What One Man Said to Another: Talks with Richard Selzer

What One Man Said to Another is, on one level, a series of extended conversations between friends. On another, it is a spoken autobiography of Richard Selzer, respected surgeon and writer, as recorded by New York artist and writer Peter Josyph. In these pages we learn firsthand of Selzer's life as a surgeon in an isolated village in Korea in the early 1950s; the unforgettable evening when he saved the life of author John Cheever; his agonizing courtroom experience during a malpractice suit; the ostracism of colleagues as he trained himself, every night for eight years, to become a writer; and his encounters with notable personalities, such as Orson Welles, John Houseman, Richard Ellmann, Josef Albers and even one of "Charlie's Angels." The sparkling wit, profound insight, and unique poetic vision that characterize works such as Raising the Dead, Taking the World in for Repairs, Mortal Lessons, and all of Selzer's writing are present in every one of these lively conversations.
 

As Josyph says in his preface, "To walk with Richard Selzer is to walk with civilization," and these conversations are full of the sparkling wit, the piercing insight, the poetic vision, and the knowledge of both medicine and literature that have made him the most eloquent voice in the medical humanities movement while ranking him with the finest living authors of short fiction and personal essays. Along with controversial views on AIDS, euthanasia, and recent trends in medical training, these probing talks depict, in language that is by turns elegant, bawdy, and reflective, his harrowing experience as a surgeon in an isolated village in postwar Korea; his childhood during the Depression in a small tubercular town that was famous for its whores; his unconventional residency that led to singing a song from The Mikado during Grand Rounds; the unforgettable evening in which he saved the life of author John Cheever; his courtroom agony during a malpractice suit; and his encounters with celebrities such as Orson Welles, John Houseman, Richard Ellmann, Josef Albers, and one of Charlie's Angels. Peter Josyph draws from his own multifaceted background to lead Selzer into a broad range of topics, proving, in every chapter, that the art of entertaining conversation is still very much alive.

Booknews

A series of informal but sparkling conversations between authors Selzer and Josyph amounting to an oral autobiography of Selzer's life as both highly respected surgeon and writer. Along with controversial views on AIDS, euthanasia, and recent trends in medical training, these probing talks reveal facets of Selzer's life, from his childhood during the Depression in a small tubercular town to encounters with celebrities such as Orson Welles and one of Charlie's Angels. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Peter Josyph is a bestselling author, editor, painter, and photographer. His work has appeared in Southern Quarterly, The Bloomsbury Review, Library Journal, Twentieth Century Literature, Studies in Short Fiction, and The Cormac McCarthy Journal. He edited The Wounded River: The Civil War Letters of John Vance Lauderdale, M.D., which was selected as one of the New York Times Book Review's Notable Books of 1993.