True Valor : Barney Clark and the Utah Artificial Heart - Don B. Olsen

Don B. Olsen

£18.99
Pre-order

Published 1 November 2026

Order now and we’ll post it on publication day. We take payment today and hold your order until then; if the publisher moves the date we’ll email you, and you can cancel for a full refund at any point before it ships.

  • Pages · 444 pages, 68 illustrations - 3 Tables, unspecified
  • Publication Date · 01/11/2026
  • Genre · History of medicine
Collect in store Pick it up free from the shop in Oxford's Covered Market, usually quicker than the post.
Delivery Standard tracked £1.99, free on orders over £20. Express tracked £2.99.
Book Lovers' Happy Hour Three cocktails matched to your taste, three books chosen for you, an hour and a half at the bar. £60 per person. Book a place →
On December 2, 1982, the fully mechanical Jarvik-7 heart was placed inside Barney Clark, culminating years of painstaking research and making medical history by successfully pumping Clark's blood for 112 days. True Valor takes an in-depth look at this significant event by telling the story of the doctors and researchers involved, of Barney Clark, and of the evolution of the artificial heart before and after Clark's transplant. Author Don Olsen is well positioned to tell this story, having worked on the artificial heart project under Dr. Willem Kolff, the man behind the Jarvik-7. His narrative conveys the concerns and emotions of those who were part of Clark's story while offering the insights of one who knows that research does not happen overnight but takes time, resources, and the efforts of many people. Olsen's account shares the human sides of this story along with the embedded politics and technical details of medical research in clear, readable language.

Only at Gulp Fiction

Book Lovers' Happy Hour

An hour and a half at the bar, with three cocktails matched to your taste and three books chosen for you. Tell us what you like when you book, and we'll have them waiting when you arrive.

  • 1½ hours
  • £60 per person
  • 3 cocktails, 3 books
Book Happy Hour

Up to four of you can come — book a place each and choose the same time slot, then tell us who you're with. For larger groups, email gulpfictionbooks@gmail.com and we'll arrange it.

Three customers at the window table in Gulp Fiction, cocktails in hand beside a stack of books, with Oxford's Covered Market visible through the glass

Collect in store

Order online and pick it up from the shop. It's free, and usually quicker than the post.

Find us

Units 28–29, Covered Market, Oxford OX1 3DU. Mon–Wed 10–5, Thu–Sat 10–10, Sun 11–4.

Book a table

The bar is open late Thursday to Saturday. Reserve a table for a drink among the books.