Delve Deeper into The English Surgeon

Delve Deeper into The English Surgeon
A film by Geoffrey Smith
This multi-media resource list,
compiled by Shaun Briley of the
San Diego Public Library,
includes books, films and other
materials related to the issues
presented in the film The
English Surgeon.
What is it like to have power over
life and death, and yet to struggle
with your own humanity? This is the
story of acclaimed British
neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, who
has traveled to Ukraine for 15 years
to treat patients who have been left
to die; of his friend and medical
colleague in Kyiv who carries on the
fight despite official hostility and
archaic surgical conditions; and of a
young patient who hopes that
Henry can save his life. Tense,
heartbreaking and humorous, The
English Surgeon is a remarkable
depiction of one doctor's
commitment to relieving suffering
and of the emotional turmoil he
undergoes in bringing hope to a
desperate people. A BBC/ITVS
International Production.
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ADULT NONFICTION
Becker, Suzy. I Had Brain
Surgery, What's Your Excuse?
New York, NY: Workman Pub,
2004. A patient recounts her brain
surgery experience with humor.
Black, Keith & Mann, Arnold.
Brain Surgeon: A Doctor's
Inspiring Encounters with
Mortality and Miracles. New
York, NY: Wellness Central,
2009. The head of neurosurgery at
Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center discusses his experiences in
the field and the traumatic stories
of some of his patients.
Collins, Joseph. How to Live
Your Dream of Volunteering
Overseas. New York, NY:
Penguin Books, 2002. This is a
practical guide for anyone
interested in volunteering his or her
time or skills in Eastern Europe,
Latin America, Africa, Asia or the
Middle East.
D'Anieri, Paul. Understanding
Ukrainian Politics: Power,
Politics and Institutional
Design. Armonk, NY: M.E.
Sharpe, Inc., 2007. An
introduction to Ukrainian politics
that tries to explain the
disappointing performance of the
nation’s governmental institutions.
Firlik, Katrina. Another day in
the Frontal Lobe: A Brain
Surgeon Exposes Life on the
Inside. New York, NY: Random
House, 2006. In this explanation
of brain surgery, written for nonprofessionals, the author outlines
the anxieties doctors face, such as
having to deal with the emotions of
their patients.
Fishman, Steve. Bomb in the
Brain: A Heroic Tale of Science,
Surgery, and Survival. New
York, NY: Scribner, 1988. A
journalist who suffered a brain
hemorrhage and underwent
neurosurgery discusses his
experiences and the damaging
after-effects he has had to live with.
Flitter, Marc. Judith's pavilion:
The Haunting memories of a
Neurosurgeon. New York, NY:
Warner Books, 1998. Flitter, a
neurosurgeon, tells of the spirit of
his patients and the often difficult
questions he has to try to answer.
Holzemer, Liz. Curveball: When
Life Throws You a Brain Tumor.
Denver, CO: Ghost Road Press,
2007. The wife of Major League
Baseball pitcher Mark Holzemer
describes her life before and after
her two brain surgeries.
Kidder, Tracy. Mountains
Beyond Mountains: The Quest of
Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who
Would Cure the World. New
York, NY: Random House, 2003.
The story of a doctor who has
dedicated his life to bringing
modern medicine to the needy in
Russia, Peru, Rwanda and other
places.
Khurana, Vini. Brain Surgery: A
Comprehensive and Practical
Resource for Brain Surgery
Patients, their Families and
Physicians. Bloomington, IN:
Authorhouse, 2006. A guidebook
on brain surgery for lay persons
that tries to answer questions
neurosurgeons typically face.
Mason, Michael Paul. Head
Cases: Stories of Brain Injury
and its Aftermath. New York,
NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
2008. Mason describes how brain
injuries caused by trauma or a
tumor alter a person’s life.
Medvedev, Zhores A. The Legacy
of Chernobyl. New York, NY:
W.W. Norton, 1990. A biologist
explains that contaminated
agricultural products as well as
immediate fallout from the
Chernobyl nuclear accident in the
Ukraine have been responsible for
the large increase in cancers in that
country and the surrounding area.
Bortolotti, Dan. Hope in Hell:
Inside the World of Doctors
Without Borders. Richmond Hill,
Ont.: Firefly Books, 2004. A
portrait of the Nobel Prize winning
organization that sends doctors on
humanitarian missions overseas.
Galanti, Geri-Ann. Caring for
Patients from Different Cultures.
Philadelphia, PA: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 2008.
This book offers a number of case
studies about providing health care
to patients from unfamiliar cultures.
Orbinski, James. An Imperfect
Offering: Humanitarian Action
for the Twenty-First Century.
New York, NY: Walker, 2008. A
former head of Doctors Without
Borders describes his emotional
trials on medical relief missions to
the world's most chaotic places and
reflects on humanitarianism.
Cockerham, Willi. Health and
Social Change in Russia and
Eastern Europe. New York, NY:
Routledge, 1999. This book is a
scholarly examination of the failings
of public health services and
declining life expectancy in former
communist countries like the
Ukraine.
Gawande, Atul. Complications: A
Surgeon's Notes on an
Imperfect Science. New York,
NY: Metropolitan Books, 2002.
