
Man's 4th Best Hospital
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Narrated by:
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Sean Runnette
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By:
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Samuel Shem
About this listen
The sequel to the best-selling and highly acclaimed The House of God
Years after the events of The House of God, the Fat Man has been given leadership over a new Future of Medicine Clinic at what is now only Man's 4th Best Hospital, and has persuaded Dr. Roy Basch and some of his intern cohorts to join him to teach a new generation of interns and residents. In a medical landscape dominated by computer screens and corrupted by money, they have one goal: to make medicine humane again.
What follows is a mesmerizing, heartbreaking, and hilarious exploration of how the health-care industry, and especially doctors, have evolved over the past 30 years.
©2019 Samuel Shem (P)2019 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Samuel Shem has challenged generations of doctors in his writing to think deeply about why they chose medicine. His novels illuminate the humanistic core of clinical care, and serve as a bulwark against a system increasingly characterized by avarice and anonymity.” (Jerome Groopman, MD, author of How Doctors Think)
“If you want to know why the doctor spends all visit looking at a computer instead of you, and if you want to know how the doctor feels about it, this is the book for you: a mordantly funny tour through modern medicine with a powerful prescription for how to change." (Bill McKibben, best-selling author of The End of Nature and Radio Free Vermont)
“As he did in The House of God, Samuel Shem provides a bitter, caustic and overdue update on the cold and bureaucratic world that awaits the sick and the dying if they are lucky enough to be able to afford it.” (Arthur Caplan, professor of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center)
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It is 1968 in rural Australia and lonely Tom Hope can't make heads or tails of Hannah Babel. Newly arrived from Hungary, Hannah is unlike anyone he's ever met - she's passionate, artistic, and fiercely determined to open sleepy Hometown's first bookshop. Despite the fact that Tom has only read only one book in his life, the two soon discover an astonishing spark. Recently abandoned by an unfaithful wife - and still missing her sweet son, Peter - Tom dares to believe that he might make Hannah happy.
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Listener beware
- By Little old lady from Iowa on 06-11-23
By: Robert Hillman
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The Chosen One
- By: Walt Gragg
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Two months ago, a new leader arose in the Islamic world, the Mahdi - or the Chosen One. He has rallied fundamentalist Muslim forces across the Middle East who have driven deep into Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Standing against them is an allied force made up primarily of the American military. It's a desperate fight. From armored battles in the desert to American carriers desperately dodging waves of cruise missiles, the Mahdi proves to have many tricks up his sleeve.
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Predictable
- By Amazon Customer on 03-25-20
By: Walt Gragg
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No Heaven for Good Boys
- A Novel
- By: Keisha Bush
- Narrated by: Samba Schutte
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Six-year-old Ibrahimah loves snatching pastries from his mother’s kitchen, harvesting string beans with his father, and searching for sea glass with his sisters. But when he is approached in his rural village one day by Marabout Ahmed, a seemingly kind stranger and highly regarded teacher, the tides of his life turn forever.
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Captivating
- By Amazon Customer on 02-05-21
By: Keisha Bush
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A Crooked Tree
- A Novel
- By: Una Mannion
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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It is the early 1980s and fifteen-year-old Libby is obsessed with The Field Guide to the Trees of North America, a gift from her father before he died. She finds solace in “The Kingdom,” a stand of red oak and mountain laurel near her home in suburban Pennsylvania, where she can escape from her family and share menthols with her best friend. One night, while driving home, Libby’s mother, exhausted with the fighting in the backseat, pulls over and orders Libby’s little sister Ellen to walk home. What none of this family knows as they drive off is what will happen next.
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enjoyable listen
- By Barbara S on 01-23-21
By: Una Mannion
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The Innocents
- A Novel
- By: Michael Crummey
- Narrated by: Mary Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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A brother and sister are orphaned in an isolated cove on Newfoundland's northern coastline. Their home is a stretch of rocky shore governed by the feral ocean, by a relentless pendulum of abundance and murderous scarcity. Still children with only the barest notion of the outside world, they have nothing but the family's boat and the little knowledge passed on haphazardly by their mother and father to keep them.
