verghese’s factual account of his interaction with his drug-addicted tennis partner/physician friend is a unique chronology of a wasted life that is tragic, realistic, and entertaining. Once again, Verghese’s book serves as a commentary on the challenges of being human in a difficult world.

  1. WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR—nonfiction (2016), by Paul Kalanithi. This was a memoir written by a brilliant and talented Stanford neurosurgery resident who was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer and died. His prose is excellent, but it’s the fact that this learned physician recorded his feelings and his path as his life faded from him make this a rare somber look at the end of life.

  1. THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1969), by Michael Crichton. Crichton scores the Top 10 list twice, and for good reason. The Andromeda Strain was his first breakthrough novel in the genre he invented—the medical thriller. The premise: a meteor lands on earth carrying a lethal new germ which infects and terrorizes a small town. Medical doctors/detectives arrive on the scene to make a diagnosis and work on discovering a workable treatment. The Andromeda Strain was adapted into a blockbuster movie in 1971, earning $12.4 million on production costs of only $6.5 million. I read the book more than once and saw the movie multiple times. The plot is plausible nearly 60 years after publication of the novel.

  1. COMPLICATIONS: A SURGEON’S NOTES ON AN IMPERFECT SCIENCE—nonfiction (2002), by Atul Gawande. Dr. Gawande, a Harvard surgeon who worked 110 hours per week during residency, wrote about actual cases he’d experienced, with themes including the fallibility of doctors, the pressure that young doctors work under, and the potential for human error. This was the first of Dr. Gawande’s multiple books on the art and science of medicine. He’s a talented writer and storyteller.

  1. COMA (1977), by Robin Cook. Harvard Medical School graduate Robin Cook’s novel Coma was one of the first medical thrillers and sold millions of copies. The plot featured multiple surgical patients failing to wake up after routine procedures. Two doctors uncover clues to solve the mystery of why the anesthetics were fatal. In 1978, Coma was adapted into a successful movie starring Michael Douglas. Coma descended to #10 on this list of best books because—after the invention of the pulse oximeter in the 1980s–the plot and circumstances of the novel could never happen in today’s medical world.

This concludes The Anesthesia Consultant Top 10 List of non-textbooks written by physicians. Medical doctors are uniquely qualified to write, both because of their prolonged education and their interaction with patients and the diseases that challenge them.

We’re living in an era in which people are reading fewer books, and instead are watching social media, videos, streaming shows, and watching movies. Less than 20% of American teenagers report reading a book, magazine, or newspaper daily for pleasure. More than 80% say they use social media every day.

All around the world, reading is less popular than ever. According to Atlantic staff writer Rose Horowitch, humanity is headed into what she calls “a post-literate era.” She writes, “In America, the share of people who read a book or even an article on any given day has declined by 40% in the past two decades.”

The easy access to video content via social media, cellphones, the Internet, or streaming platforms makes watching easier than doing the “work” of reading.

Nonetheless, most streaming shows or movies originate as books. Books are still our window to the world, enabling the imagination of the reader to create and visualize new realities.

In the 21st Century, access to books and reading has never been easier. I use the Libby app regularly to access my local public library. One can check out books in seconds without making a physical journey to the library, and read them on an iPad. The Libby app also grants access to thousands of audiobooks which can be enjoyed through your cellphone while driving a car, hiking, running, or doing errands.

Don’t give up on reading. I highly recommend each of the books on the Top 10 list above.

Happy reading to you.

*

*

The most popular posts for laypeople on The Anesthesia Consultant include: How Long Will It Take To Wake Up From General Anesthesia? Why Did Take Me So Long To Wake From General Anesthesia? Will I Have a Breathing Tube During Anesthesia?What Are the Common Anesthesia Medications? How Safe is Anesthesia in the 21st Century? Will I Be Nauseated After General Anesthesia? What Are the Anesthesia Risks For Children?

The most popular posts for anesthesia professionals on The Anesthesia Consultant  include: 10 Trends for the Future of Anesthesia Should You Cancel Anesthesia for a Potassium Level of 3.6? 12 Important Things to Know as You Near the End of Your Anesthesia Training Should You Cancel Surgery For a Blood Pressure = 170/99?Advice For Passing the Anesthesia Oral Board Exams What Personal Characteristics are Necessary to Become a Successful Anesthesiologist?

READ ABOUT RICK NOVAK’S FICTION WRITING AT RICK NOVAK.COM

RICK NOVAK’S BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.COM

Leave a Reply