Gawande peels back the public
perception of surgeons to reveal
that they often do not know what is
really going on with a patient until
they get them under the knife.
Reid, Anna. Borderland: A
Journey through the History of
Ukraine. Boulder, CO: Westview
Press, 2000. Reid tells the story of
the people of the Ukraine, their
history and attempts to build a
brighter future.
Delve Deeper into The English Surgeon
A film by Geoffrey Smith
Savage, Ania. Return to Ukraine.
College Station, TX: Texas A&M
University Press, 2000. A
Ukrainian who fled in the Second
World War describes her return to a
society still reeling from
Communism and its collapse.
Savett, Laurence A. The Human
Side of Medicine: Learning what
it's like to be a patient and what
it's like to be a physician.
Westport, CT: Auburn House,
2002. Written to help the general
public and aspiring doctors improve
the doctor-patient relationship, this
book details the perspectives of
both sides.
Sylvester, Edward J. The
Healing Blade: A Tale of
Neurosurgery. Tempe, AZ: Beck
Press, 1997. This is an account of
high tech procedures in brain
surgery and the interaction between
patients and doctors.
Taylor, Jill Bolte. My Stroke of
Insight: A Brain Scientist's
Personal Journey. New York,
NY: Viking, 2008. A brain scientist
observes her reaction, both physical
and emotional, when she suffered a
stroke.
Vertosick, Frank. When the Air
Hits Your Brain: Tales from
Neurosurgery. New York, NY: W.
W. Norton, 2008. The story of the
transformation of a young intern
into a leading neurosurgeon, told
through portraits of the patients he
encountered along the way and the
procedures he performed.
Wilson, Andrew. Ukraine's
Orange Revolution. New Haven,
CT: Yale University Press, 2005.
Wilson chronicles the popular
movement in the Ukraine in 2004
when pro-democracy crowds took to
the streets to bring down the
country’s old political order.
Wilson, Andrew. The Ukrainians:
Unexpected Nation. New Haven,
CT: Yale University Press, 2000.
An introduction to Ukrainian history,
culture and politics as the nation
tries to move into a post-communist
era.
Yekelchyk, Serhy. Ukraine: Birth
of a Modern Nation. New York,
NY: Oxford University Press,
2007. The story of how politicians
in modern Ukraine are trying to
create a new identity for the nation.
ADULT FICTION
VIDEOS/DOCUMENTARIES
Mates, Susan Onthank. The
Good Doctor. Iowa City, IA:
University of Iowa Press, 1997.
This is a collection of short stories
addressing the lives of medical
workers.
Discovering the Human Brain:
New Pathways to Neuroscience.
Directed by Jim Harrigan.
Davidson Films, 2007. TRT: 29
mins. Developments in
neuroscience are illustrated by the
Brain Mapping Center of UCLA.
www.davidsonfilmsstore.com/Bookh
eimer
Shem, Samuel. The House of
God. New York, NY: Dell
Publishing, 2003. A humorous
book written about the experiences
of six interns and their first year.
Zabaytko, Irene. The Sky
Unwashed. Chapel Hill, NC:
Algonquin Books, 2000. This
poignant debut novel was inspired
by the true story of villagers who
defied the forced evacuation of their
Ukrainian town after the nuclear
accident at Chernobyl in the 1980s.
____________________________
NONFICTION FOR YOUNGER
READERS
Carson, Ben and Murphey, Cecil.
Ben Carson. Zondervan
Publishing Company, 1992.
Grades 4 and up. The story of Ben
Carson and how he became one of
the most talented and beloved
doctors in America.
Fleischman, John. Phineas
Gage: A Gruesome but True
Story about Brain Science.
Boston. MA: Houghton Mifflin,
2002. This book examines how the
brain works, using the true story of
a man from Vermont who had an
iron bar driven through his head
and lived.
Newquist, H. P., et al. The Great
Brain Book: An Inside Look at
the Inside of Your Head. New
York, NY: Scholastic Reference,
2004. Newquist peels back the
layers of the brain to show what it’s
made of and how it works.
Parker, Steve & West, David.
Brain Surgery for Beginners and
Other Major Operations for
Minors: A Scalpel-Free Guide to
Your Insides. New York, NY:
Scholastic Inc., 1998. Grades 47. This book details the anatomy of
the brain and how it controls the
body.
The Orange Chronicles. Directed
by Damian Kolodiy. DK
Productions, 2007. TRT: 97
mins. An account of a populist prodemocracy uprising among the
Ukrainian people in 2004.
www.amazon.com
The Secret Life of the Brain. A
David Grubin Production. PBS
Home Video, 2002. TRT: 300
mins. A series of five hour-long
videos that use personal histories
and animation to dramatize the
working of the brain through the
various stages of life from birth
through old age.
www.shoppbs.org
Uncle Roman. Directed by Chad
Amour. Humdinger Pictures,
2008. TRT: 20 mins. A young
doctor works among homeless
children in Kiev in defiance of a
government which doesn’t want to
acknowledge the homeless crisis in
the Ukraine.
www.amazon.com