The Horn Book Guide

TECHNOLOGY

Murphy, Jim

Breakthrough!: How Three People Saved "Blue Babies" and Changed Medicine Forever

128 pp. | Clarion | December, 2015 | Trade ISBN 978-0-547-82183-2 $18.99

(1) 4-6 Murphy tells the story of the medical team in the 1940s that solved the problem of "Blue baby syndrome"--Dr. Alfred Blalock; pediatrician Helen Taussig (a woman in a male-dominated field); and Vivien Thomas, Blalock's African American lab assistant, who developed and refined the surgical procedure. The synthesis of their stories is illuminating, serving also as social commentary on the times. Numerous black-and-white photographs are included. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015