Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 617.092
EAN: 9780812216349
ISBN: 0812216342
Label: University of Pennsylvania Press
Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 264
Publication Date: January 01, 1998
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Sales Rank: 524209
Studio: University of Pennsylvania Press
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Product Description:
Visitors to the Blalock Building at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center are greeted by portraits of two great men. One, of renowned heart surgeon Alfred Blalock, speaks for itself. The other, of highschool graduate Vivien Thomas, is testimony to the incredible genius and determination of the first black man to hold a professional position at one of America's premier medical institutions.
Thomas's dreams of attending medical school were dashed when the Depression hit. After spending some time as a carpenter's apprentice, Thomas took what he expected to be a temporary job as a technician in Blalock's lab. The two men soon became partners and together invented the field of cardiac surgery.
Partners of the Heart is Thomas's extraordinary autobiography. Trained in laboratory techniques by Alfred Blalock and Joseph W. Beard, Thomas remained Blalock's principal technician and laboratory chief for the rest of Blalock's distinguished career. Thomas very rapidly learned to perform surgery, to do chemical determinations, and to carry out physiologic studies. He became a phenomenal technician and was able to carry out complicated experimental cardiac operations totally unassisted and to devise new ones.
In addition to telling Thomas's life story, Partners of the Heart traces the beginnings of modern cardiac surgery, crucial investigations into the nature of shock, and Blalock's methods of training surgeons.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Vivien Thomas
Book arrived quickly and in good shape. The book contains many highly technical surgical passages which do not lend themselves to easy reading. Unless you have a medical background these passages can be overwhelming. Most readers will probably end up skipping these passages which comprise a large portion of the book.
Rating:  - Partners of the Heart
Very interesting to follow the challenges and choices that Mr. Thomas makes throughout his remarkable career. A bit of a distracted read if you do not have the technical background to understand many of the technical procedures that he used and helped to develop, but still a fascinating story.
Rating: - Good book
Excellent autobiography of a relatively unknown giant of medicine who helped pioneer heart surgery. I bought this for my 12 year old child for a history project, and the text was way over her head, but it would be a good story for any high schooler who was interested in going into medicine.
Rating:  - If you've seen the movie, now read the book
In this book you will hear from Vivien Thomas himself. As wonderful as the movie was, it did take some dramatic license here and there. Vivien tells the story of the first "blue baby" operation very matter of factly. As you read the book you will discover that he played things pretty close to the vest. He was not one for dramatic outbursts or fits of temper. Thomas is a dignified quite man and his relation with Dr. Blalock was not all sweetness and light but they worked well togehter and became very close.
There is a lot of medical talk in the book. The squeemish may have trouble getting through the accounts of the experiments that were performed on the dogs. Don't let that stop you from reading this book. It gives you a wonderful insight into this modest, unassuming but brilliant doctor. He never went to medical school but taught some of the finset surgeons in the world how to operate. Happily, Thomas was finally given an honorary doctorate by Johns Hopkins.
If you have seen the movie, don't expect this book to play out the same way. This is real life.
Enjoy!
Rating: - The true expression of brillance
The story of Vivian Thomas is one that every student in the health professional field should study. The simple elegance of his surgical ability combined with his ability to critically think transcend the commonplace notion of traditional medical school training.
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