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King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery
 
 
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King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "LLOYD ANDERSON returned to Minnesota, hoping to forget what he'd seen on the battlefields of Europe, a decade before C. Walton Lillehei attempted what no..." (more)
Key Phrases: azygos factor, past zero time, beer hose, University of Minnesota, New York, University Hospital (more...)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)

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Frequently Bought Together

King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery + Every Second Counts: The Race to Transplant the First Human Heart + The Surgeons: Life and Death in a Top Heart Center
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  • This item: King of Hearts: The True Story of the Maverick Who Pioneered Open Heart Surgery by G. Wayne Miller

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  • Every Second Counts: The Race to Transplant the First Human Heart by Donald McRae

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The surgeon-as-rock-star mystique seems like it must have come straight out of Hollywood, but the myth had to begin more concretely. A good candidate is Minnesota's Dr. Walt Lillehei, the hard-working, hard-playing father of open-heart surgery, whose life is told in garish color in King of Hearts by journalist G. Wayne Miller. From his early brilliance, recovery from deadly lymphatic cancer, and dramatic repair of seemingly hopeless heart cases to the disintegration of his career at its peak thanks to an army of personal enemies and conviction on tax evasion counts, his story is consistently surprising and engaging. Fast cars, hard drinking, and plenty of women filled his time when he wasn't turning lives around with a few strokes of his scalpel, and the reader will find the surgeon's actions almost unbelievable--rarely endearing, but occasionally saintly. Combining this melodramatic biography with the fascinating story of the struggle for open-heart surgery, considered impossible little more than a generation ago, Miller makes a compelling case that the daring scientist was simply another side of the arrogant, absent-minded playboy. No ordinary biography, King of Hearts is breathless reading--you'll find yourself surfacing every few chapters to remind yourself its nonfiction. --Rob Lightner


From Publishers Weekly

Open-heart surgery is now almost routine in the United States, but just a few decades ago the idea of repairing cardiac defects by cutting into a living human heart was almost unthinkable. Yet thanks to the efforts of a talented few who refused to believe it couldn't be done, open-heart surgery became a reality in the 1950s. Chief among its pioneers was the intense and flamboyant Minnesota surgeon Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, whose story Miller tells here in thriller style. Miller, a staff writer for the Providence Journal, re-creates the anxieties and excitement of an era poised on the brink of astonishing technological advances but stymied by a disease that killed more than 625,000 Americans annually. Lillehei was convinced that open-heart surgery was the answer--but how to divert blood from the heart and still keep the patient alive? Lillehei's first attempts, in 1954, used a complex and risky donor-patient blood exchange. Several of his first patients died; behind his back, nurses began calling him "murderer." By 1955, however, Lillehei and his colleague Richard DeWall perfected a simplified heart-lung machine made with beer hose and plastic tubing ("a high school science fair project was more complex," Miller observes) that finally allowed Lillehei to achieve his dream of "bringing advanced open-heart surgery to the masses." Lillehei's innovations revolutionized cardiac surgery; many believed he would win a Nobel prize. Instead, the surgeon was disgraced when he was found guilty of tax fraud in 1973. Miller's fast-paced and scrupulously researched account reveals both the exhilaration and the tragedy of Lillehei's story. Agent, Kay McCaulay, Pimlico Agency. (Feb.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 302 pages
  • Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (February 1, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0812930037
  • ISBN-13: 978-0812930030
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #190,707 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

33 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read! An incredible non-fiction page turner!, March 15, 2000
By Andrew Kinnecom (Englewood, Florida) - See all my reviews
Dr. Walter Lillehei's last name is atually easy to pronounce. When reading G. Wayne Miller's newest non-fiction thriller, "The King of Hearts," just read his name as 'Lilla - High.' Almost like the name of a high school . . . Lilla High.

But Miller's quest for the truth about 'Lilla High" turns into a reader's quest for the true story about the almost unbelievable account of how heart surgery began on this planet. Most of us remember or have heard about the Dr. Christiaan Barnards's headlining heart transplant in 1967. Maybe the recipient's name - Louis Washkansky- would be a good trivia question on 'Who Want's to be a Millionaire?' or 'Jeopardy.' But it might be better to learn about or remember the name of this maveric medical pioneer by the name of Dr. Walt Lillehei (prounounced like the high school!) who began the heart surgery revolution.

This book is a suspensiful portrait of a fascinating man and his incredible determination, at any cost, to forge ahead where no doctor had before. We take for granted that our relative, friend, neighbor, even ourselves! can now go through a simple open heart surgery procedure and recover gracefully to enjoy a long life. But do you remember history just 30 or 40 years ago when heart disease at any age meant almost instant death? Do you know how many children just died from what we know demand from doctors to routinely fix?

