The Sublime Engine: A Biography of the Human Heart

The heart has always captured the human imagination. It is the repository of our deepest religious andartistic impulses, the organ whose steady functioning is understood, both literally and symbolically, asthe 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

Stephen Amidon is the author of six novels, including The New City and Human Capital. His fiction has been published in 15 countries, and he is a regular contributor of essays and criticism to newspapers and magazines in the United States and United Kingdom.

Thomas Amidon , MD, has been cardiology section chief at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, WA, and a clinical instructor at Washington University. He is the author of dozens of articles and coauthor of the cardiology chapter in a topselling medical textbook.