An immersive look at one man’s multi-decade journey as a doctor.
A retired anesthesiologist tells his life story in this all-encompassing autobiography.
Debut author Cottrell, who practiced anesthesiology for more than 30 years, decided that he would write a book chronicling his medical career and the difficulties that he faced in his personal life. Cottrell has expert insight into his field; indeed, he writes that anesthesia is “ingrained in my mindset and…intertwined with my daily rituals.” He starts out with an account of his residency in the mid-1970s in a Veterans Administration hospital in Florida, where he was still “pretty much of a novice.” As the decades progress, he gives in-depth descriptions of his most challenging cases and patients. In one memorable account of a case during his residency, for example, he describes how a patient’s unexpectedly reduced kidney function caused a troubling reaction to anesthesia; although the author says the case made him “embarrassed” and “defensive,” he also admits that it was a valuable learning experience. Eventually his job affected aspects of his life away from work, as well. He addresses three particular events that occurred over nine months in 1988 and ’89 that helped shape his overall outlook: the death of his father, the loss of a job, and the end of his marriage. Overall, Cottrell’s story is extremely comprehensive and precise. He goes through the painstaking effort of outlining each and every moment in his life that had an impact on his career, including each of his relationships with family members and colleagues, and each post that he held while he was a practicing anesthesiologist. His story is so detailed, in fact, that it feels almost too personal at times. However, readers who are interested in an account of “the challenges of a medical career from the inside” will likely find it of interest.
An immersive look at one man’s multi-decade journey as a doctor.Pub Date: July 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9978054-1-3
Page Count: 284
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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