The Sublime Engine: A Biography of the Human Heart [Hardcover]

Stephen Amidon (Author), Thomas Amidon (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 18, 2011

The heart has always captured the human imagination. It is the repository of our deepest religious and
artistic impulses, the organ whose steady functioning is understood, both literally and symbolically, as
the very life force itself. The Sublime Engine explores the profound sense of awe every person feels when they ponder the miracle encased within the ribs.

In this lyrical history, a critically acclaimed novelist and a leading cardiologist—who happen to be brothers— draw upon history, science, religion, popular culture, and literature to illuminate all of the heart’s physical and figurative chambers. Divided into six sections, The Sublime Engine traces the heart’s sway over the human imagination from the time of the Egyptians and ancient Greece, through the Middle Ages and Renaissance, up to the modern era and beyond. More than just a work of scientific or cultural history, it is a biography of the single most important symbol of our humanity. Erudite, witty, and unexpected, The Sublime Engine makes the heart leap off the page.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The brothers Amidon refer to their book as a "biography of this remarkable machine" and it's a fitting description for such a tidy volume. Chapters begin with entertaining and illustrative historical tales, before reviewing the roles that people have assigned to the heart, as a metaphor for what is "most essential in a human being" and the place "in which Jesus Christ dwelled" (from 399 BCE, an era that also looked heavenward to explain the myocardial infarction). The authors liberally sprinkle their effort with charm and literary allusions, to The Scarlet Letter, Measure for Measure, (where love is "a sort of cardiac shock") and other texts. In fact, The Sublime Engine is that rare book: so entertaining that its ability to educate seems effortless. The authors turn the heart into a beloved friend for whom we should care desperately; readers may in fact be more inspired to "start jogging and eat fewer cheeseburgers" by Amidon (author of Human Capital) and Amidon (a practicing cardiologist) than by their own GP, which makes a final tale of two very different men who suffer heart attacks, and the disparity of care that they receive, even more, yes, heartbreaking. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

As the body�s main power source and traditionally presumed seat of emotions, the human heart has inspired more natural philosophy and literature than any other organ. The brothers and coauthors Amidon, one a novelist, the other a cardiologist, call their unusual collaboration a biography because it presents a multifaceted picture of the heart�s influences on mythology, science, and popular culture through the ages. In six lyrically written chapters, they trace humanity�s perennial fascination with the heart through the eyes of history�s greatest artists and medical explorers, beginning with the Greeks and fancifully ending with a peek into the future of cardiological innovation. Particularly attention-grabbing are the stories of groundbreaking researchers, such as Sir William Harvey, who discovered the circulatory system, and German internist Werner Forssmann, who proved the value of catheterization by inserting a tube in his own heart. The only shortcoming of this fascinating and engaging survey is the Amidons� admitted neglect of the Asian perspective, but the end result should appeal to both poets and physicians. --Carl Hays

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (January 18, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605295841
• ISBN-13: 978-1605295848
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #771,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Amidon was born in Chicago. He is the author of Subdivision, a book of short stories, and six novels, including The New City and Human Capital, which Jonathan Yardley of the Washington Post chose as one of the five best novels of 2004. His books have been published in sixteen countries and a film version of Human Capital is currently in preproduction in Italy. He is a regular contributor of essays and criticism to newspapers and magazines in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. Amidon lived and worked in London for twelve years before returning to the United States in 1999. The Sublime Engine: A Biography of the Human Heart, which he co-authored with his brother Tom, was released in 2011 and selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of the five best health and medicine titles of the year. Amidon's latest book, Something Like The Gods, has just been released. For more information, visit stephenamidon.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and very entertaining! December 16, 2010

By Lucy Cat VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

"The SUBLIME ENGINE" is a unique little biography of the human heart--spanning from Ancient Greece to modern day and beyond. The authors, a team of brothers, combine their expertise to create a comprehensive look at the heart throughout history. There's medical history here as well as a look at the social meaning of 'the Heart' via literature and religious icons. For the most part, the medical history is extremely interesting and well written. However, the social discussion can become a bit tedious at times. For example: there are pages of interpretive essays on Frankenstein and the Scarlet Letter that seriously interrupted the flow of the book and caused me to lose interest. The book is quite a short read, overall (just under 250 small pages) and should prove unique and entertaining to most readers, even with passing interest. B+

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a page turner February 11, 2011

By Heidi Schooner

Format:Hardcover

This book met and exceeded all my expectations for a work that combines scientific, historical, and literary analysis. What surprised me was the fact that I could not put it down. The Sublime Engine reads as a story of the dawning of human understanding. With each chapter, I was excited to learn how the next piece of the cardiac puzzle would fall into place for those who have devoted their lives to understanding the secrets of the heart. The last chapter left me excited for the discoveries that stretch out ahead.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Literary Criticism with a Bio-Historical Perspective January 14, 2011

By Erika Mitchell TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This book is a unique conjunction of literary criticism and history of medical science concerning the symbolism and physiology of the human heart. Brothers Stephen and Thomas Amidon are published authors in the very different fields of literature and cardiology. In this book, they combine forces to present a literary analysis of the history of cardiology. The book is comprised of 6 chapters, snapshots in time ordered chronologically from Ancient Greece to a possible near future. Each chapter begins with a fanciful narrative of a possible clinical encounter, then continues with a critical analysis of heart symbolism in representative literature of the time, filled out with some discussion of contemporary medical understanding of the physiology of the heart.

This book will probably be of more interest to fans of literary criticism than readers seeking to deepen their understanding of how the heart works. It delves fairly deeply into analysis of heart symbolism in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, and discusses some of the challenges that had to be overcome before cardiac surgery could be contemplated, but provides only basic information about our current understanding of how the heart works.