Customer Reviews

The Good, the Bad, & the Homely: Essays from an Old-Fashioned, Country, Plastic Surgeon

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This review is "biased" because I am the cat of the author. You will have to forgive me accordingly, but sitting on the lap of one of my slaves I have to say, fascinated as we all are with "plastic surgery" and human beings, this volume is a pleasant read. Its perspective, and I can guarantee it from having lived with the surgeon for 8 years, is altogether a different one from what is presented in slick magazines and talk- shows. With what I am going to call "happy good humor" my slave wanders all over the cosmos using his experience of the practice of plastic surgery (in a small, football town) as the focus of his slightly eccentric ruminations. But I am most proud that this book demonstrates that even in such a "glitzy", thought-to-be-glamorous surgical specialty as his he demonstrates that care and respect for people and their needs are alive and well in the practice of medicine. The book is, I think, really fun; and even if you do not want to read it there are some pleasant pictures of this and that. I am very proud of him. I hope you will buy his book, since he is very eager that the publisher, whom he much respects, makes back what it cost to print!

Also, please admonish my slave to buy the Natural Balance Indoor Cat Formula instead of that cheap dry stuff he always gets, I've had diarrhea for the past two weeks from eating that awful stuff. If he needs a little encouragement, then please inform him that I will be defecating in hidden places throughout the house until I get what I want.

This review is "biased" because I am the wife of the author. You will have to forgive me accordingly, but with a cat in my lap as I type this I can honestly say, fascinated as we all are with "plastic surgery" and cats, this volume is a pleasant read. Its perspective, and I can guarantee it from having lived with the surgeon for 25 years, is altogether a different one from what is presented in slick magazines and talk- shows. With what I am going to call "happy good humor" my husband wanders all over the cosmos using his experience of the practice of plastic surgery (in a small, football town) as the focus of his slightly eccentric ruminations. But I am most proud that this book demonstrates that even in such a "glitzy", thought-to-be-glamorous surgical specialty as his he demonstrates that care and respect for people and their needs are alive and well in the practice of medicine. The book is, I think, really fun; and even if you do not want to read it there are some pleasant pictures of this and that. I am very proud of him. I hope you will buy his book, since he is very eager that the publisher, whom he much respects, makes back what it cost to print!

If you're looking for a book that describes what its like being a plastic surgeon in private practice, this probably isn't what you're looking for. While there are a few tales of actual medical practice, there are far fewer than you'd expect from the book's title.

What you will find, in abundance, are impassioned railings against HMO's and managed care. Since most of us are salaried or work a standard number of hours each week if an hourly employee, our earnings each month are more or less constant no matter how much extra we do any given month. I'm afraid Dr. Moore isn't reaching the supportive audience he may have found when he originally penned these missives for a Florida medical journal, decrying the injustice of not getting paid for every single thing he does. Join the rest of us, doc.

While there are a few chapters worth reading, including the touching memoir of his mentor, most are better suited for his fellow docs who can snort with indignation at having any limits placed on their decisions or (more importantly) income. Not only is the subject seldom about medicine, the prose itself is that over-wrought college level prose that seeks to impress us with just how erudite the author is with such an astonishing command of english adjectives and adverbs, the more syllables the better. Don't fail to be impressed that Moore must know french, BTW, because he'll drop in a phrase every now and then just to make sure you remember. This book just grates on the ear after a while, and sits in stark contrast to those scientists and doctors who actually CAN write well. You want to read well-written books about medicine try the classic "The Making of a Surgeon" by Nolen, "Complications" by Gawande, or "Second Opinions" by Groopman.

I'll summarize it this way. If you like the overwrought style of Richard Selzer ("Confessions of a Knive", etc.) and want a book written in a similar style but with far fewer connections to medical practice, this is the book for you.

Dr. Charlie Moore's winning and wacky personality is the real subject of this book of essays. Don't be put off by the notion that this book is about plastic surgery. It's about a sunny, semi-serious way of looking at life and the world by a guy who has enjoyed it all---or MOSTLY all.

I am a patient of Dr. Moore and he truly is delightful. He is all that a good doctor should be and more...(no pun intended). His book is a pure joy to read - you will be thoroughly entertained. There are not enough adjectives in Roget's thesaurus to describe how much I enjoyed reading this book. I hope he writes another one...soon!