The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray's Anatomy

With passion and wit, Hayes explores the significance of Gray's Anatomyand explains why it came to symbolize a turning point in medical history. But he does much, much more. Uncovering a treasure trove of forgotten letters and diaries, he illuminates the astonishing relationship between the fiercely gifted young anatomist Henry Gray and his younger collaborator H. V. Carter, whose exquisite anatomical illustrations are masterpieces of art and close observation. Tracing the triumphs and tragedies of these two extraordinary men, Hayes brings an equally extraordinary era-the mid 1800s-unforgettably to life.

But the journey Hayes takes us on is not only outward but inward-through the blood and tissue and organs of the human body-for The Anatomistchronicles Hayes's year as a student of classical gross anatomy, performing with his own hands the dissections and examinations detailed by Henry Gray 150 years ago. As Hayes's acquaintance with death deepens, he finds his understanding and appreciation of life deepening in unexpected and profoundly moving ways. The Anatomistis more than just the story of a book. It is the story of the human body, a story whose beginning and end we all know and share but that, like all great stories, is infinitely rich in between.