The Uncertain Art

Thoughts on a Life in Medicine

By: Sherwin B. Nuland

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Long-time physician Sherwin B. Nuland presents a provocative and stimulating collection of stories illustrating the vagaries of medical practice over the years. Among the fascinating and probing questions that Nuland investigates are:

What does the first Hippocratic Oath really mean?

What happens when knowledge comes before we're ready for it?

Why does major surgery using only acupuncture work?

Is there really sympathy between the organs of the body?

What happens when someone yells, "Is there a doctor in the house?" and you are the doctor?

What goes through the mind of a heart transplant candidate who doesn't make it?

©2008 Sherwin B. Nuland (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Nuland is a gifted and deeply intelligent writer." (San Francisco Chronicle)
"Nuland writes with unsentimental passion." (Time)

A Bit Dry

I think the written reviews I see here a bit harsh. Yes, there are no car crashes or flashy stories to go along with the medical philosophizing that Nuland does here--but who says we always have to be entertained in order to think or to be educated? If one has something in the way of above average attention span (the average attention span being so short to start), much can be gleaned from The Uncertain Art. I would not rank it with Selzer, Sachs or Groopman, but it does have intellectual merits of its own. It just isn't a rollercoaster ride.

What a drone on!

What a waste of money this was.This guy sounds like an old man reading a book by the fire place and that's just where this book belongs,in the fire place.I thought this would be giving inside info about the medical field,but there is nothing anyone hasn't heard before here.A trip to the local emergency room would be more telling about what really goes on in a hospital once you get off the gurney in the hallway.I'm at the 4 hour mark and can't wait to dump this turkey.Guess I'll use the rest to put me to sleep tonight.Trust me on this and don't even waste a free credit on this excrement.

the emperor has no clothes

some valuable insights in medical ethics and bioethics.....buried in 8 tedious hours of pomposity