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A review by kaliaddy
Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America's Most Storied Hospital by David M. Oshinsky
4.0
Reading this book during a pandemic hits differently. The history shows how far we’ve come but how much the struggles are still the same. Funding for hospitals, insurance/social support for patients, overworked/overwhelmed staff, pandemics/epidemics, and disaster planning are still our “white whales” in healthcare - even 300 years + later.
The book was published in 2016 and ends with Superstorm Sandy and Ebola. The author is very prescient when he says the next thing is just around the corner. COVID-19 anyone? Something is always around the corner in public health. It’s a cycle we will never get out of as long as micro-organisms, insects, and animals/humans exist. The research here seems solid and the book is written well enough that it doesn’t get boring. It’s not just a continuous statement of facts. The interwoven stories help keep it interesting.
As it got closer to more recent history with the AIDS crisis and 9/11 I became more invested in the book since these are events I can remember pretty vividly. Definitely worth a read if you are into medical history.
The book was published in 2016 and ends with Superstorm Sandy and Ebola. The author is very prescient when he says the next thing is just around the corner. COVID-19 anyone? Something is always around the corner in public health. It’s a cycle we will never get out of as long as micro-organisms, insects, and animals/humans exist. The research here seems solid and the book is written well enough that it doesn’t get boring. It’s not just a continuous statement of facts. The interwoven stories help keep it interesting.
As it got closer to more recent history with the AIDS crisis and 9/11 I became more invested in the book since these are events I can remember pretty vividly. Definitely worth a read if you are into medical history.