A widow becomes obsessed with the desire to once again hear her dead husband's heart, which has been harvested and transplanted into the body of another man ("Whither Thou Goest"). A mother descends i
The former surgeon writes of his own near-death experience after being diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease and lapsing into a coma. The fragility of health and robustness of imagination merge when th
Merging art and religion with science, these largely autobiographical essays delve deeply into the emotional territory of medicine commonly avoided by other writers. This collection, first published i
Selzer's first collection of short stories (originally published in 1974) weaves together the fantastic and grotesque with surgical precision. The sense that death lurks around every corner is heighte
This beautifully crafted memoir by one of America's finest storytellers generally is considered Richard Selzer's most moving and personal work. The story is set in Troy, New York, during the Great Dep
Susan Cheever observed in a New York Times Book Review appraisal of his memoir Down from Troy that Richard Selzer "cares more about truth than consequences . . . [and] immerses us in the facts we all
The physician-turned-writer shares twenty-four pieces of writing on painting, sculpture, war, medicine, and other subjects, applying his humor, charm, and eccentric voice to each narrative.
