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redhdlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
I originally believed Bellevue was only a mental health hospital/facility. After reading this book, I could not be more corrected and amazed by all that Bellevue does.
Listening to this book taught me not only the history of the hospital but its immense importance to research, epidemics, and how we treat one another. Bellevue has seen every epidemic from cholera to Ebola to AIDS and they have handled it all with immense heart and openness. The day that Bellevue closes is the day that hate and capitalism wins.
If you have an interest in mental health, history, immigration, or hospitals in general, this is the book to read or listen to. You won't regret it.
Listening to this book taught me not only the history of the hospital but its immense importance to research, epidemics, and how we treat one another. Bellevue has seen every epidemic from cholera to Ebola to AIDS and they have handled it all with immense heart and openness. The day that Bellevue closes is the day that hate and capitalism wins.
If you have an interest in mental health, history, immigration, or hospitals in general, this is the book to read or listen to. You won't regret it.
leeleeski's review
4.0
A wonderful and accessible look at medical history through the eyes of one health care institution. No medical degree required to enjoy!
kpierce94010's review
4.0
I found the beginning of the book somewhat less engaging, but once this book reached the Civil War, it picked up quickly. In particular, I liked the ways both the history of New York City and advancements in medicine were weaved into the story of Bellevue.
whatxesaid's review
4.5
Really loved learning the history behind Bellevue and by proximity of medicine in America since the 1700s. The author did a great job tying cultural strands together and weaving them into an engaging story of the history of both public medicine and Bellevue hospital all while managing to keep the reader's attention.
cheraford's review
5.0
what a great story, from the yellow fever epidemics of the 100th to recent ebola, Bellevue is tied to the history of NYC
meganpalmer731's review
4.0
So much history and information is jammed into this book that looks at the long life of one of America's oldest and most interesting public hospitals. Gets a little wordy at times and tries to cover SO much in only 322 pages, but still fascinating and worth a read.
angiew23's review
4.0
Having watched New Amsterdam and read 12 Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital, I chose this book after deciding I wanted to know more. This book is a history of both the hospital and the city, state and country it is located in, from the 1700s to 2014. Moments in history including the civil war, presidential assassinations, the great influenza, Ebola, AIDS, hurricane Sandy, are peppered throughout, giving the reader an exorbitant amount of context and clear understanding of exactly how each event was tackled at the flagship public hospital. The thoughts/understandings of the day are carefully described, for example “miasma” vs germ theory, shock therapy vs deinstitutionalized mental health services, private vs public medical care etc, giving the reader the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of the medical staff who were living and working during each of these periods. My only criticism is that at times the book seemed to go off on a tangent, or gave more context than necessary for the events that took place prior to 1930, especially events from about 1820-1875, and very little context or anecdotal information for some of the major events of the last century. 9/11 and Sandy were crammed into one chapter, but I know the names, family backgrounds and education of almost every prominent doctor there in the 1800s (lol, might be a slight exaggeration but trying to prove a point). This book is very informative but at times a bit dry due to a little too much context, but definitely gives a thorough history of this very interesting hospital.
librarylapin's review
4.0
This book was extremely interesting. I had heard some of the lore about the hospital but this delves into a great history of medicine, New York, and society. I was completely engaged with the material and didn't mind some of the city gossip. :)