Last Night in the OR by Bud Shaw, M.D.

I thought this was going to be the usual surgical ego trip book seen so often, and the early chapters about the perils and rigors of surgical training seemed headed that way, but the rest of the book was a pleasant surprise. Shaw's accomplishments were if anything understated and he tells story after touching story of mortality, loss, short-lived victories, and self-doubt. His own lymphoma, his sister's illness, his father's Alzheimers, his divorces, tell a human story. His writing is good and he is transparent to an astonishing degree. His life is opened like an autopsy to speak for itself.