Delve Deeper into The English Surgeon A film by Geoffrey Smith

This multi-media resource list, compiled by Shaun Briley of the San Diego Public Library, includes books, films and other materials related to the issues presented in the film The English Surgeon. What is it like to have power over life and death, and yet to struggle with your own humanity? This is the story of acclaimed British neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, who has traveled to Ukraine for 15 years to treat patients who have been left to die; of his friend and medical colleague in Kyiv who carries on the fight despite official hostility and archaic surgical conditions; and of a young patient who hopes that Henry can save his life. Tense, heartbreaking and humorous, The English Surgeon is a remarkable depiction of one doctor's commitment to relieving suffering and of the emotional turmoil he undergoes in bringing hope to a desperate people. A BBC/ITVS International Production. ________________________ ADULT NONFICTION Becker, Suzy. I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse? New York, NY: Workman Pub, 2004. A patient recounts her brain surgery experience with humor. Black, Keith & Mann, Arnold. Brain Surgeon: A Doctor's Inspiring Encounters with Mortality and Miracles. New York, NY: Wellness Central, 2009. The head of neurosurgery at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center discusses his experiences in the field and the traumatic stories of some of his patients. Bortolotti, Dan. Hope in Hell: Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly Books, 2004. A portrait of the Nobel Prize winning organization that sends doctors on humanitarian missions overseas. Cockerham, Willi. Health and Social Change in Russia and Eastern Europe. New York, NY: Routledge, 1999. This book is a scholarly examination of the failings of public health services and declining life expectancy in former communist countries like the Ukraine.

Collins, Joseph. How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2002. This is a practical guide for anyone interested in volunteering his or her time or skills in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia or the Middle East. D'Anieri, Paul. Understanding Ukrainian Politics: Power, Politics and Institutional Design. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2007. An introduction to Ukrainian politics that tries to explain the disappointing performance of the nation’s governmental institutions. Firlik, Katrina. Another day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside. New York, NY: Random House, 2006. In this explanation of brain surgery, written for non-professionals, the author outlines the anxieties doctors face, such as having to deal with the emotions of their patients. Fishman, Steve. Bomb in the Brain: A Heroic Tale of Science, Surgery, and Survival. New York, NY: Scribner, 1988. A journalist who suffered a brain hemorrhage and underwent neurosurgery discusses his experiences and the damaging after-effects he has had to live with. Flitter, Marc. Judith's pavilion: The Haunting memories of a Neurosurgeon. New York, NY: Warner Books, 1998. Flitter, a neurosurgeon, tells of the spirit of his patients and the often difficult questions he has to try to answer. Galanti, Geri-Ann. Caring for Patients from Different Cultures. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. This book offers a number of case studies about providing health care to patients from unfamiliar cultures. Gawande, Atul. Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books, 2002. Gawande peels back the public perception of surgeons to reveal that they often do not know what is really going on with a patient until they get them under the knife.

Holzemer, Liz. Curveball: When Life Throws You a Brain Tumor. Denver, CO: Ghost Road Press, 2007. The wife of Major League Baseball pitcher Mark Holzemer describes her life before and after her two brain surgeries. Kidder, Tracy. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. New York, NY: Random House, 2003. The story of a doctor who has dedicated his life to bringing modern medicine to the needy in Russia, Peru, Rwanda and other places. Khurana, Vini. Brain Surgery: A Comprehensive and Practical Resource for Brain Surgery Patients, their Families and Physicians. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, 2006. A guidebook on brain surgery for lay persons that tries to answer questions neurosurgeons typically face. Mason, Michael Paul. Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and its Aftermath. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. Mason describes how brain injuries caused by trauma or a tumor alter a person’s life. Medvedev, Zhores A. The Legacy of Chernobyl. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1990. A biologist explains that contaminated agricultural products as well as immediate fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Ukraine have been responsible for the large increase in cancers in that country and the surrounding area. Orbinski, James. An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action for the Twenty-First Century. New York, NY: Walker, 2008. A former head of Doctors Without Borders describes his emotional trials on medical relief missions to the world's most chaotic places and reflects on humanitarianism. Reid, Anna. Borderland: A Journey through the History of Ukraine. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000. Reid tells the story of the people of the Ukraine, their history and attempts to build a brighter future.

