Gawande's 'Better' is certainly even better than his 'Complications' which I had really enjoyed a few years ago. While that book dealt with the difficulties of implementing an imperfect science, this book talks about how that imperfect science can, in fact, be implemented better.
Gawande is perfect outsider because he is the quintessential insider. He writes patiently and painstakingly. Proposing small theories and acknowledging that it is the small things that make the big things and lot of medicine is actually just common-sense and management. Excellence is more dogged pursuit than genius. In this fundamental aspect he is your typical New Yorker author. He fights raw talent in favor of circumstantial talent.
Gawande brings vital insight into the profession. From the difficulty of washing hands to the staggering success of Polio vaccinations in India to the astonishing success of medicine in Iraq war to the strange nature of malpractice lawsuits. He brings rare compassion and grace to the conversation.
While many of the articles in this book have already appeared in some form or another in the The New Yorker, 'Better' is still Atul Gawande in particular and The New Yorker writing in general, at its best.
Gawande is perfect outsider because he is the quintessential insider. He writes patiently and painstakingly. Proposing small theories and acknowledging that it is the small things that make the big things and lot of medicine is actually just common-sense and management. Excellence is more dogged pursuit than genius. In this fundamental aspect he is your typical New Yorker author. He fights raw talent in favor of circumstantial talent.
Gawande brings vital insight into the profession. From the difficulty of washing hands to the staggering success of Polio vaccinations in India to the astonishing success of medicine in Iraq war to the strange nature of malpractice lawsuits. He brings rare compassion and grace to the conversation.
While many of the articles in this book have already appeared in some form or another in the The New Yorker, 'Better' is still Atul Gawande in particular and The New Yorker writing in general, at its best.