The issues and conflicts that arise in medicine today are often poignantly illustrated in this engrossing anecdotal collection from Weisse's years as a physician. He begins by sharing a journal he kept during his own battle with testicular cancer at the age of 25. This close call with death led Weisse (Heart to Heart: The Twentieth Century Battle Against Coronary Disease
) to an understanding of both seriously ill people and the doctors who try to diagnose and treat their conditions. Offering brief episodes from the lives of colleagues, patients and friends, Weisse illuminates the ongoing dynamic between physician and patient. "The Case of the Baffling Boy" tells of a five-year-old whose psychologically damaged mother deliberately tries to make her son appear to have kidney disease by tampering with his urine samples. "Victims All" is an account of a lawsuit brought by a woman dying of breast cancer against the physicians who, she alleges, did not diagnose her condition early enough; Weisse presents both sides of this heartrending piece in a nonjudgmental, empathetic manner. Readers of medical histories will enjoy these compelling personal narratives. (Aug.)
