The Sibylline Books

This is a Surgeon's tale - from the cradle of Hippocratic dreams to the crucible of reality. Written as fiction, the stamp of truth nonetheless pervades every page. From the idealism of Medical Student days to a grim destiny as a Cancer Diagnostician, the narrative weaves a blend of surprise, passion, humor & pathos - elements which, in the words of one reviewer, "come together beautifully & with power." Written exquisitely with sardonic humor, the story flows through a South Africa that no longer exists, through the United Kingdom, to its climactic ending in the United States. The book has no counterpart, for it is remote from the idealized fantasy of the Medical World that characterizes the writings of the other authors on the subject. Therein lies its uniqueness. With passages of brilliant incandescence it illuminates starkly a world of darkness, a hidden world, unsuspected by the patient; a world in which ambition, pride, greed & indifference can be the real determinants of life & death.Cyril Toker is the author of 'The Sibylline Books', published 1989 under ISBN 9780962220005 and ISBN 0962220000.