A Surgeon's Story (Paperback) | Released: 16 Sep 2013

The story of a renowned New York doctor, Robert T. Morris (1857-1945), who struggled with a reactionary profession to pioneer sterility, small incisions, and better wound-healing in surgery. Blessed with abundant energy, sagacity, and long life, he also achieved distinction as a naturalist, horticulturist, and explorer, celebrating nature with brilliant prose and poetry. For those days, Morris was a rare visionary, grounded in science and courageously fighting on the side of suffering humanity, though few remember him today. This is an updated edition of a 1935 classic, brimming with case histories starting from the late Victorian Age. The new book is annotated and illustrated, and includes previously unpublished chapters."A man who had the courage to be an iconoclast for the purpose of safe-guarding humanity." New York Times (1935)"This is not a textbook but an arresting account of medicine and society in the not too distant past." Howard W. Jones, Jr., M.D., Johns Hopkins and Eastern Virginia Medical Schools (2013)"In 1935, Morris' book was a best-seller; this revision from Gosden and Walker (Morris' granddaughter) could easily do the same ... Far more of a human and social portrait than a medical text, this reissue fills the prescription for fascinating reading." Kirkus (September 16, 2014)
About the Author: Roger Gosden chose a career in medical science but has a lifelong passion for nature and writing. He holds doctorates from both Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities where he began an academic medical research career under Robert Edwards (Nobel Prize, 2010). He was a research director and professor of reproductive science in Edinburgh, Leeds, McGill, and Virginia, and his last post was at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City. In addition to leading prize-winning research in reproductive medicine and biology and publishing around 300 scientific articles and books, he has been a journal editor and broadcaster, and wrote for newspapers and magazines. Two of his books for general readers (Cheating Time and Designing Babies) have been translated into foreign languages. He is married to Dr. Lucinda Veeck Gosden who was the embryologist for the first successful in vitro fertilization program in America, and they live in Williamsburg, Virginia. Pam Walker, Ph.D., is a research associate at the Center on Human Policy, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. She has worked at the Center since 1985. A primary focus of her work has been inclusive community living for children and adults with developmental disabilities, and she has conducted many qualitative case studies of innovative organizations, as well as qualitative evaluations and other research studies. Based on this research, she has authored or co-authored numerous book chapters, journal articles, and case study reports. She is co-editor of Make the Day Matter: Promoting Typical Lifestyles for Adults with Significant Disabilities, a book that focuses on inclusive daytime opportunities. In 1988, Pam and co-author Betsy Edinger received an award from the American Camping Association for an article describing the inclusion of a child with severe disabilities at camp. In 1999, Pam was the recipient of the Thomas Haring Research Award from TASH for her article, "From community presence to sense of place: Community experiences of adults with developmental disabilities," that was published in the Journal of The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps. She is currently working on a book about organizational innovation and transformation.