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Donald McRae
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Every Second Counts Paperback – Import, June 5, 2014

by Donald MacRae (Contributor)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 93 ratings
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This is the story of Chris Barnard and his gripping race to conquer the greatest of medical challenges. It is also a deeply personal biography of the Casanova surgeon with the film star looks, whose tortured private life was played out on the most public of stages.
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  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster Ltd
  4. Publication date
    June 5, 2014
  5. Dimensions
    5.16 x 0.94 x 7.8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1471135349
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1471135347
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Ltd; UK ed. edition (June 5, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1471135349
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1471135347
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.16 x 0.94 x 7.8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 93 ratings

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Donald McRae

Donald McRae

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
93 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

The Fuzzy One
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal read- A must read for anyone waiting for or living with their second chance!
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2011
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Let's face it: Medicine can be really boring. The facts of "the race to the first human heart transplant" could be (and probably are) really dull, but the author tells the story in a compelling, almost "Clancy-esque" style (with fewer gun-toting spies and no particular villain other than the Grim Reaper). Having received a heart transplant myself in 2004 this was a particularly great read! We all should know who did the first human heart transplant (can you name him?) but there were so many other players at the time trying to find a way to bring life back to the almost dead, without resorting to bolts in the neck or a dude named "I-Gor" to help retrieve a corpse. This is a story about truly dedicated doctors and surgeons wanting to make the "Gift of Life" a reality. Is medicine a science or an art...or just dumb luck? Often it's a combination of the three and more. It certainly is about dedication and determination, as this book so aptly illustrates.
One person found this helpful
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Nurseontherun
5.0 out of 5 stars A Medical Page Turner
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2006
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Many of us remember the news of the first heart transplant, done, of all places, in South Africa. But only those on the inside knew that several physicians were on the brink of reaching this medical mile stone. Donald McRae describes four physicians working diligently toward the first human heart transplant. The efforts, creativity, egos and motivations of these doctors lay the background to this fascinating medical story. It reads like a medical research timeline, interwoven with facts and factoids about the major players involved.

