Dr. Christiaan Barnard became internationally famous on December 3, 1967, when he performed the first human-to-human heart transplant. Many other surgeons had been struggling to prepare for this same historic operation, but Barnard's personal drive and fascination with his field propelled him onto the world stage as the first to undertake such ground-breaking surgery. Barnard was born and raised in the arid South African countryside known for its sheep farms. His father was a Dutch Reformed missionary and the family of six lived very humbly. Barnard, known for his excellent academic performance and photographic memory, graduated from the University of Cape Town medical school in 1946. During his residency, he devoted most of his studies to tubercular meningitis, writing his doctoral thesis on the subject in 1953. When he was transferred to Groote Schuur Hospital--the site of his historic operation--Barnard became interested in surgery. A grant in 1955 to study cardiothoracic surgery at...