"GRIPPING."--BooklistA crane falls on a hapless mother of two, almost crushing her to death . . . A trauma victim of a helicopter crash desperately clings to life . . . A paralegal aide suffers a violent seizure from a cocaine overdose and gasps for breath . . . Welcome to the ER at Bellevue Hospital, the frontline trenches of medicine where doctors fight around-the-clock to save lives at a frenetic pace of quick decisions and real life-and-death drama.Some three hundred people slam through these hospital doors every day. Gunshot cops, battered kids, drug addicts, and suicides. Destitute drunks, bag ladies, AIDS sufferers, and accident victims. It's a bizarre parade of humanity looking for help in the one place they know they can find it: the ER."Gut-wrenching, heartwarming, and instructive about the exigencies of this branch of medicine as practiced at this legendary institution."--Publishers WeeklyFrom the Paperback edition.