Counting Backwards
A Doctor's Notes on Anesthesia

This is a simple but fascinating memoir about the life of one particular anesthesiologist. The book provides pertinent history, medical knowledge, case studies and musings about the job and it's art. There is much more to the job than I thought. The anesthesiologist must examine the patient, decide......more

Summary: The sections on history and philosophy of anesthesiology weren't my favorite, but the fascinating, moving patient stories were fantastic. In his career of more thirty years, anesthesiologist Dr. Henry Jay Przybylo has administered anesthesia more than 30,000 times. His patients have included......more

I highly recommend this book! It tells about medicine yet is written for non-medical people. The author explains what we know and what we have yet to learn about anesthesia, with just the right amount of medical description. I learned about the history of anesthesia and how it made modern surgery po......more

Amazing read that started a little slower (maybe just bc it’s non fiction) but got better and better! Has me considering pediatric anesthesiology as a specialty now…......more

I've been under anesthesia twice this week, so it was finally time to read this memoir. Dr. Jay recounts his experience working in one of the least understood (and under the radar) medical specialties. He blends engaging patient stories with history and science, and helped me understand all that goe......more