Best of
Medical

1971

Hearts: Of Surgeons and Transplants, Miracles and Disasters Along the Cardiac Frontier


Thomas Thompson - 1971
    Michael Ellis DeBakey and his young and ambitious disciple, Dr. Denton Arthur Cooley. Their combined mastery in occlusive disease, coronary artery bypass surgery, angioplasty, and heart transplants was unparalleled. For years they worked across the same operating table focused on, and fighting toward, the same lifesaving goals.  But what began as a personal friendship and a mutually respectful professional partnership soon deteriorated into a jealous and embittered feud. Though their discord was a cause célèbre among colleagues, it would take award-winning investigative journalist Thomas Thompson to uncover the stunning betrayals and simmering resentments that fueled one of the most famous rivalries in the history of medicine. Weaving the story of DeBakey and Cooley with the stories of patients suffering life-threatening medical conditions, Thompson paints a fascinating portrait of the risks and rewards of cutting-edge science.

Marijuana Reconsidered


Lester Grinspoon - 1971
    1st published in 1971 & updated in '77, was a Harvard University Press bestseller much praised by reviewers. Noted psychiatrist Dr Lester Grinspoon methodically reviews the scientific, medical & popular literature on the effects of marihuana. Today, as the issue of legalizing marihuana for medical use is being reconsidered, this book continues to offer what has been widely acclaimed as the most comprehensive assessment of marihuana & its place in society.PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionThe history of marihuana in the United StatesFrom plant to intoxicant Chemistry & pharmacologyThe acute intoxication: literary & other reportsThe acute intoxication: its properties Motivation of the user Turning on The place of cannabis in medicineAddiction, dependence & the "stepping-stone" hypothesisPsychoses, adverse reactions & personality deteriorationCrime & sexual excessThe campaign against marihuanaThe question of legalizationAbbreviationsSelected BibliographyNotesIndex

The Orange Man and Other Narratives of Medical Detection


Berton Roueché - 1971