Mortal Lessons: Notes on The Art of Surgery - Softcover

Selzer, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671223569 ISBN 13: 9780671223564

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books, 1976

Synopsis

In this collection of nineteen unforgettable essays, Dr. Selzer describes unsparingly the surgeonā€™s art. Both moving and perversely funny, Mortal Lessons is an established classic that considers not only the workings and misworkings of the human body but also the meaning of life and death. With a Preface written by the Author especially for this edition.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

In this collection of nineteen unforgettable essays, Dr. Richard Selzer describes unsparingly the surgeon's art, opening up the body to view, one part at a time. Both moving and perversely funny, Mortal Lessons is an established classic that considers not only the workings and misworkings of the human body, but also the meaning of life and death. And although Dr. Selzer's dark humor makes the burgeoning tumors and ulcerations of his essays more bearable, he is frank about the mysterious and dreaded inevitable - the sometime surprise, as he calls it, at the center of surgery: death. Behind his traditional "surgeon's arrogance" the reader will find endearing self-mockery, a very real empathy for his patients, and the ready suggestion that even the surgeon is still very small when he stands before nature.

About the Author:

Richard Selzer is a former surgeon and Yale School of Medicine professor. He has received many awards for his writing, including a National Magazine Award, a Pushcart Prize, and a Guggenheim fellowship. He is the author of several collections of stories and essays as well as a memoir. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.
 

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books
• Publication date: 1976
• ISBN 10: 0671223569
• ISBN 13: 9780671223564
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 219