Back to Front PageVOLUME 6, NUMBER 4

Looking for a Few Good Books?

Compiled By Jennifer Proctor

As the health and medicine sections of bookstores and libraries continue to grow in space and popularity, deciding what to read can be overwhelming. The AAMC Reporter asked leaders and readers within the academic medical community for their suggestions.

Rita Charon, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje: "This breathtaking novel about medicine's response to civil war in Sri Lanka probes deep into violence, pain, and the healing response. Who heals whom (and how) are issues that remain ambiguous. Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient, has immersed himself in medicine, in part as writer-in-residence last fall at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Not a doctor, he has seen through our dilemmas, and he gives us language and images for helping us to, similarly, see through them. Reading this novel will give you heart to consider, authentically and with bravery, the duties incurred in witnessing other people's suffering and the rewards inherent in facing them."

The Case of Dr. Sachs by Martin Winckler (translated by Linda Asher): "Martin Winckler is a pseudonym for a French general physician, who bears a resemblance to the protagonist of this odd and splendid text. This memoir about a general practitioner is written from the points of view of his patients, office staff, and colleagues. The narrative gesture itself is the remarkable gift to doctor-readers, because it reminds us to wonder about how our world appears to the subject of our actions. Although uneven in quality, the ruminations of all speakers amount to a real epiphany of how illness is lived through and the many, many roles the doctor is called upon to play in them."

 

 

 

George Sheldon, M.D. Professor and Chair of Surgery University of North Carolina School of Medicine Chair, AAMC

The Age of the Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil: "Kurzweil was named 'Inventor of the Year' in 1988 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his book resembles a science fiction novel. He writes, 'The exponential growth of technology in the first two decades of the 20th century matched that of the entire 19th century. The exponential growth of technology in the first five years of the 21st century will inevitably, inexorably, match that of the entire 20th century.'"

Post-Capitalist Society by Peter Ferdinand Drucker: "This book by an economic management futurist describes periods of epochal transformation. Drucker includes the late 20th century and the 21st century in a period called the 'knowledge society,' characterized by the exchange of knowledge, not heavy industry."

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson: "A quick read, this book deals with reaction to change. It includes aphorisms such as 'change happens' and 'be ready to quickly change again and again (they keep moving the cheese).'"

 

 

 

Kenneth Ludmerer, M.D. Author Learning to Heal, Time to Heal

Flexner Report: Medical Education in the United States and Canada by Abraham Flexner: "Particularly important in this book is Flexner's discussion of the principles of sound medical education."

Mirage of Health: Utopias, Progress, and Biological Change by Rene C. Dubos: "This is another classic must-read. Here, one of the greatest medical scientists of the 20th century warns against having unrealistic expectations of medical science."

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras: "The authors found that greatness was achieved in industry by companies that never abandoned their core mission and values, no matter how hostile the external environment. Medical leaders, take note!"

 

 

 

Robert Watson, M.D. Senior Associate Dean for Educational Affairs University of Florida College of Medicine

Time to Heal by Kenneth Ludmerer: "This is the book everyone in academic medicine should read. When I learned that Ken was writing another book my first thought was that he couldn't possibly write one to equal Learning to Heal. I was wrong. Time to Heal is one of the best books I have ever read, and covers so much in such a clear and entertaining style. Time to Heal is a masterpiece and should be read by everyone with even a remote relationship to academic medicine, or the practice of medicine, for that matter."

The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath: "Her poetry forces me to think about what messages she was conveying. Not good reading if you are already depressed, but a wonderful invitation to look into someone's soul as they move inevitably toward suicide."

 

 

 

 

 

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11 June 2001