Want to know what books Gavin Francis recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Gavin Francis's favorite book recommendations of all time.
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Anatole Broyard, Alexandra Broyard, Oliver Sacks | 4.08
"Succeeds brilliantly....He lives as a writer and we are the wealthier for it."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
Anatyole Broyad, long-time book critic, book review editor, and essayist for THE NEW YORK TIMES wants to be remembered. He will be, with this collection of irreverent, humorous essays he wrote concerning the ordeals of life and death--many of which were written during the battle with cancer that led to his death in 1990.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR more "Succeeds brilliantly....He lives as a writer and we are the wealthier for it."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
Anatyole Broyad, long-time book critic, book review editor, and essayist for THE NEW YORK TIMES wants to be remembered. He will be, with this collection of irreverent, humorous essays he wrote concerning the ordeals of life and death--many of which were written during the battle with cancer that led to his death in 1990.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR less 
Gavin FrancisBroyard has a gentle irreverence about the medical process which is comforting after you’ve read a lot of medical memoirs. (Source)
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Various, G. E. R. Lloyd, J. Chadwick | 3.93
It is impossible to be certain which, if any, of the works in the Hippocratic corpus were written by Hippocrates himself (c.430 BC). His fame was such that many Greek medical writings became attributed to him. What they have in common is not dogma but, rather, constructive debate between one another. They also share a concern with meticulous observation and an insistence on physical, not supernatural, causation of illness. The writers were the pioneers of rational medicine; their ideas, dominant for centuries, still reveal to us the ideal of ethical practice, as well as the origins not just... more It is impossible to be certain which, if any, of the works in the Hippocratic corpus were written by Hippocrates himself (c.430 BC). His fame was such that many Greek medical writings became attributed to him. What they have in common is not dogma but, rather, constructive debate between one another. They also share a concern with meticulous observation and an insistence on physical, not supernatural, causation of illness. The writers were the pioneers of rational medicine; their ideas, dominant for centuries, still reveal to us the ideal of ethical practice, as well as the origins not just of Western medicine but of scientific method.
This excellent selection of Hippocratic treatises shows the range of writing and thought. Some are technical works on embryology, surgery or anatomy; others are addressed to a lay audience; all are informed with the spirit of inquiry. G.E.R. Lloyd's authoritative introduction puts them into their contemporary context and assesses their later influence. less See more recommendations for this book...
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Virginia; Stephen Woolf, Julia Stephen, Hermione Lee, Mark Hussey, Rita Charon | 4.11
5
In 1966 John Berger spent three months in the Forest of Dean shadowing an English country GP, John Sassall.
Sassall is a fortunate man - his work occupies and fulfils him, he lives amongst the patients he treats, the line between his life and his work is happily blurred.
In A Fortunate Man, Berger's text and the photography of Jean Mohr reveal with extraordinary intensity the life of a remarkable man. It is a portrait of one selfless individual and the rural community for which he became the hub. Drawing on psychology, biography and medicine A Fortunate Man is a portrait... more In 1966 John Berger spent three months in the Forest of Dean shadowing an English country GP, John Sassall.
Sassall is a fortunate man - his work occupies and fulfils him, he lives amongst the patients he treats, the line between his life and his work is happily blurred.
In A Fortunate Man, Berger's text and the photography of Jean Mohr reveal with extraordinary intensity the life of a remarkable man. It is a portrait of one selfless individual and the rural community for which he became the hub. Drawing on psychology, biography and medicine A Fortunate Man is a portrait of sacrifice. It is also a profound exploration of what it means to be a doctor, to serve a community and to heal.
With a new introduction by novelist and GP, Gavin Francis. less Gavin FrancisBerger was an astonishingly skilled and observant witness of anything he turned his gaze onto. (Source)
Dan RichardsSo the landscape is almost virgin and primordial, but at the same time, you get this very forward-thinking, almost revolutionary, doctor John Sassall. He’s kind of as much an alchemist as he is a doctor. It’s almost a nature documentary, this little microcosm of the country doctor as viewed through the lens of John Berger. (Source)
Tom OvertonIt’s about a country GP, he had this extremely intimate relationship with the people around him, but also had to be extremely distant. (Source)
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