There must be hundreds, maybe thousands, of medical related books dealing with heart disease. Since two of my grandfathers and my father died of heart related illnesses I have more than a passing interest in the subject. The problem is most of the books I have seen are geared more toward the medical specialists or are the result of an individual experience which, while interesting and sometimes inspiring, do not address in layman's language the disease and its treatment. Thus it was with great interest, and a bit of skepticism, that I read A Primer on Heart Disease. It was time well spent. Dr. Wise has some thirty years of cardiology practice and experience and has written widely in the scholarly journals. He is certainly qualified to write on this subject. However, as important to the layman, he has a knack of combining scientific knowledge with a down-to-earth, common sense style of writing that is both understandable and hopeful. The book is comprised of twenty chapters, an indes, a glossary, and clear and consise illustrations which, taken together, will provide the layman with a wealth of information on heart disease, its diagnosis and treatment. A great feature of the book is the reader can read selected chapters in which they are most interested and get easy to understand information without having to read the entire book. There are chapters on Angina; Hypertension; Pacemakers; Congential Heart Disease; Generic Drugs; Diagnosis and Treatment; By-Pass Surgery and a host of others. All are designed to give the layman, and their families, practical advice on a disease that kills nearly one million American's(half of them women) and costs in excess of $140 billion each year. If you are remotely interested in heart disease and are looking for an easy to read, understandable, authoritative book on the subject, this is the book for you. This is the kind of compassionate, straight talk that patients search for from their Doctor. You can spend more but you can't buy a better primer on this deadly disease.

This book is a marvel.... all those years and who knew he could write. Joe is an excellent cardiologist and writer, ought to know my Dad was a patient for years. This book amazed me. Congratulations on a well done job.

Vladimir Nabokov said a good novelist has three facets: story teller, teacher, and, most important, enchanter. In the Moro (retrospectively a perfect title) is a compelling story, with lessons of western history. Joe Wise is a shrewd observer, as are all good story tellers, and has curious insights into fly fishing, small towns, cafes, and such. "The best food is brown", says David, the protagonist. He's talking about chicken fried steak, enchiladas, barbecue, and peach cobbler. But this book should be read because it apprehends the grand magic of the Rocky Mountains. That's not possible without enchantment.

The story is set in roughly modern times but analyzes an event that took place in 1874. The clues that develop the story as well as the character development make for a good read.