The descriptions of the doctors' various situations will surely appeal to a wide audience -- interesting to medical types as well as lay people. I was impressed by the degree of research and referencing of this book -- without giving it the flavor of an academic publication. I could not put the book down.
6 people found this helpful
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Lanier Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars REVIEW FROM ONE INVOLVED IN EARLY TRANSPLANTS
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2008
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THIS IS A GREAT BOOK AND VERY ACCURATE ABOUT THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE FIRST HUMAN HEART TRANSPLANT TOOK PLACE. THE BOOK WAS VERY WELL RESEARCHED PRIOR TO THE WRITING BY DONALD McRAE. I THINK HE WAS VERY FAIR IN HIS APPROACH TO ALL PHASES OF THE BOOK. I WAS DR. RICHARD LOWER'S TECHNICIAN (PERFUSIONIST) FROM 1963 AT STANFORD UNTIL 1989 AT MCV IN VA. I WAS INVOLVED IN ALL HIS HEART TRANSPLANTS SO I CAN ATTEST TO THE AUTHENTICITY OF WHAT MR. McRAE WROTE ABOUT DR.'S SHUMWAY, LOWER, AND BARNARD IN THE BOOK. I BELIEVE IT TO BE THE BEST BOOK THAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THOSE EARLY DAYS OF THE HEART TRANSPLANT BUSINESS.
LANIER ALLEN, RETIRED CCP & RETIRED CHIEF OF PERFUSION AT MCV HOSPITAL, RICHMOND, VA
10 people found this helpful
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JohnS
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting story of medical pioneers
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2014
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"Every second counts" is a good story about the medical pioneers who invented heart surgery procedures and devices that are commonplace today. Most telling, is the fight that the earliest practitioners had to undergo to get the US laws that defined when death occurs changed. Until brain death rather than heart death became the law, organ donation of all kinds we hampered ... which is why a South African surgeon was able to perform the first human heart transplant. A fun and informative read.
One person found this helpful
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High Words
5.0 out of 5 stars Every detail counts
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2017
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A medical history page turner plus a review of the interwining of technology and ethics. I was a medical student when MCV's kidney transplant pioneer David Hume tragically flew his plane into the mountainside. And I was still in Richmond when Dick Lower was doing heart transplants. I laughed out loud reading the description of definition-of-death plaintiff attorney Doug Wilder as verbose and ambitious. He was both, all the way to the Governor's mansion. These details and the rightly deserved disdain of Barnard made this book alive on a personal, professional, and historical level. Well done.
3 people found this helpful
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Barry
5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting as a Bolt 100 meter race
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2012
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A fascinating description of the pioneers of open heart surgery leading to the worlds first heart transplant. I was a fifth year medical student and may be biased as I was there at the time but this is the right stuff of medicine. Pioneers such as Barnard,Shumway,Lillihei live again in the tense atmosphere of stopping a heart from beating for what seems like an eternity and then restarting it again.
It is accurate down to the fine minutia in the animal lab next to the morgue at the medical school of the University of Cape Town.
A must read!!
One person found this helpful
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Adrienne Montesanti
5.0 out of 5 stars History of Organ transplants
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2021
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This is a great book through history. Book arrived promptly and in EXCELLENT condition. Thanks
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M. Hollowell
5.0 out of 5 stars I absolutely loved reading about the early days of this incredible medical ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2017
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I am a heart transplant survivor. I absolutely loved reading about the early days of this incredible medical miracle called organ transplants. Very well written and accessible even for those us who don't understand medical jargon.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Allgo2 (Front Desk, Guest, Aug.15)
5.0 out of 5 stars Humanity
Reviewed in France on July 1, 2019
Verified Purchase
Very very easy to read, yet a serious piece of writing (witness the last 15% with footnotes, comments and acknowledgements). Overall impression is one of hubris. Towards the end there is a tentative awareness of flawed humanity when Barnard shares a platform with a rival who had done so much work in the field and should have been first. Remarkable.
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Gabriele Patterson
5.0 out of 5 stars The book was recommended to me by the volunteer in the hospital
Reviewed in Canada on January 7, 2016
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I bought this book after touring the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town where the first heart transplant was conducted in 1967. I am old enough to remember the excitement when this happened. The book was recommended to me by the volunteer in the hospital. He had read many of the books dealing with Christiaan Barnard and the heart transplant. He said that this book was the most thoroughly researched. It is a compelling read. There is an enormous amount of fascinating information. After I had finished the book, I reread it right away, annotating this time. I highly recommend this book to every person who has an interest in heart transplants, transplantation in general, human biology or just science. I have bought it for many of my friends. I have been told in Cape Town that the book might be going out of print. This would be very unfortunate. At present, new copies are not available from Amazon, but there is an ample supply of excellent used copies.
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Jess/Marietta
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2016
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Great book! Order this before it's too late, every second counts!
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C. Simona
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in Germany on January 29, 2010
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One of the best books I have read on the history of medicine. An engrossing and fascinating tale of passion, courage, rivalry, integrity and the difficult ethical questions that appear when working at the forefront of medicine. Knowing how many people nowadays own their life to the work of the pioneers of heart transplantation, it is inspiring to know how many difficulties and setbacks had to be faced to make it a possibility. Technical details are just at the right level for general audience and enough to convey a feeling for the underlying research without overloading the text. At the center of the book are the personalities of Barnard, Kantrowitz, Shumway and Lower and the sometime brutally and shamefully competitive world of cutting-edge science. A masterpiece of popular science literature.
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Christine
3.0 out of 5 stars Interessantes Thema, aber etwas langatmig...
Reviewed in Germany on May 31, 2018
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Ich bin selber Kardiologin und war sofort begeistert, als ich über dieses Buch gestolpert bin. Ein wirklich interessantes Thema! Jedoch macht Herr McRae daraus eine äußerst detaillreiche Geschichte, welche sich stellenweise sehr langatmig liest. Schade eigentlich.
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