What are the best medical books you must read if you want to become a successful and good doctor? The reply to this question is not so easy, because nowadays it is hard to discover the best medical books among a lot of on and offline bookstores. However, if you love the medical activity, but above all, if you love to deal with patients and heal them, you must absolutely read medical books and not only the ones you are forced to use at the University and for your medical training, but also unusual and new medical sources that can help you to be a careful and talented doctor. I decided to show you a list of the best medical books in several important medical categories that concern the most common and severe diseases.

I did this, because, often, I observe that doctors don’t listen to the troubles of their patients. For instance, when I feel bad and ask for advice to doctors, they usually apply the usual advice and therapies, as if every person and every disease are all the same among them. When I hear these pointless medical suggestions, I obviously think these doctors never read good medical books to understand their patients and customize their treatments in accordance with diseases plaguing people.

Hence, as a book blogger, I think my main duty is also the one to recommend helpful and significant medical books. Read the following list and stay assured that you’ll read books about new medical discoveries and shocking truths you never studied at school. I don’t want you to become a controversial doctor, but a complete human being who knows diseases and medical treatments in a wider and larger humane perspective, but above all, in a way that always tends to respect patients and their painful medical troubles. Remember: a great doctor does not treat patients as merchandise, but as their own brothers. When a doctor behaves as a friend or sibling, it means that he learnt from good medical books, also.

As I always say: reading is always the best medicine to be and become better people and not only excellent doctors. Well, after this (I hope not to bore) preamble, are you ready to find and read the best medical book among these ones? If you are ready, read the following list and you’ll do a great favour to your future medical career and future patients. As I said above, in this list, I mentioned books for medical categories.

Since the most spread diseases nowadays regards psychiatry, physiology and anatomy, whether you are a pre-medical student, a first year student or an advanced and trained student (but also established doctor), you must read the best medical books in these categories, not only to undertake a career in these medical fields, but also to remain always updated and drive your future patients toward the right treatment or the best colleague who can help them.

Best psychiatry books

To work in the medical field of psychiatry with reliable outcomes, an aspiring psychiatrist must read: Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives. Released in 1988, this medical book is the fundamental guide for future psychiatrists because faces the mental illness in a different perspective focused to heal and not only to keep the illness under control.

Another indispensable psychiatry book you must read is Man’s Search for Meaning. In this well deepen medical book, the author, psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s, wrote a memoir where he tells about treatments applied to survivors of the concentration camps in Auschwitz. His experience is very helpful to understand the healing mechanism in people who endured an awful trauma like the one of the Nazi Deportation.

I also recommend you to read Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, the clinically proven drug free treatment for depression. This book can give you essential insights to heal mental illnesses with no therapeutic fury.

Instead, to learn more about treatments for Schizophrenia, I suggest that you read The Diabolic Labyrinth, a biographical book written by a former patient.

For those who are studying psychology applied to the medical science, I suggest that you read The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders. This book focuses on the entire spectrum of psychosomatic disorders concerning mind and body.

Those who want to study psychiatry applied to criminology must read Criminal Psychology: A Beginner’s Guide  to learn about treatments for criminals with mind disorders.

Best physiology books

In my view, the best physiology book to read is Body Awareness as Healing Therapy: The Case of Nora, a classic study of the work of Dr Moshe Feldenkrais with a woman named Nora, who has suffered a severe stroke and lost the ability to read and write and the neuromuscular coordination.

Another best medical book you must not miss is Half a Brain is Enough: The Story of Nico. That is the touching and extraordinary story of Nico, a three-year boy who was given a right hemispherectomy to control his severe and intractable epilepsy. The author of the book, Dr Antonio M. Battro, an established and acclaimed neuroscientist and educationalist, describes his work with Nico and explains how a boy with only half a brain became a bright child with relatively minor physical and mental impairment.

Students who are learning about Human Physiology should read Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach (7th Edition). This indispensable medical book reached the eighth edition and is a real medical guide for those who aim to become skilled and keen medical physiologists.

The 6th edition is less expensive, but to undertake an effective medical career, you should always study the latest editions because they are always updated with new medical discoveries.

Also read and study the 7th edition of BRS Physiology (Board Review Series). A best seller to prepare yourself for the Boards with more than 350 USMLE-style questions and answers.

Use also The Physiology Coloring Book (2nd Edition) that offers you an easy way to understand human physiology through illustrations to be colored.

In this list, I also want to mention Medical Physiology: A Systems Approach (Lange Medical Books). The volume is at its 1st Edition, but offers a clear and concise overview about medicine applied to physiology.

Best anatomy books

In this medical field, I couldn’t forget the best books about human anatomy. An indispensable guide is the namesake Human Anatomy, a true best seller in this field. That is a standalone book which reached the 8th edition.

Another significant book to effectively study human anatomy is Atlas of Human Anatomy: Including Student Consult Interactive Ancillaries and Guides, 6e (Netter Basic Science). After 25 years, the author, Dr Frank H. Netter offers a comprehensive depiction of the human body in brilliant details coming from a clinician’s perspective.

Surgeons-in-training must read and study Netter’s Surgical Anatomy Review P.R.N., 2e (Netter Clinical Science). A detailed book always written by medical illustrator Frank H. Netter, to visualize the anatomy that is a part of the procedure of a surgery intervention and related clinical conditions during hospitalization.

Instead, first-year medical students must read and study Clinically Oriented Anatomy. That is a best selling textbook which reached the 8th Edition and offers a complete coverage of anatomy linked to the practice of medicine, dentistry and physical therapy.

An excellent guide for dissection in the anatomy lab is Grant’s Dissector, which reached the 16th edition. The most important feature of this medical book is that every chapter is arranged with an “Overview,” followed by detailed “Instructions,” and concluded with a “Follow-up”, always relating to dissection.

Best books for oncologists

For those who want to work as oncologists, I recommend a couple of good books to read and study, but, above all, to learn about a more humane treatment of patients with cancer.
The first title is the best selling book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, a cancer physician and researcher, who wrote a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer.

The second best book about this medical field is Integrative Oncology (Weil Integrative Medicine Library)). The book provides an unconventional approach to the treatments for patients with cancer through integrative and complementary therapies focused on healing patients globally in their mind and body.

What to do when the patient with cancer is a doctor? To learn more about the experience of a doctor with cancer, I suggest that you read Can We Live a Happier Life?! by  Dr. Zeev Gilkis. The book is the biography of an Israeli doctor affected with cancer. Through his experience, aspiring oncologists can learn about new helpful ways to treat and heal doctors with this severe disease.

If you need to read medical and health articles in addition to medical books, you can take a look at this health magazine, where you can also order Health Science articles to publish on scientific journals.

Only a look, however, because reading medical and health books must be your main priority.

This article was originally published on February, 21, 2018 and has been updated only in the ending part.