Originally posted by surg
Here are the books I like:
For clinical quick reference:
Cameron - Current Surgical Therapy: easily the fastest read if you need to figure out what to do with someone. NO basic science to speak of. The book gets updated virtually every year so hang on to old editions as the following book may have chapters written by totally different people.
For a nice mix between an atlas and a text:
Fischer - Mastery of Surgery: two volumes. Reads well. Diagrams many operations in an understandable way. One of my personal favorites. New edition came out in the last year or so.
My favorite expositive atlas:
Chassin - Operative Strategies in General Surgery: To me, it is the best mix of pictures and text for an atlas (Zollinger is just too little text for my taste). New edition came out this year. Only covers general surgery. You'll need supplements for any subspecialties you rotate on.
Basic Science heavy textbook:
You're pick. I'd probably wait on this and figure out which residency you end up with as they usually each favor a different one. I think Greenfield probably does the best job with covering basic science, but go with whatever works for you (Sabiston, Schwartz, Greenfield, or Norton will all work fine for most people)
Other books worth considering:
Marino - the ICU book: a good basic text on ICU care, something you'll be expected to do as a surgeon.
ACS Surgery: also a good overview. Lots of algorithms on treatment, etc. I really like this and now that it comes on CD-ROM (it's a subscription based service), it's far easier to print out bits and carry it around.
Keep in mind, everyone is different and what some people love, others can't stand. Be prepared to return books that don't match your style of learning. Good luck