G.Wayne Miller answered so many questions for us through an amazing eight year project which is now titled "King of Hearts." Miller's project has become this 245 pages of reading that one WANTS to read all at once. Filled with suspense, drama, intrigue and the always-present element of actual human life and events that makes for a non-fiction, the reader is torn between what makes this book such a page-turner. Is it because it reads like a literary 'E.R.' or 'Chicago Hope,' or is it the because it is a fascinating medical story of real life with all the suspensful parts? Motivated, almost possessed doctors. Desperate people and parents of dying children. A doctor on an emotional roller coaster who pushed life to its fullest - both personally and professionally.

This is the story of one of life's greatest accomplishments by a pioneer doctor, who like most pioneeers of anything - took great risks, pushed the limit, and believed in breaking the rules. He was the doctor who began what we all now call heart surgery. He was the doctor whose student, Christiaan Barnard, made worldwide headlines by performing a heart transplant - something we now take almost for granted, but what is it really?

Doctor Walt "Lilly High" deserves more than 245 pages of drama and suspense. He dared where no others would - both professionally and personally. But the chances he took, the new opportunity he pioneered for all of us, and the personal life he led gave author Miller more than he needed.

Miller's ability to chronical his eight year study of Walt Lillehei's life into this page-burner that you'll want to reread to catch all those facts again is why I recommend "King of Hearts" to all readers. Whether a thriller reader, non-fiction master, medical fan, or Miller follower, you'll find a great read about trail-blazers who made a real difference in this life.

Enjoy it!

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating!, March 16, 2000
By Mona Barmash (United States) - See all my reviews
I received a review copy of King of Hearts a few days after my son's last operation for Congenital Heart Defects, and I have to admit, the LAST thing I wanted to read about was open heart surgery! Much to my surprise, I was quickly engaged in this masterfully told story about Dr. Walt Lillehei. I was also struck by the bravery of parents who, by allowing new procedures to be tried on their children, laid the groundwork for the medical advances that keep our loved ones affected by Congenital Heart Defects alive today.

Highly recommended reading for parents, adult patients, medical professionals, and others interested in medical history!

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Moving Book, December 9, 2002
By rose r haverluk (Portland, Or USA) - See all my reviews
As I read this book, I was profoundly moved. I was was born with a ASD & pulmonary valve defect. Dr Richard Varco and Lellehei did my surgery At the Variety Club Heart hospital in 1955 . I was one of the 1st one hundred surgeries done at the U of Minn.What incredable dedication , hard work, these men had. In my early twenties, I again needed heart surgery. This time again a very brillent, dedicated surgeon by the name of U Scott Page did a total correction.I have been able to live a wonderful. active life thanks the The King of Heart and team and Dr Page. I owe my life to the many, many dogs used to perfect progress of open heart surgery. I am a nurse, I have cared for many open heart patients. Thank you Dr Varco, Dr Lillehei and Dr S Page
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars King of Hearts
As a former heart surgeon this book was delightful to read for the clear explanation of much of recent medical history and some of the sad personal details of Dr. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dr. D

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Story!
I am a patient that has had heart problems for awhile now. I just had surgery in 2006, so reading this book really helped me to understand where heart surgery all started. Read more
Published 20 months ago by J. Lindsey

5.0 out of 5 stars Another medical history must read !!
The medical history related in this book is one of the boldest and most amazing one. If it wasn't for these highly risk taking individuals, open heart surgery would not be... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Tito

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired me to want to know more!
When a friend gave me this book to read, I thought I'd skim a few chapters and either get bored with the technical details or be bothered by them since I have had heart surgery... Read more
Published on September 23, 2007 by E. Fernie

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and interresting through and through
Once I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down. What a fascinating subject and such wonderful storyteller. Read more
Published on May 12, 2007 by J. Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars One star deducted for his incredible unlikability
It's a good story, and Dr. Lillehei blazed an amazing trail, but this man appeared to be a sociopath who destroyed everything and everybody he touched - except, of course, his... Read more
Published on March 22, 2006 by kohoutekdriver8

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than Best
When I read the first paragraph of this book, I was engrossed! I started to read it for a report. It gave plenty of information, and was extremely interesting. Read more
Published on March 26, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars What a book!
This book is a must read for any parent with a child in need of open-heart surgery. My son's defect was repaired at four months of age and this book was a major source of... Read more
Published on November 22, 2001 by scaines

5.0 out of 5 stars King of Hearts is a Compelling read
In Capote-esq style, up very close, through a small window focused on events in time, Mr. Miller has documented physicians/scientists struggle to understand and perfect open heart... Read more
Published on January 5, 2001 by htmassey

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, inspiring
Mr. Miller's style of suspense keeps us reading to see what happens next. He vividly portrays the progress of open heart surgery, step by painful and bloody step. Read more
Published on August 11, 2000 by Jim & Sylvia DuLaney

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