History when presented as a mere recital of facts makes for difficult reading, but when connected to personalities, acquires flesh and blood. The term “past truth” refers to factual events accompanying a scientific discovery while “present poetry” stresses their human, romantic aspects.

The story of the development of cardiopulmonary bypass by Gibbon exemplifies the overall name of Past Truth and Present Poetry given to these articles first published in Heart News and Views (News Bulletin of the International Society for Heart Research), subsequently assembled in a book published in 2006 by TFM Publishing Ltd, and now republished in Dialogues and Cardiovascular Medicine. Cardiopulmonary bypass consists of temporarily replacing the heart and lung with artificial devices, permitting operation on a nonperfused heart in situ under direct vision. Gibbon’s contributions illustrate that discoveries can be made by minds whose scientific preparation is incomplete, but who achieve their goals by overriding motivation...