James Henry “Red” Duke Jr., MD, was an icon of twentieth-century medicine, a pioneer and visionary, and a lifelong son of Texas who, far from forgetting his roots, reveled in them. Bryant Boutwell’s entertaining and meticulously researched biography of Red Duke, based on years of interviews with Duke and his family, friends, and colleagues as well as painstaking exploration of both public archives and personal papers and effects, not only pays tribute to a great surgeon and his influence but also crafts a detailed and intimate portrait of the man behind the larger-than-life television image. Not only did Duke found the Life Flight air ambulance service that helped place Memorial Hermann Hospital and the Texas Medical Center at the forefront of the nation’s trauma units, he also advanced the use of media communications for reaching the public with both common-sense and cutting-edge health information. His famous tagline—“From the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston . . . I’m Dr. Red Duke”—delivered in the deadpan drawl of a Texan, could be heard in countless homes during the broadcast of the local evening news during the 1980s and 1990s. Beyond these accomplishments, Duke was an Eagle Scout, an ordained minister, a medical missionary, a conservationist, a hunting guide, and a tank commander. Featuring a wealth of previously unpublished images that help to chronicle Duke’s life and storied career, I’m Dr. Red Duke opens with a foreword by fellow Houstonian George H. W. Bush, who calls Duke “one of the brightest Points of Light Barbara and I have had the privilege to know.”
John P. McGovern held seventeen professorships, received twenty-nine honorary doctorates, and established the nation’s largest privately owned allergy and immunology clinic. He authored 252 professional publications including twenty-six books in the medical sciences and humanities, and served as president or chief elected officer of fifteen professional societies in medicine. In addition, the McGovern Foundation has given millions of dollars to various local and national health charities, and many Houston landmarks bear the McGovern name, including the McGovern Lake and McGovern Children’s Zoo (at Houston’s Hermann Park), the McGovern Health and Science Museum, and the McGovern Campus of the Texas Medical Center. Bryant Boutwell, a long-time friend and colleague, has captured the influential life of this visionary Texas physician in John P. McGovern, MD: A Lifetime of Stories. In captivating narrative, interlaced with revealing personal and family stories, Boutwell chronicles McGovern’s holistic approach to medicine, which transcended the traditional boundaries of institutional identities and medical specialties. McGovern worked tirelessly to bring together big institutions, the health professions, bold interdisciplinary ideas, and a team approach to healthcare that, though prescient at the time, is recognized today as imperative. This commitment led to his founding role in the American Osler Society, which promotes humanistic and ethical dimensions of the practice of medicine, and his establishment of humanities programs at the UT Health Science Center at Houston and the UT Medical Branch at Galveston.
John P. McGovern held seventeen professorships, received twenty-nine honorary doctorates, and established the nation’s largest privately owned allergy and immunology clinic. He authored 252 professional publications including twenty-six books in the medical sciences and humanities, and served as president or chief elected officer of fifteen professional societies in medicine. In addition, the McGovern Foundation has given millions of dollars to various local and national health charities, and many Houston landmarks bear the McGovern name, including the McGovern Lake and McGovern Children’s Zoo (at Houston’s Hermann Park), the McGovern Health and Science Museum, and the McGovern Campus of the Texas Medical Center. Bryant Boutwell, a long-time friend and colleague, has captured the influential life of this visionary Texas physician in John P. McGovern, MD: A Lifetime of Stories. In captivating narrative, interlaced with revealing personal and family stories, Boutwell chronicles McGovern’s holistic approach to medicine, which transcended the traditional boundaries of institutional identities and medical specialties. McGovern worked tirelessly to bring together big institutions, the health professions, bold interdisciplinary ideas, and a team approach to healthcare that, though prescient at the time, is recognized today as imperative. This commitment led to his founding role in the American Osler Society, which promotes humanistic and ethical dimensions of the practice of medicine, and his establishment of humanities programs at the UT Health Science Center at Houston and the UT Medical Branch at Galveston.
James Henry “Red” Duke Jr., MD, was an icon of twentieth-century medicine, a pioneer and visionary, and a lifelong son of Texas who, far from forgetting his roots, reveled in them. Bryant Boutwell’s entertaining and meticulously researched biography of Red Duke, based on years of interviews with Duke and his family, friends, and colleagues as well as painstaking exploration of both public archives and personal papers and effects, not only pays tribute to a great surgeon and his influence but also crafts a detailed and intimate portrait of the man behind the larger-than-life television image. Not only did Duke found the Life Flight air ambulance service that helped place Memorial Hermann Hospital and the Texas Medical Center at the forefront of the nation’s trauma units, he also advanced the use of media communications for reaching the public with both common-sense and cutting-edge health information. His famous tagline—“From the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston . . . I’m Dr. Red Duke”—delivered in the deadpan drawl of a Texan, could be heard in countless homes during the broadcast of the local evening news during the 1980s and 1990s. Beyond these accomplishments, Duke was an Eagle Scout, an ordained minister, a medical missionary, a conservationist, a hunting guide, and a tank commander. Featuring a wealth of previously unpublished images that help to chronicle Duke’s life and storied career, I’m Dr. Red Duke opens with a foreword by fellow Houstonian George H. W. Bush, who calls Duke “one of the brightest Points of Light Barbara and I have had the privilege to know.”
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