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That Will Never Do!

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Pub Date 13 Oct 2026 | Archive Date 21 Oct 2026


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Description

A single criticism in the operating room—“That will never do!”—helped set Ralph V. Clayman on a lifelong course of questioning surgical convention.

Clayman traces the roots of that drive to a childhood shaped by discipline, persistence, and the difficult pursuit of parental approval, then follows it through a career at the forefront of modern urology, recounting the people, setbacks, discoveries, and unlikely ideas behind some of the field’s most important advances. Along the way, he reflects on the values that sustained him: hard work, honesty, humility, humor, and heart.

Part memoir, part chronicle of surgical innovation, That Will Never Do! is an engaging account of how character, curiosity, and collaboration can lead to discovery and reshaped the practice of surgery.

A single criticism in the operating room—“That will never do!”—helped set Ralph V. Clayman on a lifelong course of questioning surgical convention.

Clayman traces the roots of that drive to a...


A Note From the Publisher

Dr. Ralph V. Clayman is a Distinguished Professor of Urology and Dean (emeritus) at the University of California, Irvine. He initiated the first fellowship program in Endourology and has trained over 35 fellows, many of whom have current leadership positions in academic urology. He has done much pioneering work in the endourological treatment of urolithiasis and the laparoscopic approach to renal surgery, having performed the world’s first laparoscopic nephrectomy in 1990. Dr. Clayman is a co-founder of the Endourology Society and served as co-editor of the Journal of Endourology from 1986 to 2020. He holds 23 patents and has published over 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He lives with his wife, Carol, in Irvine, California.

Dr. Ralph V. Clayman is a Distinguished Professor of Urology and Dean (emeritus) at the University of California, Irvine. He initiated the first fellowship program in Endourology and has trained over...


Advance Praise

"That Will Never Do! by Ralph V. Clayman, MD, is a thoroughly engaging memoir that draws you into the realities of a surgeon’s life. The chapters become particularly fascinating as they unpack the real-world experimentation behind Clayman’s medical discoveries, highlighting how ordinary items like a pair of running shorts and cheap air syringes were cleverly repurposed into crucial tools for modern surgical safety. There is a real openness in the way he shares his philosophy of pronoia—the intentional mindset that people are secretly plotting your success—which gives his reflections a highly encouraging, constructive tone. Clayman’s clear dedication to patient compassion transforms what might have been a clinical list of achievements into a very human look at what happens when doctors focus on individual families instead of just medical numbers. Anyone interested in how practical creativity can ease human pain will find much value in these pages. Very highly recommended." — Readers' Favorite

"That Will Never Do! by Ralph V. Clayman, MD, is a thoroughly engaging memoir that draws you into the realities of a surgeon’s life. The chapters become particularly fascinating as they unpack the...


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Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9798901744468
PRICE $26.99 (USD)
PAGES 208

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