Rating: 
Summary: Not for the faint of heart
Review: What can you say about a book that depresses us so ably?
Bringing Out the Dead is a look at a day in the life of Frank Pierce, an EMS medic in the famously wicked Hell's Kitchen (home to the brooding comic book character Daredevil, if anyone needs a random reference).
As Pierce travels between a never-ending series of horrific scenes, we realize that he is a character for whom the quiet moments of thought are even more terrifying than the prospect of trying to save the life of a horribly wounded patient. Pierce has problems, both at home and on the job, and the pressure of the profession is grating on him like sandpaper. Yet that same pressure keeps him moving, and propels him from place to place without having to face up to the problems he sees.
The writing in this book is colorful and uber-realistic, bringing us into very close contact with the mostly-miserable patients who wind up in Frank's ambulance. The character descriptions are very strong, and the ear for language is even stronger. While some of the cases relate to each other in ways that might not seem entirely believable, the plot is messy and random enough that we can swallow it without sacrificing our sense that this events are actually happening in our world.
I have a hard time recommending this book, because it really affected me emotionally. This is a tribute to the mastery of language of the author. The bleak outlook on life is so compelling that you have to be ready to be depressed by the story. Comfort food it ain't, but it is a very absorbing tale, and a fairly quick read to boot. If you think that you might like to shadow an overwhelmed EMS in a dark urban setting in real life for a day, pick it up. But if you think that that experience would be more harmful than educational, leave it alone.
Rating: 
Summary: Fiction? City medics know different!
Review: While most EMS related books are basicly war stories rehashed by medics looking to spread thier glory stories, Bringing Out The Dead is somthing different. Joe Connelly, obviously writing from experience, brings the reader into the mind of an inner-city medic. Being a paramedic which worked within the city of Detroit for eight years, I know the familiar feelings of burnout, not knowing if you can do the job another day - but hanging in there waiting for the next big 'save'. Joe Connelly brings the average layperson into the ambulance, into the mind of the paramedic struggling to deal with taking credit for saving lives, and inwardly taking credit for not saving some lives. This book is a must read for any EMS professional, and anyone who wants to know what real EMS is like in the inner-city.
Rating: 
Summary: Never say die
Review: Working in emergency rooms as a nurse for over 20 years led me to consider this book. I usually do not care to read true life ER type books..why do I want to read about what I see day in and day out? But, this is a novel which just so happens to be as authentic as it can be without being some ER person's diary. The frame of reference is factual. The addition of fiction is perfect and original. Finally a story that reflects the sacrifices many of us encounter, perhaps not to such extremes, but sacrifices none the less. In such a story, Joe Connelly literally demonstrates all those people "lost" in the hands of emergency personnel, and the realization that in our minds we carry them around with us always, ever reconstructing events, pondering what-ifs, and finally having to give up the ghost..even taking their spirits to bed with us so we can at last get some rest. A brilliant, gutsy novel.
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