Extreme Medicine

"That is the truth of all exploration-in science or the physical world. We do not climb mountains, traipse to polar ice caps, split atoms, or unravel genomes simply because "they are there," but because we know that it is within the unanticipated fruits of exploration that our improved survival lies."

Kevin Fong

Extreme Medicine

The medical world is amazing. For most of human history, the average age of death hovered around 30. Disease and exposure came for everyone, and medical treatment was rudimentary. Every once in a while, though, a break through increased our odds of survival. From vaccines, to life support technology, these new innovations were, and still are, amazing (I am extremely grateful that I have never had to worry about Polio, Tuberculosis, or Small Pox). They came after much hard work, and often going against the grain of the medical community, driven forward by new exploration into new parts of the world, and sometimes, beyond it. 

In Extreme Medicine, Kevin Fong, explores the history of several of medicines great breakthroughs. Drawing on his medical experience and his work with NASA, he explains how exploration has been necessary for these discoveries, from polar exploration to space exploration, deep sea diving flight, each has been extremely important to developing critical practices in life support, trauma, treating burns and pushing the limits on surgery. Through creative storytelling and an expansive knowledge of science, Kevin Fong puts together a magnificent piece of work showing how far we have come, all the while examining why that innovative push may stall out.

"But we're growing more circumspect about physical exploration, particularly that which sees us staring out into space at the final frontier. We've begun to wonder if we should continue to boldly go."

This book was magnificent. The stories of exploration and medical advancement are fascinating and exciting, and when paired with Fong's scientific knowledge, which he relays in simple, concise, and easily understandable ways, leads to an incredible look at how science has advanced in the past hundred years and how it may continue to advance in the future if we are willing to take risks to push the boundaries of what we know. This is a fantastic read, and I highly recommend
it to anyone who likes to explore, or enjoys the use of their heart and lungs.