Cheating Death

The Doctors and Medical Miracles that Are Saving Lives Against All Odds

By: Sanjay Gupta MD MD

Narrated by: Sanjay Gupta MD MD

An unborn baby with a fatal heart defect . . . a skier submerged for an hour in a frozen Norwegian lake . . . a comatose brain surgery patient whom doctors have declared a "vegetable."

Twenty years ago all of them would have been given up for dead, with no realistic hope for survival. But today, thanks to incredible new medical advances, each of these individuals is alive and well . . . Cheating Death.

In this riveting book, Dr. Sanjay Gupta-neurosurgeon, chief medical correspondent for CNN, and bestselling author-chronicles the almost unbelievable science that has made these seemingly miraculous recoveries possible. A bold new breed of doctors has achieved amazing rescues by refusing to accept that any life is irretrievably lost. Extended cardiac arrest, "brain death," not breathing for over an hour-all these conditions used to be considered inevitably fatal, but they no longer are. Today, revolutionary advances are blurring the traditional line between life and death in fascinating ways.

Drawing on real-life stories and using his unprecedented access to the latest medical research, Dr. Gupta dramatically presents exciting accounts of how pioneering physicians and researchers are altering our understanding of how the human body functions when it comes to survival-and why more and more patients who once would have died are now alive. From experiments with therapeutic hypothermia to save comatose stroke or heart attack victims to lifesaving operations in utero to the study of animal hibernation to help wounded soldiers on far-off battlefields, these remarkable case histories transform and enrich all our assumptions about the true nature of death and life.©2009 Sanjay Gupta; (P)2009 Hachette

A Journey to the Edge of Life

How many of us, at one time or another, have wondered about the end of life, either our own or that of a loved on already gone? In this outstanding narration of his own book, practicing clinical neurosurgeon, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, M.D., explores and explains just how far modern medicine has been able to push the envelope between life and death, and what defines the very limits of both. Using plain english for the lay person, with enough medical detail to capture those medical professionals alike, Dr. Gupta takes us on a tour of one of those areas that is a frequently tabooed subject in medicine-after all-death is in a way medicine's 'arch-enemy'. Yet after listening to this Audible presentation, a first for me, and an experience unlike any before, I felt as though I had spent many hours one on one with the good doctor himself, as he delves into areas I've never heard another highly acclaimed physician talk about before, and I came away with a whole new appreciation, and understanding!

Factual Medical Stories; Interesting, & Well Told.

Dr. Gupta explains, through discussion, a number of instances when people were considered ... even declared ... dead, but still were able to be brought back to life. He shows, in this book how the once-considered finality of a person being dead, according to indications on the medical machinery, may not really be the case at all. It does bring up the unsettling thought that doctors inadvertently could make a mistake in declaring a person dead, in order to begin organ harvesting for transplanting.
It is interesting and amazing to hear about some of the advancements of medical science, and also to consider how the lines of "death" have become blurred. Gupta also explores the power of prayer, & its influence upon the sick, as well as "miracles", and the attempt to explain them in scientific terms.
If you are looking for a good book dealing factually with medicine, especially neurosurgery, this may be the book for you. Gupta writes well ... almost conversationally.
This is a good one; I'll be watching for more by Sanjay, Gupta, M.D.

Great Book!

One reviewer said the author was monotone and should not have narrated his own book. I totally disagree. Sanjay did a great job because like he said, he is passionate about what he does. There was nothing monotone about it. Great book with great insight with relevant patient stories to accompany.

A must read

Well written and well narrated. Angie Shelton
Stanford University Medical Ctr

Great informative read

Dr Gupta seems to do it all perfectly. I enjoyed his book and TV shots. He is very much enjoyed.
Bill Longpre