In 1970, at the beginning of a glorious career, a newly graduated Harvard Medical School physician named Michael Crichton published "Five Patients." This book was an insightful and captivating study of practicing medicine that wove medical history and trends in society into intimate portrayals of humans facing tragic health challenges.
In "Carnage in America," Wisconsin author Dr. Steve Weiss has updated this approach 50 years later, with no less literary power. He has written an eloquent and touching testimony of a physician on the front lines of the battle with COVID-19 in a small Midwestern city. His thoughtful stories connect the lives of his patients with the big issues in our society: the breakdown of civility, political indoctrination, and lack of trust in scientists and public health officials.
