"The person who comes up with a way to replace a failing heart with an artificial one, then, will save countless lives and change the future of humankind, much as Louis Pasteur or Sigmund Freud did, or Jonas Salk or Marie Curie. And, of course, the doctor or engineer (or, more likely, the team) who figures out how to make one will likely become very, very rich."

This is what we are presented with in Ticker: The Quest to Create an Artificial Heart by Mimi Swartz. The book tells the sordid history of a group of surgeons all vying to become the god-like creator of the first artificial heart. Swartz is a stunning and detailed researcher and the book flows well throughout the decades. She starts with the birth of Michael Debakey and Denton Cooley as the "bad boys: of cardiac surgery in Houston. From there, Swartz takes the reader on the stunning and sometimes vaguely unethical battle to be the best, to beat the competition, and to cash in for as much money as humanly possible. My only disappointment is that the book just seemed to end with no conclusion. That could be due to the unfinished tale of the artificial heart but it still could have wrapped up a bit better in my opinion.

I had some knowledge going into the book as my husband's uncle was on the ground floor of Baylor's race to be the best in cardiac care but much of the information was new to me. Readers who have grown up in Houston will know the cast of characters and possibly even the history of the cardiac teams that come into play. This book is not for the faint of heart, however. These are real people that have been used as guinea pigs and sometimes, that's disheartening and upsetting. Know going into it that the early days of heart surgery were akin to the Wild West and not everyone was on the up-and-up.

Mimi Swartz tells the story of a group of cardiac surgeons all vying for the title of creator. Not with a capital C, but creator of the first functional artificial heart. And by group, I don’t mean to imply they worked together. Some did, and some didn’t. Competition was fierce, and the game was decades long.

Beginning in the 1970s, when medicine was just beginning to understand heart disease. The doctors had a lot to learn too, so it was a bit like the Wild West. Which made sense, since these doctors happened to practice in the Houston area.

Once Dr. Michael DeBakey at Baylor College of Medicine and Methodist Ho
spital and Dr. Denton Cooley began working in town, the city became known for its ability to treat the most difficult kinds of cardiac cases. The two were fierce rivals throughout their lives.

Then those two doctors began mentoring the next generation, including Vietnam vet Dr. Bud Frazier at Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s / Texas Medical Center. Frazier in turn mentors Dr. Billy Cohn, a surgeon / inventor who he hopes can drive the next phase of device development. It’s interesting to see how each successive generation builds on the last, while also changing the playing field.

Swartz highlights each surgeon and their team of mechanics and technicians. She tells how they got their start in cardiac surgery, and then details their efforts with implantable cardiac devices. Sounds like it might get dry, but she keeps the momentum going with plenty of funny, insightful stories. These surgeons are characters!

My conclusions
This isn’t an especially long book, and it went very quickly for me. It helps that I’m fascinated by all things medical. Swartz explains cardiac conditions the devices invented to relieve them with as much ease as she describes Houston high society. Perhaps it helps that they’re people she’s been reporting on for decades, as editor of Texas Monthly.

It’s amazing how much medicine can do for patients. And it’s also sad to learn about all the failed cases too. Swartz introduces the patients on whom the surgeons to tested their devices. Despite knowing they were likely to die either way, these brave souls took the chance and ultimately advanced medical research. They are unsung heroes, and I’m glad Swartz brings their cases to light.

I heard the names of the surgeons and patients while I was growing up. Dr. Christian Barnaard, inventor Robert Jarvik, and patient Barney Clark. It’s good to understand the deeper story behind those famous headlines.

Ticker is full of heart-felt goals, painful failures, and the occasional triumph. It’s a seamless mix of biography, medical technology, and history. If this is your jam, you won’t be disappointed.

Acknowledgements
I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for this honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and the author.

Ticker by Mimi Swartz is the story of how the first artificial heart cane to be. The author writes the book like a novel, telling the story of the doctor who made the first heart. I think the author did a good job describing the workings of the heart in layman’s terms. However, the story does not really work as a story. I think the story format does not work very well. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

One of the best books I've read so far this year. Mimi Swartz has written a gripping page-turner about the quest (perhaps obsession) of some of the most skilled (and daring) heart surgeons and most brilliant inventors and scientists to create one of modern medicine's Holy Grails: an artificial heart.