Books like Breakthrough! by Murphy, Jim
In 1944 a groundbreaking operation was performed to repair the heart of a child suffering from blue‑baby syndrome, a condition caused by a congenital defect that reduces blood oxygen. The successful procedure demonstrated that open heart surgery could be carried out, laying the foundation for subsequent advances in cardiovascular surgery.
The team behind the operation included a cardiologist and a surgeon, but the actual surgical work was primarily carried out by Vivien Thomas. Thomas was an African‑American laboratory assistant at Johns Hopkins, often mistakenly identified as a janitor, yet his technical expertise was crucial to the operation’s success.
The book tells this significant medical story and highlights Thomas’s indispensable contributions to cardiac surgery, illustrating the broader impact of this landmark achievement on pediatric heart care.
First publish date: 2015
Genre: Biography & Autobiography/Biography
Authors: Murphy, Jim
★
★
★
★
★
3.5 (2 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for Breakthrough! by Murphy, Jim are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to Breakthrough! (12 similar books)
Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs draws on more than forty interviews with the pioneer and the perspectives of family, friends, competitors, and colleagues, portraying his relentless drive, meticulous perfectionism, and profound influence on personal computing, animation, music, phones, tablets and digital publishing.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Jeannette Walls' memoir chronicles her turbulent childhood in a dysfunctional, itinerant family, detailing poverty, alcoholism, and homelessness across the United States as she seeks stability and personal growth.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her consent and later became the first immortal human cell line, HeLa, driving major scientific breakthroughs while raising questions of ethics, race, and medical exploitation.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Hidden Figures tells the true story of four African‑American mathematicians—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden—who broke barriers at NASA’s Langley Research Center, proving that talent, not race or gender, powers scientific progress.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A biography of Srinivasa Ramanujan that traces his upbringing in India, his extraordinary mathematical achievements, and his collaboration with G. H. Hardy at Cambridge.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
After the loss of his wife, former Cincherville sheriff Al Murphy dives into a dangerous murder investigation tied to a lucrative government contract, forcing him to confront violence and survival in the rugged American West.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
David McCullough chronicles the daring brothers who, in 1903, achieved the first human‑powered flight on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, revealing their ingenuity, determination, and the family support that drove their success.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A teenage girl, newly in remission from cancer, faces the fallout of her past actions and learns to navigate love, friendship, and forgiveness.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A biography of Vivien Thomas, an African American surgical technician who developed the first procedure used to perform open-heart surgery on children.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action by Nick VujicicSeabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by Gordon S. Wood
The & 'The' Book: A Practitioner’s Guide by Clara Green
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!