Extreme Medicine: How Exploration Transformed Medicine in the Twentieth Century

From Booklist Inner space, outer space, and regions in between—this is the sprawling subject matter of a book that celebrates the challenges of discovery. Fong, a physician with a background in astrophysics, engineering, and aerospace medicine, ably identifies the correlations and convergence of exploring extreme environments and predicaments and the human body. For example, he tethers an expedition to the South Pole with forthcoming medical applications of hypothermia. He links the disfiguring burns suffered by WWII aircraft pilots with the development of reconstructive plastic surgery. Fong focuses on the fragility of human physiology and efforts to protect it with advanced life-support systems. Along the way, readers learn about the rise of intensive-care units, human spaceflight, iron lungs and polio, a complete face transplant, and SARS. Exploration of any kind is risky business and at times seems irrational. It requires curiosity, innovation, and resiliency, and it pushes the limits of knowledge, territory, and biology. Fong makes the point that human survival has been and will continue to be closely connected to our compulsion to explore. --Tony Miksanek The Washington Post : “Every chapter combines personal stories, dramatic medical history and clear, vivid science writing…Fong’s book presents daring moments in medicine along with lucid explanations of human physiology and of how medical professionals manage to keep people alive or pull them back from the brink. It should appeal to would-be astronauts, outdoor-lovers, mountain climbers, free-divers, armchair explorers, science enthusiasts, those working in the health professions or wondering about such a career—indeed, just about anyone with a heartbeat and a dash of curiosity.” The Wall Street Journal : “In Extreme Medicine , physician Kevin Fong reminds us that virtually everything we take for granted in lifesaving medical intervention was once unthinkable… Dr. Fong's engaging and fast-paced narrative is liberally sprinkled with his own harrowing experiences as a specialist in anesthesia and intensive-care.” Discover : “[Fong] weaves first hand, nail-biting ER experiences with gripping historical narrative as he recounts 100 years of breakthroughs...[Fong] looks forward as well: He offers tantalizing ideas about surviving long-term space travel and other possibilities that await us in our relentless quest to explore.” Mother Jones : “With clear, evocative prose, he takes readers to ocean depths and mountaintops, and also deep within our bodies, in this entertaining exploration of human limits.” Kirkus Reviews (starred): "A medical thriller of the first order." Publishers Weekly : "[An] eloquent history of how 20th-century science and medicine moved us toward 'improved survival'--and with it a better understanding of life and death...these are thrilling stories that describe the limits of human psychology." Atul Gawande, surgeon and author of Complications , Better , and The Checklist Manifesto : "In Extreme Medicine , the ever-intrepid Kevin Fong reveals the fascinating link between geographical exploration and medical innovation, with stories that are as strange and intriguing as they are illuminating." Professor Brian Cox, author of The Quantum Universe : "It would be hard to find anyone better qualified to write a book on the limits of human physiology than Dr Kevin Fong.xa0His experiences in human spaceflight at NASA, in frontline medicine, and his deep scientific knowledge, shine through. If you want to know what the human body can take, and why we must continue to push ourselves beyond the limit in the name of exploration, then read this book." The Observer (UK): " Anatomy and physiology are elegantly explained , not as abstract theory, but as counterpoint to gripping stories about survival against the odds. Real stories of life and near-death form the compelling backbone of the book. The book could easily have ended up as a series of Boy's Own tales of derring-do, but Fong elegantly balances heroism with rationalism, courage with compassion, shock with humility and humor. " Guardian (UK): "From the outset Ice and Fire is a gripping read . It's the kind of book you want to read peeking through cracks in your fingers; you want to look away, but not as much as you want to know what happens… I held my breath, I shed a tear, I laughed out loud, and I struggled to keep my lunch down at various points through this book, and that can only be a good thing." Times Higher Education (UK ) : "Fong weaves together seemingly unconnected events in this world and beyond in a series of breathless vignettes… an appealing mix of academic eloquence and matey talk: … In many ways, Ice and Fire is the story of the 20th century …We explore because we must, and if you have a sense of adventure and the miracle of life within you, then this book is for you." Daily Mail : "Fong has dramatic first-person accounts to give, and many more… he also proves himself to be a genuinely talented author… Fong has come up with an often fascinating and actually rather inspiring account of western medicine’s ever-increasing expertise ." Kevin Fong holds degrees in medicine, astrophysics, and engineering and is an honorary senior lecturer in physiology at University College London. He has completed specialist training in anesthesia and intensive care medicine, has worked with NASA, and is the founder of the Centre for Altitude, Space, and Extreme Environment Medicine. Fong has created and starred in several documentaries for the BBC and Radio 4 in the UK. He writes for The Guardian and has a regular column in The Times (UK) Higher Educational magazine. Read more