Author Description
He has been called the greatest surgeon of the 20th century. The son of Lebanese immigrants, Michael DeBakey rose from humble beginnings in a backwater Louisiana town to dominate the landscape of modern medicine. His contributions to our understanding and treatment of cardiovascular disease, in particular, were innumerable and epoch-making. DeBakey led a life of high drama, from the streets of Jazz Age New Orleans and the operating theaters of pre-war Europe, to the battlefields of World War II and the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina. An advisor to Presidents, a health care statesman, and a physician to royalty and commoner alike, he helped build Houston's Texas Medical Center into a jewel of the medical world. Yet DeBakey's own family paid a tremendous cost for his commitment to his fellow man. Buoyed by unique access to primary resources, A Time for All Things: The Life of Michael E. DeBakey is the first to tell the remarkable story of a driven genius who led a scientific and therapeutic revolution in all its dramatic depth.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This biography investigates how Michael E. DeBakey transformed modern cardiovascular medicine while balancing the immense personal costs of his professional obsession. Craig A. Miller, utilizing unique access to primary resources, documents DeBakey's trajectory from his upbringing in Louisiana to his status as a global medical authority. The narrative examines the intersection of his clinical innovations, his influence on national health policy, and the complex interpersonal dynamics within his family life.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Detailed account of DeBakey's contributions to cardiovascular surgery and medical technology.
- Historical context of the development of the Texas Medical Center in Houston.
- Analysis of DeBakey's role as an advisor to multiple U.S. Presidents and international leaders.
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide an exhaustive technical manual for the surgical procedures developed by the subject.
- The narrative focus remains primarily on DeBakey's professional life, with personal family details included only as they relate to his career trajectory.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Critics and medical historians recognize this work as a comprehensive account of DeBakey's influence on 20th-century medicine. Readers frequently note the balance between the author's access to primary source material and the objective portrayal of the subject's demanding personality.
Page Count:
640
Publication Date:
2019-12-09
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190073942
ISBN-13:
9780190073947
Science
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Non-Fiction
Biography
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