Books: Better

Atul Gawande's Better *** - He says he didn't start writing until he became a doctor.  Thank God he started writing!  Amidst all the patient subjectives and medical objectives, he weaves tremendous stories and even controversial topics that we in the medical field can only hope to articulate.  It's a very thoughtful book on the power of medicine (to heal and to destroy) and the frailty of humanity and being a human being (as a patient and as a physician).  It's also a concise book broken into three parts, focusing on diligence, doing the patient right, and ingenuity.  He analyzes Medicine with a capital M and looks into the logistics of how, why, and when we succeed (and fail).  He's surprisingly objective for the majority of the book, acting more like an expert witness than anything else.  His ability to integrate historical information, patient and personal stories, and their contemporary context into a thrilling nonfiction read is all the more impressive.  His message is this: patients and doctors are human and where there's imperfection, there's room for improvement.  Stay true to yourself, do others right, and remain open minded.  And this message doesn't apply only to those in the medical field.