"As director of cardiovascular surgery at the Texas Heart Institute, and arguably the foremost heart surgeon in the world, Bud Frazier's lifelong mission, since his stint in the war in Vietnam, has been to save lives by creating an artificial heart for those whose hearts are failing. There are 50,000 people on the waiting list for a heart transplant at any given time, with fewer than 2,500 transplants performed each year. Chronicling the evolution of cardiac medicine, from pioneering efforts in open heart surgery and bypass operations under Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley, to the advent of valve replacement and heart transplants, and protege Bud Frazier's introduction of the Left Ventricle Assist Device (or LVAD) that Vice President Cheney used for a decade before his successful heart transplant, Swartz follows Frazier and his partner Billy Cohn as they feverishly design, develop, and test new heart designs"--Provided by publisher.

Prologue: The tin man -- The wizard, 2015 -- How hard could it be? -- The making of a surgeon -- A tour of hell -- The war at home -- The purloined heart -- Experiments -- Barney who? -- The prisoner -- The wilderness -- Synchronicity -- The king of distraction -- Heartmates -- The Australian guy -- Matilda -- The occupation -- The power source -- The dream of eternal life.