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A review by lovelyoutliers
Open Heart: A Cardiac Surgeon's Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table by Stephen Westaby
3.0
Westaby might be a brilliant surgeon, but I can't say that he is a writer of equal merit. There were many sections that seemed overly technical and clunky.
I enjoyed this book, but not as much as other medical-based memoirs. I am fascinated by medicine, but I did find Westaby's narration style served to confirm some preconceptions about the inflated ego that seems essential to success in cardiac surgery - from his wild west-esque days as a young surgeon training in London to his continued flouting of the rules as his career progressed. He doesn't mince words when it comes to the NHS and what he thinks of the system, but it is definitely not the most balanced perspectives on a much bigger system, so I would caution others to recognize the perpsective Westaby comes from when writing about how the system is broken.
In short, this book is fine.
I enjoyed this book, but not as much as other medical-based memoirs. I am fascinated by medicine, but I did find Westaby's narration style served to confirm some preconceptions about the inflated ego that seems essential to success in cardiac surgery - from his wild west-esque days as a young surgeon training in London to his continued flouting of the rules as his career progressed. He doesn't mince words when it comes to the NHS and what he thinks of the system, but it is definitely not the most balanced perspectives on a much bigger system, so I would caution others to recognize the perpsective Westaby comes from when writing about how the system is broken.
In short, this book is fine.