Field of medicine: General medicine.

Format: Hardcover book.

Audience: Although written principally for a lay audience, this book will also interest medical students and physicians.

Purpose: The author hopes to convey "the very essence of medical care" through stories of his patients and teachers. His observations define the "sacred space" that has at its center a sick person, as depicted by Sir Luke Fildes in his famous painting, "The Doctor."

Content: The book is a series of short vignettes. Most are drawn from the author's 30-year practice of medicine, but a few are reminiscences from his boyhood in Georgia and his education at Duke, Oxford, and Johns Hopkins.

Highlights: The vignettes range from the humorous ("The Great Poison Ivy Caper") to the poignant ("Alicia's Journal"). In all, the special nature of the physician-patient relationship shines through. The book is written in an open, easily grasped narrative style that seems simple and straightforward. However, on careful reading, one discovers a deep understanding of the human experience. The book reveals much about the author's patients but an equal amount about the author himself. In his introduction, the author notes that illness always requires "affectionate concern." His affection for the many patients he has encountered in his practice is evident.

Limitations: Readers without medical training may wish for fuller explanations of some medical conditions, but most descriptions are sufficient.

Related reading: This book reminds one of similar recent endeavors, such as the anthology On Doctoring, edited by Richard Reynolds and John Stone (Simon & Schuster, 1995), or the series titled A Piece of My Mind that appears periodically in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The book is also a vivid reminder of the narrative structure of medicine, as articulated by Kathryn Hunter and others. None of the essays has the depth seen in the short stories of Richard Seltzer or William Carlos Williams, but the book does evoke Williams' observation that "It's the humdrum, day-in, day-out, everyday work that is the real satisfaction of the practice of medicine."

Reviewer: Herbert M. Swick, MD, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas.