Medicine and flyfishing

What do medicine and flyfishing have in common? Gilbert Thompson’s



Medicine My Vocation, Fishing My Recreation: Memoirs of a Physician and Flyfisherman



is about the author’s life motivated by two pursuits: medicine, his profession and flyfishing, his favourite recreation. Interestingly, about 6% of the UK-based members of the Flyfishers’ Club are medically qualified, similarly to the author.

The title of Thompson’s memoir comes from paraphrasing the Chekov quotation, “Medicine is my lawful wife and literature is my mistress”, underlying the importance of both activities – medicine and flyfishing – in the author’s life. Each pursuit has provided him with various challenges, enjoyment and fulfilment from the early life and through his medical career.



Medicine My Vocation, Fishing My Recreation



recounts the period from the Second World War to the present day, during which there have been dramatic changes both in medical practice and social attitudes. It reflects the author’s experiences during the latter half of the 20th century from the beginning of his medical career through his army experiences and beyond. The narrative recounts Gilbert Thompson’s experiences as a wartime schoolboy, post-war medical student, army doctor in Ghana, medical research worker at Hammersmith Hospital in London and in Boston, Houston and Montreal.

Gilbert Thompson’s interesting career and insights into the changing practices and social attitudes will be of use for many medical professionals and general readers alike. Among Gilbert Thompson’s achievements was the introduction of plasmapheresis to prolong the lives of severely affected patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), a hitherto fatal disorder.



Medicine My Vocation, Fishing My Recreation



‘s author was also among the first to describe the efficacy of statins in FH patients in the UK.

Gilbert Thompson’s memoir will be particularly useful for physicians and medical students specialising in cardiology, lipidology and pharmaceutical industry. The easy-to-follow narration style alongside with the insights into the changing cultural and social context on the latter half of the 20th century and the author’s personal anecdotes make the book accessible for the general public interested in the subject as well.

This book retails for US$58 / £50 (hardback). To order or know more about the book, visit

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About the Author

Gilbert Thompson

has graduated from St. Thomas’ Hospital Medical School in London. After military service he joined the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London in 1963 where he worked for most of his career. He had served as a research fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston and an assistant professor at the Methodist Hospital, Houston. He was also a visiting professor at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal and the Mayo Clinic. Gilbert Thompson has received the Lucien Award in 1981. He led the Medical Research Council Lipoprotein Team and was Professor of Clinical Lipidology at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital until his retirement in 1998. Currently, he is Emeritus Professor in Clinical Lipidology at the Hammersmith Campus of Imperial College London.

About World Scientific Publishing Co.

World Scientific Publishing is a leading international independent publisher of books and journals for the scholarly, research and professional communities. World Scientific collaborates with prestigious organisations like the Nobel Foundation and US National Academies Press to bring high quality academic and professional content to researchers and academics worldwide. The company publishes about 600 books and over 140 journals in various fields annually. To find out more about World Scientific, please visit

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For more information, contact Jessica Clot at

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