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The story of a renowned New York doctor, Robert T. Morris (1857-1945), who struggled with a reactionary profession to pioneer sterility, small incisions, and better wound-healing in surgery. Blessed with abundant energy, sagacity, and long life, he also achieved distinction as a naturalist, horticulturist, and explorer, celebrating nature with brilliant prose and poetry. For those days, Morris was a rare visionary, grounded in science and courageously fighting on the side of suffering humanity, though few remember him today. This is an updated edition of a 1935 classic, brimming with case histories starting from the late Victorian Age. The new book is annotated and illustrated, and includes previously unpublished chapters.“A man who had the courage to be an iconoclast for the purpose of safe-guarding humanity.” New York Times (1935)“This is not a textbook but an arresting account of medicine and society in the not too distant past.” Howard W. Jones, Jr., M.D., Johns Hopkins and Eastern Virginia Medical Schools (2013)"In 1935, Morris' book was a best-seller; this revision from Gosden and Walker (Morris' granddaughter) could easily do the same ... Far more of a human and social portrait than a medical text, this reissue fills the prescription for fascinating reading." Kirkus (September 16, 2014)
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Author:
When I first stumbled on the work of Robert Tuttle Morris I had no idea that behind the name was a larger-than-life figure; certainly I had not counted on finding a Renaissance man, nor then did I have the slightest inkling of any relationship between our families. It was some years before I fully understood that he was a renowned pioneer of modern surgery who managed to squeeze into a crowded life a passion for hunting, nature conservation, exploration, horticulture, writing, and poetry. Since many of his accomplishments matched my interests I became drawn into his story, and eventually to this publication project with his late daughter and granddaughter, Dr. Pam Walker.
Biography of Dr. Morris
Robert Morris was an eminent surgeon as well as a noted naturalist, explorer, and horticulturist. He was an inquisitive man who wrote about a wide range of subjects and even published poetry. This well-rounded life began in Seymour, Connecticut, in 1857 as the eldest child of Luzon Burritt Morris, a lawyer and sometime Governor of Connecticut, and Eugenia Laura Tuttle Morris, a well-known author. He received a broad education including the classics at Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven. Boyhood interests in wildlife and hunting led him to study biology at Cornell University, but instead of following a natural aptitude for science he enrolled in medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, graduating M.D. in 1882. A scientific outlook was conveyed into his career, which was unusual for surgeons in those days.
His working life spanned enormous changes in medicine, technology, and society, for which he was a sharp observer. Early on he visited the great medical centers in Germany and France, and in England a meeting with Joseph Lister had a lasting impact. Morris became one of the first doctors in America to practice aseptic or "Listerian" surgery, and introduced many surgical innovations. As he grew in experience and confidence he was often critical of conventional practices and became regarded as a radical, yet in demand from patients and many of his ideas eventually gained grudging acceptance from the profession. He poked fun at the "ghastly gash", as he characterized the typical incisions made by surgeons in the late Victorian era, and ridiculed stuffing of the body cavity with gauze as "taxidermy". He believed "the patient is on the whole his own best antiseptic" and that less invasive procedures are often more beneficial. He was famous for his "inch-and-a-half incision with a week-and-a-half confinement", and minimal instruments for appendectomies, one of his specialties.
Morris had a formidable gift of language which he used to censure quacks, posers, and faddists. Fearless of criticism, he welcomed vigorous debate as the grand avenue for progress. Nevertheless, speaking his mind did not obstruct the path to high office in his profession. He was a professor of surgery for over twenty years at the New York Post Graduate Medical College, and served as the President of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists from 1907, and of the American Therapeutic Association from 1916.
Morris married his first wife, Aimée Reynaud Mazergue, in 1898; they had a daughter, Eugenia Reynaud Morris Frost. After their divorce, he married Mary Hannah Best in 1922, and late in his life they had a daughter, Mary Morris. She remembered him as a tender family man who was beloved by friends, colleagues, and patients.
He retired to his 440 acre wooded estate near Stamford which he preserved as a wildlife sanctuary, much of which is enjoyed today by the public as the Mianus River Park. With a dynamic career and exploration of the wilds of Canada behind him, he threw himself into experimental horticulture and writing about medicine, public affairs, conservation, and growing nut trees. The last of his ten books, Fifty Years a Surgeon, was an instant success.
He lived for another ten years, but infirmity robbed him of the energy that had formerly animated a productive life. Dr. Morris died at Stamford Hospital on January 9, 1945 at the age of 87.
From the Inside Flap:
Biography of Dr. Morris
Robert Morris was an eminent surgeon as well as a noted naturalist, explorer, and horticulturist. He was an inquisitive man who wrote about a wide range of subjects and even published poetry. This well-rounded life began in Seymour, Connecticut, in 1857 as the eldest child of Luzon Burritt Morris, a lawyer and sometime Governor of Connecticut, and Eugenia Laura Tuttle Morris, a well-known author. He received a broad education including the classics at Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven. Boyhood interests in wildlife and hunting led him to study biology at Cornell University, but instead of following a natural aptitude for science he enrolled in medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, graduating M.D. in 1882. A scientific outlook was conveyed into his career, which was unusual for surgeons in those days.
