A review by harlanh
Brain Surgeon: A Doctor's Inspiring Encounters with Mortality and Miracles by Keith Black

3.0

Like many autobiographies, that of Keith Black, MD is of someone who has done many fascinating things, but writing is not one of those things. Even with an experienced medical journalist by his side, Black has written an occasionally tedious history of his life and his illustrious career in medical research and surgery. This is not to say the book is without value. Some of the walkthroughs of the surgeries were fascinating, and I learned a lot about how that process works. Some (but not all) of the descriptions of the racial obstacles Dr. Black had to overcome are inspiring. But it's interesting that the only people who come across as being full-fledged humans are the patients. Not Dr. Black's father, who was apparently a perfect man, or his mentors, who are only opportunities for letters of recommendation, or his family, who get perhaps two sentences in the whole book. I also take issue with Dr. Black's not-very-thoughtful attempt at critiquing the American healthcare system. I'm very glad that Dr. Black is behind the knife, rather than behind the pen, or behind the legislation.