The Medical Media Review

The Best Medical Books of All Time

• By Mark Yoffe MD
• 25 September, 2012
• 3 Comments

Here is my list of the best medical books of all time:

1. The Chest X-Ray: A Survival Guide by Gerald de Lacey (2008, reviewed here)
2. Brain CT Scans in Clinical Practice (2009, reviewed here)
3. Learning Radiology, Recognizing the Basics by William Herring MD (2011, reviewed here)
4. Acid Base Case Studies (2004) by Ira Kurtz MD (reviewed here)
5. Clinician’s Guide to Laboratory Medicine: Pocket by Samir P. Desai MD (2009, reviewed here)
6. Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology (2007, reviewed here)
7. Differential Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases (1996, reviewed here)
8. Robbins and Cotran Atlas of Pathology (2009)
9. Antibiotic Basics for Clinicians: The ABCs of Choosing the Right Antibacterial Agent, 2e, by Alan R Hauser, MD, PhD (2012, reviewed here)
10. Sapira’s Art and Science of Bedside Diagnosis (2009)
11. Physical Examination of the Spine and Extremities (1976, reviewed here)
12. Minor Emergencies (2007, reviewed here)
13. NMS Surgery Casebook (2003, reviewed here)
14. Cope’s Early Diagnosis of the Acute Abdomen by William Silen MD (2010, reviewed here)
15. Basic Clinical Neuroscience (2007) by Paul A. Young PhD.
16. Netter’s Essential Histology (2007) by William K. Ovalle PhD.

Criteria for inclusion:

• Educational value: the degree to which the book successfully teaches, simplifies and distills an otherwise complex topic – and makes it stick.
• Timelessness: the degree to which the book stood the test of time, or is expected to do so.
• Relevance: the degree to which the book is useful to physicians across multiple specialties.
• Transformative value: the degree to which the book  changes both one’s understanding, framing and appreciation of a particular subject or specialty. I favor books which will make you better at what you do, and not just make you know more.
• Uniqueness: I give books special consideration if they are the sole books, or best books, about their respective topics.
• Conciseness

by Mark Yoffe MD

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