While interesting at first, I found that as the audiobook went on the pacing slowed and the amount of interesting information dropped off. This is a memoir, but it seemed to be more like a collection of stories rather than a linear story. Overall the book was alright. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to this audiobook.

"Nobility in Small Things: A Surgeon's Path" is a memoir written by Dr. Craig R. Smith, which chronicles his journey from his childhood to the Chair of Surgery at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

This is a solid autobiography about a surgeon's childhood, his career highlights, COVID, and reflections.

The book introduces readers to patients and peers, and moves from family-building and heartbreak at home, to the tragic suicide of two fellow M.D.s. The anecdotes in the book are recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise surgeon. The book is a straightforward memoir that philosophizes a little bit rather than being a work of philosophy. The book is an intimate portrait replete with the wisdom of experience. Overall, the book is a captivating and inspiring read that offers insights into the life of a surgeon and the challenges they face in their profession.

Craig R. Smith spent a bit too much time on COVID for my taste (it takes about 20% of the book), but I can understand why.

It's a 3.5 star book. Unlike most reviewers, I round up to 4 stars because writing a book takes a lot of work!

A medical memoir that details the events that lead Dr. Smith to apply for medical school after leaving graduate school without a degree and asking his wife to uproot her goals to follow him.

I really enjoyed reading the inner workings of Dr. Smith’s mind. Human thoughts are a fascination of mine and it’s why I rank memoirs so high. The most fascinating section was his experience treating Former President Bill Clinton.

This is a niche read so if you enjoy memoirs and medicine this will be easy to connect with.

I thought this book was interesting, but it read more like a bunch of short stories rather than a linear book. I was really interested in the first few chapters thinking that the author was going to be talking about his life as a surgeon, especially during the time of covid-19 but then it popped back to earlier times in his life. On one hand, it was pretty interesting. I don't know if I know of many people who have had so many unrelated jobs that required specific skills as this man did. On the other hand, I think I wanted the information to be organized a little differently. Overall, it was a good memoir that gave an interesting snapshot of somebody else's life that is very different from my own

Thank you Netgalley for this audio ARC. As a healthcare worker who worked thru the pandemic in various capacities, and also engages with physicians and surgeons daily in my work role, I found this memoir extremely interesting. I do get to witness, regularly, the behind the scenes process and people who save lives, but it was a unique experience to live inside the mind of Dr. Smith for the duration of this book. His perspective gave me greater appreciation for the giant responsibility and burden surgeons carry inside and outside of the operating room.

The way the book is marketed, I expected a bigger focus on the pandemic. But this is really the memoir of a surgeon who just happened to live thru the pandemic in the NY hotspot, after decades in the field, and many other life experiences that shaped his career and perspective on life leading up to COVID-19.

Ultimately, I'm not sure a layman would enjoy this book quite as much as a multitude of healthcare workers out there, like myself, who can relate to so much of his professional experiences. But for those of us who are in the field, his words are a reminder that what we do, both big and small, matters. We make a difference, even when the public or our patient doesn't recognize or appreciate it. We all have a role, and the Americab healthcare system wouldn't function without each one of us. It's a great reminder as we face criticism, pushback, negative obstacles or simply difficult and/or thankless patients, to keep doing what we do.

When I was asked to read this by the publisher, after reading the blurb, I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, this excitement dwindled away as I read the book.

This book should have been awesome, and to be fair, there were moments that were really enjoyable [The Clinton triple bypass, some of the Covid parts, the part about being a lineman for AT&T <--my Dad was a "phone guy" who did it all and I totally got these parts, though I can see how it would be so deadly dull to people who have no frame of reference LOL], but it was mostly just a dull and tedious read and left me wishing I could have been reading something else. I am truly disappointed over this as I was expecting so much more.

I was able to also receive an audiobook ARC [I need to note here that all of chapter 5 was missing from my audiobook ARC] and I will admit now, it will be tough to review it. I liked the narrator well enough, but with the job he had before him in narrating this snooze-fest of a book, it is difficult to tell if I would like him in other books, but I do believe I would listen to him again as he did the best job he could with the material he was given.

I was asked to read/review this book by St. Marten Press and I thank them, Dr. Craig R. Smith, Braden Wright - Narrator and Macmillan Audio for providing the book ARC and the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was okay. It was interesting but didn’t blow me away. I also was not a huge fan of the narrator’s voice.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this book. This medical biography/memoir was not what I expected. At times disjointed, this book seemed to describe more of a business and policy side of the chief of surgery’s job than the actual surgery cases that readers wanted and expected to see. Since this is not a final version, perhaps it would be edited and streamlined for a smoother, more enjoyable read.

I was very excited to start this book, hoping for an inside perspective on leadership during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, this was profoundly disappointing. The writing voice was often tone deaf and unaware of his privilege. I recommend skipping this clinician memoir in favor of others, such as When Breath Becomes Air or Delivering Doctor Amelia.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love when nonfiction books take me into another world and offer different perspectives. For those reasons, I really enjoyed Nobility in Small Things. Dr. Craig Smith is the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, and he pulls the curtain into the life of a medical center. There are always new skills to learn, and every day is different. He discusses the quadruple bypass he performed on Bill Clinton and the realities of working in a hospital in the COVID-19 era.

The book felt occasionally meandering, and I had much more interest in certain sections than others. I would have gladly read more anecdotes about his surgeries, but a big chunk of the book covered his pre-medical life. It was interesting to follow his path, but it took a while to get to the "juicy" parts.

Overall, this was a great read that I'm sure nonfiction fans will appreciate.