Leonard Shlain (August 28, 1937 – May 11, 2009) was an American
surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...
, writer, and inventor.
He was chairperson of
laparoscopic surgery
Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medli ...
at the
California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, and was an
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...
of surgery at
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...
.
His books include ''Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light'' (1991), ''
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess'' (1998), ''Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution'' (2003), and ''Leonardo's Brain: Understanding da Vinci's Creative Genius'' (2014).
Biography
Shlain was a native of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
who graduated from high school at the age of 15. After attending the
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
, he earned an
MD from
Wayne State University School of Medicine at the age of 23. He served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
as a
military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
doctor in
Saumur, France. Prior to his internship at
UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion in San Francisco, he worked for a short time at
Bellevue Hospital in New York City.
[I served in the US Army in Saumur, France with Dr. Leonard Shlain –Lowell McFarland] He also contributed to
Academic Press
Academic Press (AP) is an academic book publisher founded in 1941. It launched a British division in the 1950s. Academic Press was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier said in 2000 it would buy Harcourt, a deal complete ...
' ''Encyclopedia of Creativity'' (1999), edited by Mark Runco and Steven Pritzker.
Personal life
Shlain had three children with Carole Lewis Jaffe:
Kimberly Brooks (who is married to actor/comedian
Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein; July 22, 1947) is an American actor, director and screenwriter. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1987 comedy-drama film '' Broadcast News' ...
),
Jordan Shlain, and
Tiffany Shlain, filmmaker and founder of the
Webby Award
The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...
s.
After he and Carole divorced, Shlain met and married his second wife, Superior Court Judge Ina Levin Gyemant. They lived in
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
Mill Valley is lo ...
where he died on May 11, 2009 (at age 71) after a year long struggle with
brain cancer
A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cance ...
.
The film ''
Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology'' (2011), directed by Shlain's daughter Tiffany, is in part a portrait of him.
See also
*
Military medicine
References
External links
Audio interview with Leonard ShlainLeonard Shlain biodataLeonard Shlain biodatain Science News article
on what the alphabet engenders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shlain, Leonard
1937 births
2009 deaths
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American surgeons
Cultural historians
Medical educators
People from Mill Valley, California
University of California, San Francisco faculty
University of Michigan alumni
Writers from Detroit
Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area
Deaths from brain cancer in California