NATIONAL BESTSELLER
The New York Times bestselling author of Being Mortal and
Complications examines, in riveting accounts of medical failure and
triumph, how success is achieved in a complex and risk-filled profession
The struggle to perform well is universal: each one of us faces fatigue,
limited resources, and imperfect abilities in whatever we do. But
nowhere is this drive to do better more important than in medicine,
where lives are on the line with every decision. In this book, Atul
Gawande explores how doctors strive to close the gap between best
intentions and best performance in the face of obstacles that sometimes
seem insurmountable.
Gawande's gripping stories of diligence, ingenuity, and what it means to
do right by people take us to battlefield surgical tents in Iraq, to
labor and delivery rooms in Boston, to a polio outbreak in India, and to
malpractice courtrooms around the country. He discusses the ethical
dilemmas of doctors' participation in lethal injections, examines the
influence of money on modern medicine, and recounts the astoundingly
contentious history of hand washing. And as in all his writing, Gawande
gives us an inside look at his own life as a practicing surgeon,
offering a searingly honest firsthand account of work in a field where
mistakes are both unavoidable and unthinkable.
At once unflinching and compassionate, Better is an exhilarating
journey narrated by arguably the best nonfiction doctor-writer around
(Salon). Gawande's investigation into medical professionals and how
they progress from merely good to great provides rare insight into the
elements of success, illuminating every area of human endeavor.
