Winner of a COMMENDED AWARD in the Basis of Medicine category of the 2007 BMA Medical Book Competition.This book is both a lively introduction and a guidebook to those pioneers, most of them surgeons, who attempted to help their patients by extending the boundaries of their own knowledge and experience. In the 16 chapters of the book, an international group of authors have provided something of value to all those with an interest in surgical gastroenterology. Medical students and young trainees will come to understand the principles behind modern gastrointestinal surgery. Researchers will find insights and inspiration for their work and publications. Established surgeons and physicians will be rewarded with information that adds colour to their teaching, either on ward rounds or during formal lectures. Great care has been taken in choosing appropriate portraits and illustrations to bring these remarkable pioneers to life for the reader.