Reviews:
"Neurosurgeon Schwartz’s excellent debut intersperses details about the history of brain surgery with background on what it’s like to perform the procedure. Sweeping and consistently captivating, this [book] impresses."
—Publishers Weekly
Starred Review
NEW RELEASE
Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery
Penguin Random House (August 2024)
A popular biography of brain surgery, by one of its preeminent practitioners
We’ve all heard the phrase “it’s not brain surgery.” But what exactly is brain surgery? It’s a profession that is barely a hundred years old and profoundly connects two human beings, but few know how it works, or its history. How did early neurosurgeons come to understand the human brain—an extraordinarily complex organ that controls everything we do, and yet at only three pounds is so fragile? And how did this incredibly challenging and lifesaving specialty emerge?
In this warm, rigorous, and deeply insightful book, Dr. Theodore H. Schwartz explores what it’s like to hold the scalpel, wield the drill, extract a tumor, fix a bullet hole, and remove a blood clot—when every second can mean life or death. Drawing from the author’s own cases, plus media, sports, and government archives, this seminal work delves into all the brain-related topics that have long-consumed public curiosity, like what really happened to JFK, President Biden’s brain surgery, and the NFL’s management of CTE. Dr. Schwartz also surveys the field’s latest incredible advances and discusses the philosophical questions of the unity of the self and the existence of free will.
A neurosurgeon as well as a professor of neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, one of the most esteemed neurosurgery centers in the world, Dr. Schwartz tells this story like no one else could. Told through anecdote and clear explanation, this is the ultimate cultural and scientific history of a literally mind-blowing human endeavor, one that cuts to the core of who we are.
Advance Praise:
“If you are at all curious about the brain or the surgeons who operate on it, Gray Matters is a must read and Dr. Theodore Schwartz is the perfect guide, a master brain surgeon and superbly talented writer. I have not read a better biography of our shared profession, and in Schwartz’s talented hands, the most enigmatic 3 1/2 pounds of tissue in the known universe comes to light in remarkable and revelatory ways.”
—Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent and NY Times bestselling author of Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age
“Gray Matters is a riveting journey through the intricacies and complexities of the human brain, a compelling read for anyone considering a career in medicine, or anyone simply curious about the work life of a brain surgeon. The fascinating stories of people undergoing brain surgery highlight the mix of human ingenuity and daring that have propelled the field.”
—Anna Lembke, MD, author of Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence
“With equal doses compassion, humor, and narrative skill, Schwartz creates a spellbinding account of what goes through the brain of a top neurosurgeon staring into the deep mysteries of his patients’ brains. A must read for anyone who has ever had a brain.”
—Daniel J. Levitin, Successful Aging and I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: A Neuroscientist Explores Music As Medicine
“An exciting and engaging romp around the history, innerworkings, and near limitless potential of the human brain. If you like Mary Roach’s genre of immersive storytelling then you will love this view from the inside of the world of brain surgery. An outstanding read, and I highly recommend to brain surgeons and non-brain surgeons alike!”
—Jay Wellons, author of All That Moves Us: A Pediatric Neurosurgeon, His Young Patients, and Their Stories of Grace and Resilience (one of the "Best Books of 2022" by The New Yorker and Publishers Weekly)
“A fascinating and wide-ranging account of what neurosurgery is really about—the past, present and future.”
—Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon and New York Times bestselling author of Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery and And Finally: Matters of Life and Death
“Blending personal experiences from the operating room with neuroscience’s historical roots and contemporary examples, Dr. Theodore H. Schwartz gives readers a captivating glimpse into the high-stakes, emotionally charged world of brain surgery. A riveting read that unveils the humanity, history, and science behind the scalpel.”
—Dana Suskind, pediatric surgeon and author of the New York Times bestseller Parent Nation and Thirty Million Words
