Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery - as seen on 'life-changing' BBC documentary Confessions of a Brain Surgeon

Name: Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery - as seen on 'life-changing' BBC documentary Confessions of a Brain Surgeon
Rating: 4.648148059844971 (162 reviews)

Henry Marsh

Mar 2014 · Hachette UK

162 reviews

Ebook

320

Pages

Eligible

About this ebook

'Enthralling' Guardian
'A superb achievement' Ian McEwan
'Incredibly absorbing . . . astonishingly candid' Bill Bryson

Winner of the PEN Ackerley Prize and the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Literature

What is it like to be a brain surgeon?

How does it feel to hold someone's life in your hands, to cut through the stuff that creates thought, feeling and reason?

How do you live with the consequences when it all goes wrong?

Do No Harm offers an unforgettable insight into the highs and lows of a life dedicated to operating on the human brain, in all its exquisite complexity. With astonishing candour and compassion, Henry Marsh reveals the exhilarating drama of surgery, the chaos and confusion of a busy modern hospital, and above all the need for hope when faced with life's most agonising decisions.

Shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award; Duff Cooper Prize; Wellcome Book Prize; Guardian First Book Award; and Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize
Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction

'What a bloody, splendid book: commas optional' Observer

'Riveting . . . extraordinarily intimate, compassionate and sometimes frightening ... [Marsh] writes with uncommon power and frankness' New York Times

'If Marsh is even a tenth as good a neurosurgeon as he is a writer, I'd let him open my skull any time' Independent on Sunday

'As gripping and engrossing as the best medical drama, only with the added piquancy of being entirely true' Daily Mail

'Elegant, delicate, dangerous and full of profound meaning' Ed Caesar, Sunday Times

See what readers are saying:
'An outstanding reflection on medicine, neuroscience and the human experience' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Ten stars, easily . . . I have bought five copies and given them to friends' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Vivid . . . exacting and outspoken' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Thoughtful, humane and deeply moving' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Enthralling' Guardian 'A superb achievement' Ian McEwan 'Incredibly absorbing . . . astonishingly candid' Bill Bryson Winner of the PEN Ackerley Prize and the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Literature What is it like to be a brain surgeon? How does it feel to hold someone's life in your ha...

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Ratings and reviews

162 reviews

Anatoly Kunaev

January 14, 2019

I was dreaming about being a neurosurgeon since I was a little boy. But further found myself in IT. In his book Henry Marsh explained me why neurosurgery couldn't be my favorite work. Since I read it I've never regreted missed opportunity anymore. This book discovered not only the ethical medical issues but also the new side of the british culture disclosed for me for the first time.

6 people found this review helpful

Caroline Aitchison

February 18, 2019

Loved this book, very honest and gives you an insight into the life of the surgeon and how they manage their conflicting emotions before, during and after surgery.

Ayden Iveson-Ball

November 14, 2019

He's operated on myself and I found this book brilliant and moving, I'm going to read all Henry Marsh books. Wow 5☆ 👏

About the author

Henry Marsh read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University before studying medicine at the Royal Free Hospital in London. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1984 and was appointed Consultant Neurosurgeon at Atkinson Morley's/St George's Hospital in London in 1987, where he still works full time. He has been the subject of two major documentary films, YOUR LIFE IN THEIR HANDS, which won the ROYAL TELEVISION SOCIETY GOLD MEDAL, and THE ENGLISH SURGEON, featuring his work in the Ukraine, which won an EMMY. He was made a CBE in 2010. He is married to the anthropologist and writer Kate Fox. Visit his website at http://www.theenglishsurgeon.com/

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