TY - JOUR T1 - A <em>Fortunate Man</em>: still the most important book about general practice ever written JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 246 LP - 247 VL - 55 IS - 512 AU - Gene Feder Y1 - 2005/03/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/55/512/246.abstract N2 - This is a short book, modestly described by the author as an ‘essay’. In it a GP working in the Forest of Dean in the mid-1960s comes to life. We read about his encounters with patients and his struggle to respond to their illnesses and lives. The demanding and fallible humanity of John Sassall, the doctor, is described as clearly as the everyday courage and despair of his patients. As if this were not enough, the book's photos by Jean Mohr are the visual equivalent of a choral passion. They portray Sassall at work and in conversation, his patients as individuals and in groups, and the ever-changing dialogue between sky and landscape, both beautiful and full of foreboding.You can hear the voices of patients through the text, as the book moves from half a dozen brief stories of their lives to John Sassall's evolution as a doctor. He starts his career thriving on medical emergencies, impatient with non-specific symptoms and the absence of clear-cut physical diagnoses and underlying pathology. He moves gradually towards an empathic listening and companionship with his patients and their families, striving to … ER -