A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor

A Fortunate Man, first published in the late1960's has remained an enduring book which not only captures a time and place - a small village in the border country between England and Wales in the 1960's, but has become a book which in many ways is an archetypal essay about the relationship of the physician to himself, to the community and to the ideals and realities of practice. I have taught this book in medical school for almost 20 years, using it as a stimulus for young physicians to think about themselves and how they view their careers, looking forward. The photographs by Jean Mohr are among the most striking and emotional depictions of medicine in the late 20th century and the book has become a widely referenced example of combining narrative and photographs in the documentary style.
Anyone who wishes to understand the essence of the doctor patient relationship or the doctor community relationship should own this book and read it. It is a classic.

It begins as if it were fiction, and ends as a study of one man's life, his relation to his patients, and the economic and social conditions which frame this connection. It is less biography than philosophy, and it extends beyond doctors toward all people and their actions.
This is not to say that John Berger's observations of Dr. Sassall's life can be applied to all people. Much is specific to Sassall's identity as a doctor. His depression, Berger claims, is a result of "the suffering of his patients, and his own sense of inadequacy." But there is a theme of existentialism that underlies the book, and it is ultimately about, I think, the pain of searching for purpose after one has faced and understood absurdity. Berger cannot conclude his essay because Sassall's essence cannot be truly captured, and his existence is not yet finished.
Besides being a philosophical book, it is also very personal. It is difficult to categorize FORTUNATE MAN into nonfiction categories because it is very intellectually intimate. It is a unique and thoughtful book, not only to be enjoyed but appreciated with effort and time.

I am required to read this book for Clinical Skills class, but I just quit reading it when I got to part in the middle when the author talks about how ignorant the villagers are: "There are large sections of the English working and middle class who are INARTICULATE as a result of wholesale cultural deprivation. THEY ARE DEPRIVED OF THE MEANS OF TRANSLATING WHAT THEY KNOW INTO THOUGHTS THEY CAN THINK." WHAT?!?!?!?!?!? I am sure there are lessons to be learned from this book, but between the marginal-quality, occasionally cryptic writing and the scorn the author shows in passages like this, they're lost. Forget selling this book back to the bookstore... I'm taking it straight to the recycling bin. If there are good lessons in the end, I don't have the patience to read all the way through to get to them. And Lord help me if I ever become the kind of doctor this book describes.

Mr. John Berger calls this work an essay, a word that does not bring to my mind great literary work. It brings back memories of forced reading and documentation. "A Fortunate Man", is a literary accomplishment, it is another example of this Author's skills and to the man this book is a tribute to. Additionally the photographs of Jean Mohr bring a sense of hyperrealism to this documentary of one Doctor's practice, the world in which he lives, and the lives he cares for. Many of the black and white images brought to mind the Artist Andrew Wyeth as he too has documented the life of those traditionally not thought to be extraordinary, but who are the foundations of our society.
Photographs are not generally found in most popular literature. Images are the realm of the Author and the creations he or she can conjure in the mind's eye of a reader. Some would comment pictures are inappropriate; they intrude, or at worst become a crutch for weak writing. Others would say each reader should have their own visual experience, their own reference points they create when reading another's work. But in this collaboration the images and words compliment one another, and like the words that are black and white, the photographer too makes her contribution in shades from black to white, and the result is simply extraordinary.
There are moments when the Author becomes a poet adding but a few lines to an otherwise lone photograph, and the feeling evoked has more impact than chapters of lesser writers. Mr. Berger describes a landscape as perhaps being other than a stage where events unfold, and actually being a screen or curtain that hides life's events. Landscapes for him are, "biographical and personal", read that thought with the photograph it compliments and you feel as though you have experienced an entire novel.
Dr. John Sassall is the man that all this excellence in words and images were gathered for and he is deserving of every bit of the talent used. He is a country Doctor, he is pure in his motivation as his patients are what he lives for, his drive is to ease suffering, cure, and be the comforting presence when death is at hand. He is the type of Doctor that any reader would consider himself or herself fortunate to have. He is the confidant of every age, every generation, he is an advisor but never one who preaches, opines or judges. He is part of the lives of his patients, he knows them, and knows that illness is not always a physical ailment. His understanding, and using his seemingly casual, spontaneous questions often cure what no medicine could ever reach. He is a friend to everyone. In him all place their trust that is absolute.
This is an overwhelming book to read even though the time you may spend reading and looking through it may be brief. For Mr. Berger and Ms. Mohr raise and document the most fundamental concerns we all have, how this Doctor deals with them, and how most of the world does not.
The Author says that our Society wastes by "enforced hypocrisy"; emptying lives it does not destroy. Dr. Sassall is the answer to this future containing nothing, and his story is presented in a way that will move you, as few books of any genre will do.

This strikes me as a book to be read for people reckoning with career and life choices. It is a rich and complex look at a country doctor who has made a life of helping others, but not in some glorified Ghandi-like way-- this man is down to earth and the descriptions of his life are wonderfully down to earth too.

This is a great book describing the satisfactions of the role of a general practioner in a small village in England. The author describes the appreciation of the village inhabitants for the doctor, and in return, his satisfactions in his role. Morris A. Wessel M.D.

Had to read this for a college writing class. I loved it! It uses images in the style of writing and tries to explain the idea behind the common Doctor. Recommend for every medical student.

John Berger is know around the world as a Renaissance Man, one who can write criticism, plays, novels, short stories, and can even paint the occasional work of art. But I humbly submit that this may be his best work, one that examines the relationship between a country doctor and his community. Sadly the time period of the piece, the 1960s, are gone and the entire institution of the general practitioner, complete with house calls and lollipops for the children. But the questions he asks are searching ones that hinge on the very fundamental human relations that modernity is radically changing.

What is a human life worth? He won't give you any answers, because he trusts you to think about all this for years to come. An exceptional work.

Gem of a book. Sending to my son.

The story and characters had a powerful, positive effect on me. Even weeks later, I think about some of the insights and actions.