Genius on the edge : the bizarre double life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted

**Now in paperback, the groundbreaking biography of the most influential surgeon in American history.**__“Gerald Imber’s new biography is the first retelling of Halstead’s story in many decades and a particularly expert and thoughtprovoking narrative makes the intense strangeness of Halstead’s subsequent career a gripping story.”__ __—Abigail Zuger, New York Times Science Section__Dr. William Stewart Halsted’s life was fascinating and complex. Halsted, perhaps the most important surgeon America has ever produced, battled a lifelong cocaine addiction and maintained numerous secret relationships while simultaneously devising revolutionary medical innovations. Yet the story of Halsted’s life, one of seemingly irreconcilable extremes, is in many ways the story of modern medicine.Before Halsted, poorly-trained doctors performed surgery without anesthesia in unsanitary conditions and patients were rarely expected to survive. Halstead transformed the medical practice by inventing local and spinal anesthesia; introducing the use of rubber gloves during surgery; pioneering the use of fine silk thread for sutures; developing techniques for stabilizing blood pressure during surgery; and inventing the radical mastectomy, blood transfusions, and surgical cures for hernias.__Genius on the Edge__ is an illuminating biography of a complex and troubled man whose brilliance we continue to benefitfrom today. A major new biography of the doctor who invented modern surgery. Brilliant, driven, but haunted by demons, William Stewart Halsted took surgery from a horrific, dangerous practice to what we now know as a lifesaving art. Halsted was born to wealth and privilege in New York City in the mid-1800s. He attended the finest schools, but he was a mediocre student. His academic interests blossomed at medical school and he quickly became a celebrated surgeon. Experimenting with cocaine as a local anesthetic, he became addicted. He was hospitalized and treated with morphine to control his craving for cocaine. For the remaining 40 years of his life he was addicted to both drugs. Halsted resurrected his career at Johns Hopkins, where he became the first chief of surgery. Among his accomplishments, he introduced the residency training system, the use of sterile gloves, the first successful hernia repair, radical mastectomy, fine silk sutures, and anatomically correct surgical technique. Halsted is without doubt the father of modern surgery, and his eccentric behavior, unusual lifestyle, and counterintuitive productivity in the face of lifelong addiction make his story unusually compelling. Gerald Imber, a renowned surgeon himself, evokes Halsteds extraordinary life and achievements and places them squarely in the historical and social context of the late 19th century. The result is an illuminating biography of a complex and troubled man, whose genius we continue to benefit from today. Now in paperback, the groundbreaking biography of the most influential surgeon in American history. “Gerald Imber’s new biography is the first retelling of Halstead’s story in many decades and a particularly expert and thoughtprovoking narrative makes the intense strangeness of Halstead’s subsequent career a gripping story.” —Abigail Zuger, New York Times Science Section Dr. William Stewart Halsted’s life was fascinating and complex. Halsted, perhaps the most important surgeon America has ever produced, battled a lifelong cocaine addiction and maintained numerous secret relationships while simultaneously devising revolutionary medical innovations. Yet the story of Halsted’s life, one of seemingly irreconcilable extremes, is in many ways the story of modern medicine. Before Halsted, poorly-trained doctors performed surgery without anesthesia in unsanitary conditions and patients were rarely expected to survive. Halstead transformed the medical practice by inventing local and spinal anesthesia; introducing the use of rubber gloves during surgery; pioneering the use of fine silk thread for sutures; developing techniques for stabilizing blood pressure during surgery; and inventing the radical mastectomy, blood transfusions, and surgical cures for hernias. Genius on the Edge is an illuminating biography of a complex and troubled man whose brilliance we continue to benefit from today. "Dr. William Stewart Halsted's life was fascinating and complex. Halsted, perhaps the most important surgeon America has ever produced, battled a lifelong cocaine addiction and maintained numerous secret relationships while simultaneously devising revolutionary medical innovations. Yet the story of Halsted's life, one of seemingly irreconcilable extremes, is in many ways the story of modern medicine. Before Halsted, poorly-trained doctors performed surgery without anesthesia in unsanitary conditions and patients were rarely expected to survive. Halsted transformed the medical practice by inventing local and spinal anesthesia; introducing the use of rubber gloves during surgery; pioneering the use of fine silk thread for sutures; developing techniques for stabilizing blood pressure during surgery; and inventing the radical mastectomy, blood transfusions, and surgical cures for hernias. Genius on the Edge is an illuminating biography of a complex and troubled man whose brilliance we continue to benefit from today."--Publisher's description Traces The Life Of The Surgeon, Who, Despite Being A Ground-breaking Father Of Modern Surgery, Battled With Cocaine And Morphine Addiction, Exhibited Eccentric Behavior, And Lived An Unusual Lifestyle. Tumultuous Times -- Setting The Stage -- Physicians And Surgeons -- Becoming A Surgeon -- New York -- Cocaine -- The Visionary -- The Very Best Men -- Baltimore -- The Hospital On The Hill -- Finding The Way -- William Osler -- The Operating Room -- The Radical Cure Of Breast Cancer -- Life In Baltimore -- The Big Four -- Hernia -- Establishing The Routine -- Country Squire -- The First Great Medical School -- Teaching Without Teaching -- Residents -- Changes -- Into The 20th Century -- Harvey Cushing -- All Quiet On The Home Front -- After Cushing -- New Horizons -- Addiction -- Vascular Surgery -- Scientist -- A New Paradigm -- A New Era -- The World Changes -- My Dear Miss Bessie -- The Final Illness -- Afterward -- Epilogue. Gerald Imber. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 359-373) And Index.