MOVIE SEARCH

SUB SECTIONS

DVD QUICK LINKS

New Releases

BD QUICK LINKS

HD QUICK LINKS

MY ACCOUNT

SITE MATTERS

EXTRA! EXTRA!

King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery Paperback

:: Three Rivers Press :: Released: 2000-02-01

Grab Poster:

Buy King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery Posters

Lowest Prices Online:
	$15.98	In Stock
Rent King of Hearts: The True Story... Paperback:

King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery Summary Array

Few Of The Great Stories Of Medicine Are As Palpably Dramatic As The Invention Of Open-heart Surgery, Yet, Until Now, No Journalist Has Ever Brought All Of The Thrilling Specifics Of This Triumph To Life.

this Is The Story Of The Surgeon Many Call The Father Of Open-heart Surgery, Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, Who, Along With Colleagues At University Hospital In Minneapolis And A Small Band Of Pioneers Elsewhere, Accomplished What Many Experts Considered To Be An Impossible Feat: He Opened The Heart, Repaired Fatal Defects, And Made The Miraculous Routine.

acclaimed Author G. Wayne Miller Draws On Archival Research And Exclusive Interviews With Lillehei And Legendary Pioneers Such As Michael Debakey And Christiaan Barnard, Taking Readers Into The Lives Of These Doctors And Their Patients As They Progress Toward Their Landmark Achievement. In The Tradition Of Works By Richard Rhodes And Tracy Kidder, king Of Hearts Tells The Story Of An Important And Gripping Piece Of Forgotten Science History.

from The Hardcover Edition.

The surgeon-as-rock-star mystique seems like it must have come straight out of Hollywood, but the myth had to begin more concretely. A good candidate is Minnesota's Dr. Walt Lillehei, the hard-working, hard-playing father of open-heart surgery, whose life is told in garish color in King of Hearts by journalist G. Wayne Miller. From his early brilliance, recovery from deadly lymphatic cancer, and dramatic repair of seemingly hopeless heart cases to the disintegration of his career at its peak thanks to an army of personal enemies and conviction on tax evasion counts, his story is consistently surprising and engaging. Fast cars, hard drinking, and plenty of women filled his time when he wasn't turning lives around with a few strokes of his scalpel, and the reader will find the surgeon's actions almost unbelievable--rarely endearing, but occasionally saintly. Combining this melodramatic biography with the fascinating story of the struggle for open-heart surgery, considered impossible little more than a generation ago, Miller makes a compelling case that the daring scientist was simply another side of the arrogant, absent-minded playboy. No ordinary biography, King of Hearts is breathless reading--you'll find yourself surfacing every few chapters to remind yourself its nonfiction. --Rob Lightner

Techincal Details Cast:
Aspect Ratio:
Rated:
Running Time: mins
UPC:
Binding: Paperback
Studio: Three Rivers Press
Release Date: 2000-02-01
Region Code:
Specs:

Language & Subtitles English (Unknown), English (Original Language), English (Published),