In The New York Times Book Review, D.T. Max notes that Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, the setting of the book, “sits on the fault lines of two national controversies, immigration and health care.” The subject might seem dry, he says, “but this is not a dry book,” it is full of emotion and drama. He calls Hospital “ambitious,” “absorbing,” “funny” and “sobering.” —New York Times Book Review
“[A] remarkable portrait… Salamon succeeds in providing a completely unique, three-dimensional and compellingly human perspective of the demanding work—both frustrating and rewarding that is not always apparent to hospital patients and their families.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The fine grain of Ms Salamon’s observations
allows her to paint a compelling—and damning—portrait of a
dysfunctional health-care system… Its careful documentation of financial
crises, feuds, personality clashes and, most of all, life-and-death drama
feeds the same appetite for pathos, intrigue, tragedy and redemption…as
the current plethora of medical programs.”
— Economist
“Reading HOSPITAL feels a little like watching one of those speeding-gurney sequences on ER—fast pasted, high stakes, and crowded with colorful characters all shouting at once. The difference is that Julie Salamon’s book is more informative, more nuanced, and closer to reality.... Ultimately, HOSPITAL is immensely heartening. If there is hope for our overburdened healthcare system, Salamon’s book suggests, we can thank the decent, thoughtful men and women laboring overtime to improve the quality of life—and death—in our gloriously lumpy American melting pot.” —Francine Prose, O Magazine
“This fascinating portrait of a Brooklyn, N.Y. hospital is about much more than white coats and beeping consoles—it’s 21st century America in a microcosm.” — Laura Miller, Salon (front page review)
