For thousands of years the human heart remained the deepest of mysteries; both home to the soul and an organ too complex to touch, let alone operate on. Then, in the late nineteenth century, medics began going where no one had dared go before.
In eleven landmark operations, The Matter of the Heart tells stories of triumph, reckless bravery, swaggering arrogance, jealousy and rivalry, and incredible ingenuity, from the trail-blazing ‘blue baby’ procedure to the first human heart transplant. It gives us a view over the surgeon’s shoulder, showing us the heart’s inner workings and failings. It describes both a human story and a history of risk-taking that has ultimately saved millions of lives.
In November 2015 The Matter of the Heart won an RSL Jerwood Award for non-fiction. Click here to buy the UK edition, or here to buy the US edition.
The Matter of the Heart provides a thoroughly researched and detailed account of the major advances in cardiac surgery….Mr. Morris does an admirable job of capturing the agony and the ecstasy of those turbulent times… a thoroughly engaging history. (Stephen Westaby, author of Fragile Lives, The Wall Street Journal)
The research that has gone into this book is simply staggering, and Morris has achieved much more than a history of heart operations. The Matter of the Heart is about the mad scientists of the post-war period, the unacknowledged backroom boys, the heroic guinea pigs. It is a study of human beings driven by Olympian ambition and bottomless curiosity. It is, in the end, a book about wonder. And a wonderful book. (Frances Wilson, The Telegraph)
Thomas Morris does for the history of cardiac surgery what The Right Stuff and Hidden Figures did for the space race… The book is – appropriately – pulse-thumpingly gripping and will be enjoyed by anyone who, in any sense of the phrase, has a heart. (Mark Lawson)
Tremendous. An exhilarating sweep through ancient history and contemporary practice in surgery of the heart. It’s rich in extraordinary detail and stories that will amaze you. A wonderful book. (Melvyn Bragg)
Thrilling … Significant and often immersive… The “dizzying” story of heart surgery is every bit as important as that of the nuclear, computer or rocket ages. And now it has been given the history it deserves (James McConnachie, Sunday Times)
Fascinating and compelling… There are also remarkable tales of survival against the odds, perseverance, ingenuity and awe-inspiring feats… Morris deftly constructs an engaging narrative that covers a vast range of material. (Manjit Kumar, Literary Review)