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Category: Book Review
July 01, 2003
More has been written about Sir William Osler (1849-1919) than about any other physician, including probably Hippocrates. Called 'the best doctor of all time' some years after his death by JAMA, he inspired medical students and doctors in Europe and North America where he practised medic...
April 01, 2003
Why do some people take up the medical profession-or indeed, embrace it? Is it for monetary gain? Or for achieving fame or earning respect from the community? Or-what should be the numero uno reason-to heal people? And, who is a doctor? The specialist sitting in his air-conditioned offic...
January 01, 2003
Lisa Belkin, a reporter for the New York Times, spent three years observing the ethics committee in a large private hospital in the US. The hospital cares for adults and children but her focus in this book is on the world of the ill children, the difficult choices their parents and the medical st...
October 01, 2002
This is a book that any doctor, especially a surgeon, can instantly identify with. Gawande's stories sound familiar, though few surgeons would be honest enough to admit it. He has given an honest account of the unforgettable, unexplainable and unexpected turns that 'simple' and 'routine' pr...
July 01, 2002
Dr Joseph E Murray has blazed a trail of innovation and excellence in transplantation surgery and reconstructive surgery. His research in transplantation laid the basis for much that is practised today.
April 01, 2002
Pre-natal sex diagnostic tests are increasingly available, and a section of the medical profession, which supplies these services, argues that they reflect society's values and are merely meeting women's demands. In this context, Amin Malouf's novel should be made essential reading for all medica...
January 01, 2002
Dr. Colabawalla is an urological surgeon of distinction who retired as a professor at the Grant Medical College and St. George Hospital, Mumbai. He later set up the department of urological surgery at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre. As part of his second career, he serves the Society For...
April 01, 2001
In this trenchant critique of the health care system in India, Prabha Krishan argues that modern medicine is reductionist and detrimental to the health of men and women. Her book is divided into two sections - the first elucidating the problems and limitations of modern medicine and science, the ...
July 01, 2001
The book under review has nine articles, and an introduction which presents summaries of the articles. Some of the articles are revised versions of material published elsewhere. Others are reviews of published material on the subjects chosen. For readers acquainted with developments in the field,...
January 01, 2001
Ever since the publication of David Werner's Where there is no doctor, one has yearned for a book addressing the situation: 'Where there is a doctor'. The growing evidence of avarice among clinical practitioners makes this need particularly acute, and the books under review are welcome. The fact ...