Delve Deeper into The English Surgeon A film by Geoffrey Smith

Savage, Ania. Return to Ukraine. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2000. A Ukrainian who fled in the Second World War describes her return to a society still reeling from Communism and its collapse. Savett, Laurence A. The Human Side of Medicine: Learning what it's like to be a patient and what it's like to be a physician. Westport, CT: Auburn House, 2002. Written to help the general public and aspiring doctors improve the doctor-patient relationship, this book details the perspectives of both sides. Sylvester, Edward J. The Healing Blade: A Tale of Neurosurgery. Tempe, AZ: Beck Press, 1997. This is an account of high tech procedures in brain surgery and the interaction between patients and doctors. Taylor, Jill Bolte. My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. New York, NY: Viking, 2008. A brain scientist observes her reaction, both physical and emotional, when she suffered a stroke. Vertosick, Frank. When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery. New York, NY: W. W. Norton, 2008. The story of the transformation of a young intern into a leading neurosurgeon, told through portraits of the patients he encountered along the way and the procedures he performed. Wilson, Andrew. Ukraine's Orange Revolution. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005. Wilson chronicles the popular movement in the Ukraine in 2004 when pro-democracy crowds took to the streets to bring down the country’s old political order. Wilson, Andrew. The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000. An introduction to Ukrainian history, culture and politics as the nation tries to move into a post-communist era. Yekelchyk, Serhy. Ukraine: Birth of a Modern Nation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2007. The story of how politicians in modern Ukraine are trying to create a new identity for the nation.

ADULT FICTION Mates, Susan Onthank. The Good Doctor. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 1997. This is a collection of short stories addressing the lives of medical workers. Shem, Samuel. The House of God. New York, NY: Dell Publishing, 2003. A humorous book written about the experiences of six interns and their first year. Zabaytko, Irene. The Sky Unwashed. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 2000. This poignant debut novel was inspired by the true story of villagers who defied the forced evacuation of their Ukrainian town after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in the 1980s. ____________________________ NONFICTION FOR YOUNGER READERS Carson, Ben and Murphey, Cecil. Ben Carson. Zondervan Publishing Company, 1992. Grades 4 and up. The story of Ben Carson and how he became one of the most talented and beloved doctors in America. Fleischman, John. Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science. Boston. MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. This book examines how the brain works, using the true story of a man from Vermont who had an iron bar driven through his head and lived. Newquist, H. P., et al. The Great Brain Book: An Inside Look at the Inside of Your Head. New York, NY: Scholastic Reference, 2004. Newquist peels back the layers of the brain to show what it’s made of and how it works. Parker, Steve & West, David. Brain Surgery for Beginners and Other Major Operations for Minors: A Scalpel-Free Guide to Your Insides. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc., 1998. Grades 4-7. This book details the anatomy of the brain and how it controls the body.

VIDEOS/DOCUMENTARIES Discovering the Human Brain: New Pathways to Neuroscience. Directed by Jim Harrigan. Davidson Films, 2007. TRT: 29 mins. Developments in neuroscience are illustrated by the Brain Mapping Center of UCLA. www.davidsonfilmsstore.com/Bookheimer The Orange Chronicles. Directed by Damian Kolodiy. DK Productions, 2007. TRT: 97 mins. An account of a populist pro-democracy uprising among the Ukrainian people in 2004. www.amazon.com The Secret Life of the Brain. A David Grubin Production. PBS Home Video, 2002. TRT: 300 mins. A series of five hour-long videos that use personal histories and animation to dramatize the working of the brain through the various stages of life from birth through old age. www.shoppbs.org Uncle Roman. Directed by Chad Amour. Humdinger Pictures, 2008. TRT: 20 mins. A young doctor works among homeless children in Kiev in defiance of a government which doesn’t want to acknowledge the homeless crisis in the Ukraine. www.amazon.com