Laughing and Crying about Anesthesia: A Memoir of Risk and Safety
Dr. Zeitlin is a graduate of the University of Cambridge in England. After qualification as a physician in 1958 he became intrigued by the power of anesthesiologists in saving the lives of young patients dying of poliomyelitis. It struck him that although anesthesia was still a primitive mostly empirical medical non-science, that the potential for improvement was great.          He began by doing 'locum tenens' jobs in peripheral hospitals. Shortly after this he obtained the postgraduate diploma of Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. The ladder to a 'top job' (a Consultancy) was very steep in those days. His Chief at the Middlesex Hospital, an important London academic institution, suggested a year in America.       He traveled steerage to Boston and to his surprise found that his experience in the U.K. more than qualified him as faculty at Harvard Medical School at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. His wife loved America and the American ethos and restarted her career as a professional classical violinist.      Later, Dr. Zeitlin moved to a high quality private practice near Boston but for the last 14 years of his career he returned to academia because of his love for teaching.      Some of Dr. Zeitlin's later activities included the Presidency of the Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists, Delegate to the House of Delegates of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and as Principal Reviewer for the American Society of Anesthesiologists Closed Claims Project. He was graciously accepted by the American Board of Anesthesiology as one of its Diplomates in 1968.       He has always been fascinated by the history of anesthesiology; the reader will know that it really began in Boston with the somewhat scurrilous dentist William T.G. Morton - whose grave in the Mount Auburn Cemetery Dr. Zeitlin visits twice each year.       In recent years Dr. Zeitlin has published many articles about the 'stimmung' or aura of anesthesia - particularly its place in society.       Three years ago he attended a lecture at Grub Street Writers in Boston titled 'Do You Have a Book?'. A few nights later he awoke suddenly and realized he "Did Have  A Book".       If anyone buys a copy they should feel extra righteous because Dr. Zeitlin will donate half the proceeds to the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research. This is the premier funding organization for young scientists in our specialty to find ways of improving even further your care in the operating room.