- ISBN13: 9780142004111
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Described by one surgeon as “soul-crushing, diamond-making stress,” surgery on congenital heart defects is arguably the most difficult of all surgical specialties. Drawing back the hospital curtain for a unique and captivating look at the extraordinary skill and dangerous politics of critical surgery in a pediatric heart center, Michael Ruhlman focuses on the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, where a team of medical specialists—led by idiosyncratic virtuoso Dr. Roger Mee—work on the edge of disaster on a daily basis. Walk on Water offers a rare and dramatic glimpse into a world where the health of innocent children and the hopes of white-knuckled families rest in the hands of all-too-human doctors.
Franklin writes cliff-hangers about brain surgery. Ruhlman writes cliff-hangers about kiddie heart surgey. This effort satisfies my criteria for a good read: good writing, good story, and holds my attention. Plus it’ll make you crazy if youre pregnant! 5 STARS! Hey! Who’s paying for these million dollar operations?
Rating: 5 / 5
While there is no doubt that Ruhlman’s Walk on Water is exhaustively researched, it would have been a much better book had it been aggressively edited.
The first thing that turned me off was the author’s repetitiveness. Many concepts are explained, then reexplained a chapter or 2 later. One example is the pronunciation of the word “peds.” Really, Mr. Ruhlman, I’m an intelligent reader and can remember from one chapter to the next what you have written. I don’t need to have the concepts repeatedly pounded into my head.
I found the chapter on the history of heart surgery to be about as entertaining as a college freshman’s term paper.
However, the main thing that bugged me was the number of misspellings of medical terms. For example, ascites (a collection of fluid in the abdomen) is spelled acites, and patent ductus arteriosus, a condition which is repeatedly described, has the last word misspelled as arteriosis. I felt this lack of attention to detail severely compromises the integrity of an otherwise factual book. Should I really trust that Mr. Ruhlman knows that he’s talking about when he can’t spell the terms correctly?
Don’t get put off by the few reviewers here who have mentioned profanity. It is used but sparingly and in situations which seem quite true to life. If it bothers you, simply take a pen and mark out the offending words.
Rating: 4 / 5
The situations and people discussed in the book are really fascinating, if you can get past the irritating writing. The author seems more interested in making the reader believe how smart he is (a chunk of the first chapter is about how he’s written other books) than in informing the reader about this complex topic. That said, if you can tolerate the writing style the topic is very interesting and it’s worth reading for the a neat peek into the largely-unknown world of pediatric cardiac surgery.
Rating: 2 / 5
I, too, am one of those parents who are living this life. My son has had 3 open heart surgeries to correct his congenital heart condition (HLHS). Therefore, I was eagerly waiting to read this book. While the book was insightful, I was dismayed by the amount of profanity the author used. I realize this is “real life”, but it seemed that if a doctor, nurse, or anyone else the author interviewed used any type of profanity, he or she was quoted in the book. I found that disappointing. I read the reviews before purchasing this book, and this aspect was never mentioned. I thought a warning should be given to those who are considering purchasing this book and would find this offensive. I know I did.
Rating: 3 / 5
I found the book extremely interesting but could not get past the horrible swearing. It wasn’t the occasional d word, but much worse and vulgar swear words that I found very offensive. For me it really took away from the story. Reality doesn’t need to be peppered with vulgarity to be effective, it doesn’t make it any more intense or scary. It was interesting to see another family’s journey with TGA, ours was much different, unfortunately I gave up trying to wade through the muck and quit reading after the 3rd chapter. So for those of you who find profanity offensive, watch out!
Rating: 2 / 5