William Carlos Williams 
The Doctor Stories 

A new edition of one of the best books ever written about being a doctor: writing as aware and memorable as Chekhov’s.

The Doctor Stories collects thirteen of Williams’s stories (direct accounts of his experiences as a doctor), six related poems, and a chapter from his autobiography that connects the world of medicine and writing, as well as a new preface by Atul Gawande, an introduction by Robert Coles (who put the book together), and a final note by Williams’s son (also a doctor), about his famous father. The writings are remarkably direct and freshly true. As Atul Gawande notes, “Reading these tales, you find yourself in a conversation with Williams about who people really are—who you really are. Williams recognized that, caring for the people of his city, he had a front-row seat to the human condition. His writing makes us see it and hear it and grapple with it in all its complexities. That is his lasting gift.”

About the author

The surgeon and public health leader Dr. Atul Gawande is a Mac Arthur Fellow and a staff writer for the New Yorker and has written four New York Times best sellers.