Blood, Sweat, and Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulance

One of the best of its kind...

With the popularity of Blogs on the rise, and the critical success of recent books and movies adapted from online journals, the number of Blogs reprinted into book form is increasing steadily. The rush to fill any growing market usually dictates quantity over quality, and this can often make it difficult to find the exceptional materials mixed in among the shelf-fillers. Blood, Sweat & Tea is one of those few excellent translations from the Internet to the book shelf, and is well worth the search. The book launches straight into the daily diary entries from Tom Reynolds¿ blog (randomreality.blogware.com/blog) without any real setup or introduction, and it is a credit to the clarity and honesty of his writing that this is not a setback to enjoying the book. No real explanation is needed beyond the blurb on the back cover. Blood, Sweat & Tea is a collection of daily online diary entries by Reynolds concerning his experiences as an emergency medical technician working for the London Ambulance Service in East London. Reynolds¿ recaps of his time on the job clearly illustrate the ups and downs that go with such a demanding yet unappreciated vocation. He shares it all: humorous stories of false alarms and bizarre incidents, nerve-wracking brushes with the potential hazards of the job (such as the risk of exposure to HIV infected patients), frustrations concerning the politics and red tape behind the scenes of the medical services, and the emotional toll of dealing with life and death on a daily basis. Never overly preachy, snarky, or flippant, Blood, Sweat & Tea is a tour through the trenches of on-site medical response units in the UK that will entertain and inform any and all interested in the topic.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Blog turned into a book

This book is a good read as long as you go into it knowing that it is really just a collection of blog posts. This means you can't expect the same writing style you would get with a book. The "chapters" are very short and the writing is as you would expect with a blog - that is to say, kind of "quick and dirty," not crafted with as much precision as a book usually is. However, the material is very interesting. This book is a first hand account of an ambulance worker in Britain, and as such is a good read if you are interested in that kind of thing.

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Recommended

For anyone in the medical profession, this would be a humorous take on the patient. Patients often complain about the medical profession, now the medical profession gets to fire back! Written by the British equivalent of an EMT on the London Ambulance Service, this witty and often sarcastic blog about his adventures in the up and down world of emergency medicine. I laughed and I almost cried, especially when he wrote about the death of children. Definitely worth reading and the price isn't bad either!

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Phenomenal

Being in the health field, this was right up my alley AND because the writer is a Brit, all the British language and humor was a plus, as I'm a sucker for it. There's a sequel, which I am eager to devour, and this has evidentally been turned into a TV show in the UK, so I hope Netflix is able to get their grubby mitts on it soon :)

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

As a former ED nurse I liked it.

Enjoyed the humor and the humanity.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A good read for Medical story lovers

If you enjoyed ER in the early years, you will enjoy this book. A collection of blogs, with good humor and good story telling

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not worth the time

It's hardly "beautifully written." It reads more closely like scribblings from a notebook kept by a bored ambulance medic between runs. Poorly written, edited, formatted and organized, it's overlong at 411 pages and I lost interest after 15.

1 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Recommend for EMS Personnel

This is a Blog collection by a British EMT. There is humor, frustration, and success. It is interesting for the similiarities and differences in the EMS protocols and language. EMTs will find this entertaining and interesting.

Is this book for 10 year olds

?.....

Enjoyable read

I really enjoyed reading this book. But be warned: It is a blog, not a novel. The chapters aren't connected in any meaningful way, but they aren't meant to be. It can get a bit repetitive, but this is understandable since these are things he encounters everyday. I loved the insight into the life of a paramedic. I will definitely read this again.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. After a while, it starte

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. After a while, it started to get boring, so maybe it was just a bit too long.

Excellent blog material, not so excellent book material

Honestly, had I been reading this in its original format, it would have been far easier to complete. Pacing, form, and grammer spurned me to skip in places far too many times than I would have liked but it was interesting to see the life of an EMT in their own honest (and sometimes harsh) words.

Easy read, kept me wanting more so I found it hard to put the bo

Easy read, kept me wanting more so I found it hard to put the book down. It made me feel like I was there with him on his journey. I recommend this blog-esque type book!

Great look into EMT and London culture

I grew up watching a lot of medical dramas, so the subject matter of this book appealed to me. Add in the blogger style and i was so hooked, i convinced my mother (a nurse) to read it as well!

Ally

Great sakka shes gonna b so xcited shes like in love with u

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Mimii

I am single

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Sakka

Ok mimi. U cheated on me anyway and im there Ally.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great Nook Book

I started this book not knowing what to expect only knowing I enjoy reading about the medical field. Since it is based off a blog it is very easy to read on the go. It is both comical and tragic. Almost every blog gives a laugh and makes one consider things could be much worse. A great book for people who like to get their minds off things for a few while waiting in line, at the dentists, or getting the car fixed etc.

Couldn't finish

441 pages Not a bad deal if you are in the ambulance part of the medical field but it is by a Londoner and gets a bit boring as you continue. May be of interest to the many wonderful people working in this field but I just did not keep going. The honesty of the daily routine and hassles these people go through is a bit interesting if you've never been exposed to it.**

Greatness!

What a trouper.