Few individuals have had such widespread impact in the fields of neuro-oncology, neurosurgery, and radiation oncology as Lars Leksell. Doctor Leksell (1907–1986) devised the concept of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and developed a dedicated device in the Gamma Knife for SRS delivery to cranial targets. The radiosurgery delivery relies upon the Leksell stereotactic coordinate space. The advent of stereotactic radiosurgery led to substantial changes in the treatment paradigms of many benign and malignant intracranial tumors including pituitary adenomas, meningiomas, vestibular schwannomas, and brain metastasis.

Leksell wrote an autobiography entitled Brain Fragments. Until recently, the work had not been translated in a comprehensive and complete fashion into English. Recently, Dr. Dan Leksell translated his father’s work from Swedish to English. In this new offering of Brain Fragments (Fig. 1; Ekerlids Forlag ISBN 978-91-86323-53-7), readers now can access Leksell’s life story with its insightful and, at times, entertaining vignettes [1].

Fig. 1
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Front cover of the new translation of brain fragments

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Over his career, Leksell served as Professor and then Chair of Neurosurgery at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm during the period of 1960 to 1974. In that time, he sought to improve patient outcomes through development of refined tools including the Gamma Knife, the Leksell stereotactic frame, and the Leksell rongeur. Since the first patient treated in 1968, more than 1 million patients have been treated with the Gamma Knife including many with brain tumors. The book covers many professional and personal encounters for Leksell and details Leksell’s intersections with other pioneers in neurosurgery including Harvey Cushing, Herbert Olivecrona, Hugh Cairns, Charles Drake, and Geoffrey Jefferson.

Brain Fragments chronicles the amazing life journey of Leksell. His compassion, empathy, creativity, and innovation are clearly highlighted throughout this work. His disruptive inventions have helped to improve the lives of so many patients suffering from complex neuro-oncological conditions. The new translation will bring his story to a wider audience and should help to inspire current and future generations of clinicians in neuro-oncology.