OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Apron and Napoleon's Hat" by Dr. H.Murray.]
The Apron and Napoleon’s Hat is a memoir of one man’s early life and medical career. It’s a colloquially written book, laced with humorous anecdotes and wry wit. The book opens with Murray discussing his early years in school, and the storyline moves towards Murray finding his way into a medical career, though there will be many false starts, and it will take a lot of self-introspection before he finds his way to a dream career.

This book strips away a lot of the glamour from the medical profession. Many people view being a doctor as a series of glorious triumphs, saving one life after another, and earning the respect and adulation of those around you, along with making a great deal of money. Television shows like Grey’s Anatomy and ER depict the medical profession as mostly beautiful people having romantic relationships with each other. Murray’s depiction of the daily grind of being a doctor is about as far away from the shiny Hollywood depiction as you can get.

The title of the book comes from a couple of short anecdotes in the book that illustrate just how gross working as a doctor can be. “The Apron” refers to the bellies of morbidly obese patients, which hang down over their waists. Often individuals with large quantities of stomach fat find it impossible to wash underneath their tummies and must therefore go to a hospital to be properly cleaned. I will not list the disgusting substances that can be found under “the apron” because I do not want to put anybody off reading this unique memoir. As for “Napoleon’s Hat,” I will not explain the details of that bizarre story for the same reason, except to say that once someone leans about people’s eyebrow-raising habits, one will never forget this anecdote, no matter how hard one tries.

A few portions of the book could use some polishing, and perhaps a little more information is needed to really understand why Murray made the career choices that he did, but all things considered, this is a very entertaining read, and Murray paints a particularly intriguing picture of himself. While it makes for a good book, The Apron and Napoleon’s Hat also has the potential to make for a very entertaining one-man show, as a skilled character actor could have a field day with a monologue about the humor of life in the medical profession.

I give this book three out of four stars.

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I worked for a little while in the medical profession and it is definitely disgusting. It's especially unique when you understand people make choices that lead them to the condition you've described here as "the apron" and I'm glad you weren't willing to share what the heck Napoleons hat has to do with it (though i'll admit i am a little curious). I wonder if the author would be willing to tell you why he had decided to go into and stay in the medical profession after everything was said and done.

Yes, a lot of TV series make it seem like medicine is a glamorous profession, when in fact it revolves around a lot of grossness. I definitely recommend reading this book, for more reasons than finding out what happened to Napoleon's hat...

Sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for the review.

You're welcome!

This does sound like an interesting book! My mother is in the medical profession, and I learned very early on that it is anything but glamorous! Working in a hospital requires a strong stomach and nerves of steel!!! Great review!

Thank you! This book is full of humor, and that outweighs the less palatable anecdotes.

Nicely written review and the book definitely seems interesting. Will look out for it.

Thank you!