His working life spanned enormous changes in medicine, technology, and society, for which he was a sharp observer. Early on he visited the great medical centers in Germany and France, and in England a meeting with Joseph Lister had a lasting impact. Morris became one of the first doctors in America to practice aseptic or "Listerian" surgery, and introduced many surgical innovations. As he grew in experience and confidence he was often critical of conventional practices and became regarded as a radical, yet in demand from patients and many of his ideas eventually gained grudging acceptance from the profession. He poked fun at the "ghastly gash", as he characterized the typical incisions made by surgeons in the late Victorian era, and ridiculed stuffing of the body cavity with gauze as "taxidermy". He believed "the patient is on the whole his own best antiseptic" and that less invasive procedures are often more beneficial. He was famous for his "inch-and-a-half incision with a week-and-a-half confinement", and minimal instruments for appendectomies, one of his specialties.
Morris had a formidable gift of language which he used to censure quacks, posers, and faddists. Fearless of criticism, he welcomed vigorous debate as the grand avenue for progress. Nevertheless, speaking his mind did not obstruct the path to high office in his profession. He was a professor of surgery for over twenty years at the New York Post Graduate Medical College, and served as the President of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists from 1907, and of the American Therapeutic Association from 1916.
Morris married his first wife, Aimée Reynaud Mazergue, in 1898; they had a daughter, Eugenia Reynaud Morris Frost. After their divorce, he married Mary Hannah Best in 1922, and late in his life they had a daughter, Mary Morris. She remembered him as a tender family man who was beloved by friends, colleagues, and patients.
He retired to his 440 acre wooded estate near Stamford which he preserved as a wildlife sanctuary, much of which is enjoyed today by the public as the Mianus River Park. With a dynamic career and exploration of the wilds of Canada behind him, he threw himself into experimental horticulture and writing about medicine, public affairs, conservation, and growing nut trees. The last of his ten books, Fifty Years a Surgeon, was an instant success.
He lived for another ten years, but infirmity robbed him of the energy that had formerly animated a productive life. Dr. Morris died at Stamford Hospital on January 9, 1945 at the age of 87.
Praise for the 1935 edition
Fifty Years a Surgeon was listed as a New York Times best-seller for nine months in that year. The following reviews have been selected from many.
"Vigorous, satisfying, exciting ... It is the human story of a man who had the courage to be an iconoclast for the purpose of safe-guarding humanity." New York Times
"Fascinating to any intelligent and educated layman." Boston Herald
"... the distillation of a rare and thoroughly engaging personality." New York Post
"... the most informative and entertaining book on the development of medical science in the last half century." Detroit News
"I can fearlessly recommend it to doctor and patient alike ... a rare fascination." Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A book which any critical reviewer must praise both for its scientific and literary value ... Fascinating reminiscences dealing with continuous struggle between life and death." Knickerbocker Press
"... a record of a preacher of humanity, the philosophy and wisdom of a man who has devoted himself to perfecting the art of relieving pain and prolonging life. Dallas Times Herald
"You who read it will either go about beating cymbals and shouting its praises or getting so angry you will demand that it be delivered to the public executioner to be burned." New York Sun
Fifty Years a Surgeon was listed as a New York Times best-seller for nine months in that year. The following reviews have been selected from many.
"Vigorous, satisfying, exciting ... It is the human story of a man who had the courage to be an iconoclast for the purpose of safe-guarding humanity." New York Times
"Fascinating to any intelligent and educated layman." Boston Herald
"... the distillation of a rare and thoroughly engaging personality." New York Post
"... the most informative and entertaining book on the development of medical science in the last half century." Detroit News
"I can fearlessly recommend it to doctor and patient alike ... a rare fascination." Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A book which any critical reviewer must praise both for its scientific and literary value ... Fascinating reminiscences dealing with continuous struggle between life and death." Knickerbocker Press
"... a record of a preacher of humanity, the philosophy and wisdom of a man who has devoted himself to perfecting the art of relieving pain and prolonging life. Dallas Times Herald
"You who read it will either go about beating cymbals and shouting its praises or getting so angry you will demand that it be delivered to the public executioner to be burned." New York Sun
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- PublisherJamestowne Bookworks
- Publication date2013
- ISBN 10 0989719901
- ISBN 13 9780989719902
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages370
- Rating
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A Surgeon's Story: The Autobiography of Robert T. Morris
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ISBN 10: 0989719901
ISBN 13: 9780989719902
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 370 pages. 9.00x6.00x0.84 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # zk0989719901
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