Hospital (Unabridged) | 
 enlarge | Author: Julie Salamon
Publisher: audible.com
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $13.12
You Save: $11.87 (47%)
Rating:  20 reviews
Media: Audio Download
ASIN: B001BC2OKK
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| Also Available In:
| • | Audio CD - Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God and Diversity on Steroids | | • | Audio CD - Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God and Diversity on Steroids | | • | Hardcover - Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God andDiversity on Steroids | | • | Kindle Edition - Hospital | | • | Audio CD - Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money, God and Diversity on Steroids |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 A great read August 26, 2008
I have always been fascinated by hospitals and reading this book allowed me to indulge my fascination. It basically depicts a year in the life of the administrators, doctors, social workers, and other personnel at a very busy Brooklyn hospital. Salamon depicts these characters so vividly, you'd think she was writing a novel. Her subjects definitely come alive on the page.
The primary function of the book is to depict the complexities of running a hospital. The secondary function is to depict the relationship between the hospital and the community it serves, which is traditionally centered on orthodox Jews. Thus, the book is also a fascinating study of orthodox Judaism, at least as lived out in Brooklyn. The area surrounding the hospital is increasingly multicultural (e.g., Chinese, Pakistani) and Salamon also does a great job of depicting these cultures with both clarity and sensitivity.
I have only a few caveats about the book. Much of its focus is on the hospital's cancer center, so it is very "heavy" reading material. It will have you thinking a lot about your own mortality. In no way is it a beach or bedtime read.
There is also a small section of the book concerned with "partial birth" abortion. I thought that it could have been more objective. (It seems clear from reading the section that Salamon is pro-choice, though she spares no gruesome detail in describing the procedure.)
Overall, though, I recommend this book. It packs a lot of interesting material into a reasonable number of pages. It will be a read you won't be able to put down.
Julie Salamon's Hospital August 25, 2008
Hospital is an amazing book, both as an stand-alone story and a exercise in the art of story telling. You'll enjoy "Hospital" if you enjoyed Salamon's "The Devil's Candy," only instead of experiencing juicy, morbid fascination via a Hollywood bomb, you'll experience a new sense of admiration for hospital workers and the author's talent.
In the beginning, I wondered whether it was possible for someone to bring a hospital to life. They're big, lifeless institutions that lack the drama and personality of similar organizations like a big business (Apple) with a rich history, right? Gay Talese was able to create magical stories about the Brooklyn Bridge and the New York Times, but he's Gay Talese. People loved those books and they helped form the foundation of his reputation. In my opinion, Salamon has reached that level as a storyteller with "Hospital." This is not an easy, cut-and-paste story. She pulls it off and proves she can write well about anything. Anything.
A great non- fiction book makes people do more than read to the end. With this one, I found myself searching out the origins of Hasidic vs. Orthodox Jews, and googling image after image of the characters. I HAD to see what Pam, Dr. Astrow and the others looked looked like.
Salamon became a word doctor, someone able to give life to what I considered to be nothing more than a lifeless institution. Anyone in the health care industry will relate to the travails, and those of us outside it will find a very informative snapshot into this world. As for Salamon, reading this story is like seeing Lenny Kravitz perform live; it's witnessing someone who was born with a gift and using it.
a glimpse into our healthcare system August 18, 2008
A great read. not only does this book give us an insiders look at healthcare in new york, but also shows us the struggles of new immigrants, and the problems that are facing our hospitals dealing with different languages and cultures. I think Ms. Salamom is a gifted writer and at the end of the day, you really beleive that everyone is trying to do the right thing, inspite of the red tape, bad behavior, money god and yes, diversity on steroids. Kudos to maimonides for allowing this to happen and giving us this wonderful opportunity to learn something new.
 hard to read August 17, 2008
Although I was fascinated by the subject - having had relatives in the hospital, and I know many of the people mentioned, I found the book very hard to read.
There was no unifying theme, the book jumped from one subject to another. There was not a compelling narrative nor story line.
I was very disappointed!!
Boring August 17, 2008
Do not buy this book. It makes patients look like a mass of whining, ungrateful people. Everyone from doctors to administration to hospital workers range from cynical to dissatisfied. Based on this book I would never go to this hospital.
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