Julien C. (jaimelesmaths) reviewed Blood, Sweat, and Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulance on + 54 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
It cannot be denied that EMTs and paramedics seem to have some of the most exciting jobs out there. Obviously, they put their lives on the line and face enormous pressure every day, and there's a natural curiosity towards the lives they lead. Blood, Sweat, and Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulance capitalizes on this "inquiring minds want to know" factor and compiles a moderately interesting collection of true tales from a London EMT.
Unfortunately, as you continue reading the book, it turns out that EMTs' jobs are just like ours; most days are fairly routine, and it's only the exciting ones that stick out. For example, Mr. Reynolds's saga regarding a potential HIV exposure captures the reader's interest early on in the book. However, after that, the stories tend to fall into predictable patterns. "The patient was a X-year old male/female, complaint of Y (usually "fitting", where, surprise surprise, the patient is an alcoholic). I arrived in more/less than 8 minutes and surveyed the scene. It turned out to be/not be a call that required an ambulance. There was/wasn't a pulse and the patient was/wasn't breathing. I did Z. The patient lived/died, and I felt good/kinda good/bad about it."
While some of the patient stories are interesting, thought-provoking, or humorous, the posts where Mr. Reynolds talks about himself or takes the wider perspective are what really keep the book going. The book itself is a compilation of entries from Mr. Reynolds's blog "Random Reality", so it is technically available for free online. The author does a good job of selecting and editing the most interesting entries, but, aside from a desire to support this author, I don't know if the book content as a whole justifies the price tag. In fact, going onto the website (http://randomreality.blogware.com), I was quickly able to find some additional content that really should have been included. Additionally, the book could have incorporated more photos; the very few that were included felt more like afterthoughts.
My suggestion is to go check out the website, and, if you like what you see, buy the book as a donation to the author. (Or, probably better, somehow make the author a donation directly.) The writing scores high while the value scores low. Overall score: 3.5/5.
Unfortunately, as you continue reading the book, it turns out that EMTs' jobs are just like ours; most days are fairly routine, and it's only the exciting ones that stick out. For example, Mr. Reynolds's saga regarding a potential HIV exposure captures the reader's interest early on in the book. However, after that, the stories tend to fall into predictable patterns. "The patient was a X-year old male/female, complaint of Y (usually "fitting", where, surprise surprise, the patient is an alcoholic). I arrived in more/less than 8 minutes and surveyed the scene. It turned out to be/not be a call that required an ambulance. There was/wasn't a pulse and the patient was/wasn't breathing. I did Z. The patient lived/died, and I felt good/kinda good/bad about it."
While some of the patient stories are interesting, thought-provoking, or humorous, the posts where Mr. Reynolds talks about himself or takes the wider perspective are what really keep the book going. The book itself is a compilation of entries from Mr. Reynolds's blog "Random Reality", so it is technically available for free online. The author does a good job of selecting and editing the most interesting entries, but, aside from a desire to support this author, I don't know if the book content as a whole justifies the price tag. In fact, going onto the website (http://randomreality.blogware.com), I was quickly able to find some additional content that really should have been included. Additionally, the book could have incorporated more photos; the very few that were included felt more like afterthoughts.
My suggestion is to go check out the website, and, if you like what you see, buy the book as a donation to the author. (Or, probably better, somehow make the author a donation directly.) The writing scores high while the value scores low. Overall score: 3.5/5.
