For the patient, an operation is a single defining moment. For the neurosurgeon, each moment in the operating room represents the culmination of decades spent struggling to learn an unforgiving craft. When these two join there is drama, often too much of it. This book tells the story of Frank Vertosick's metamorphosis from naive intern to neurosurgeon through intimate portraits of his patients and nerve-jangling descriptions of surgical procedures. Riveting, poignant, and sometimes shockingly funny, When the Air Hits Your Brain is a remarkable account of the mysteries of the mind and the operating room.