One of the great names in cardiovascular surgery, Jean-Paul Binet, wished to embrace his discipline it its generality (working with hands) but also in showing its prodigious diversity, progress and transformations. The reader is invited to follow him, and in so doing to surpass the mixed sentiments of fascination and horror that are often inspired by this branch of medicine.

Jean-Paul Binet is a member of the Medical and Surgical Academies, and a correspondent for the Academie des Sciences. He practices at the Marie-Lannelongue Surgical Center.