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Amazing
- By Wendy on 02-04-20
By: Michael Crummey
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Damnation Spring
- By: Ash Davidson
- Narrated by: CJ Wilson, Rebecca Lowman, Mark Sanderlin, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Colleen and Rich Gundersen are raising their young son, Chub, on the rugged California coast. It’s 1977, and life in this Pacific Northwest logging town isn’t what it used to be. For generations, the community has lived and breathed timber; now that way of life is threatened. Colleen is an amateur midwife. Rich is a tree-topper. It’s a dangerous job that requires him to scale trees hundreds of feet tall - a job that both his father and grandfather died doing. Colleen and Rich want a better life for their son - and they take steps to assure their future.
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Many sides to the story, beautifully told
- By A. Golden on 09-03-21
By: Ash Davidson
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The Motion of the Body Through Space
- A Novel
- By: Lionel Shriver
- Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In Lionel Shriver's entertaining send-up of today's cult of exercise - which not only encourages better health, but now like all religions also seems to promise meaning, social superiority, and eternal life - an aging husband's sudden obsession with extreme sport makes him unbearable.
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Very Good!
- By Tina on 06-01-20
By: Lionel Shriver
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The Great Pretenders
- By: Laura Kalpakian
- Narrated by: Alexandra Harris
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The daughter of Hollywood royalty, Roxanne Granville is used to getting what she wants - even if she has to break the rules. But after a falling-out with her grandfather, a powerful movie mogul, she has to face life on her own for the first time....
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OUTSTANDING
- By Evonne on 05-14-20
By: Laura Kalpakian
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A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom
- A Novel
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Tim McInnerny
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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This story starts with a family. For now, it is a father and a mother with two sons, one with his father’s violence in his blood, one with his mother’s artistry. One leaves. One stays. They will be joined by others whose deeds will determine their fate. It is a beginning. Their stories will intertwine and evolve over the course of 2,000 years. They will meet again and again at different times and in different places. From Palestine at the dawn of the first millennium and journeying across 50 countries to a life among the stars, their destinies remain the same....
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AD 2016
- By Warren on 08-24-20
By: John Boyne
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The School of Mirrors
- A Novel
- By: Eva Stachniak
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors.
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Fascinating but pedophilia nonetheless.
- By Barbara W. on 05-10-22
By: Eva Stachniak
What listeners say about Man's 4th Best Hospital
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- Christian Abreu
- 01-28-23
Fantastic sequel to the House of God
Lovely book with a bittersweet ending. Talks a lot of truth about modern medicine using the characters of our very beloved first book. It’s lovely to see how they all turned out.
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- AURORA A FERRER
- 08-12-20
Outstanding
Amazing sequel to House of God. A modern day telling of Knights of the Round Table. As a medical student this was a must read. Thank you Samuel Shem for everything you've done and I hope to hear more in the future!
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- Jacqueline Frazer
- 01-29-24
Nailed it!
Once again Shem gives readers a view into the world of the physicians who want to care for patients but instead are at the mercy of the c-suite. Corporate greed, the strain of EMR on providers, and staying human and connected in medicine are explored. Fantastic!
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- Wendy
- 02-19-23
All too true
First, I love listening to Sean Runette (the voice of Roland Merullo's Buddha series - also first rate).
As a health care provider with over 50 years experience, I loved this. The decline of the American medical system is all too real. I have my own set of horror stories about insurance companies, billing errors, and the worst of all: electronic medical records! Yes, it takes 65 clicks to write a simple prescription!
While this is a fictional tale, the situations are all too real, and getting worse. The almightly dollar reigns supreme, and we are not patients but customers, often unable to decipher the maze of medical/legal information.
The stories do wander a bit but overall, this is a great snapshot of medical practice today.
I think this quote from one of docs is the summary of the medical dilemma today: Their mission is monetary!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kenneth
- 09-16-22
Great stuff
I loved House of God, and I loved this story as well. 40 years and medicine has changed a lot, but I do not think it is for the better. It is nice to imagine that WE are not alone as healthcare providers.
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- Michael K. Benson
- 02-01-24
The truth about medicine
As a physician this story rings true with what it is truly like to practice medicine at the present time.
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- Catalina Maione
- 04-08-22
Love
This book helps me love myself always it is because the best, okay? I love you.
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- mlauth
- 10-26-23
Incredible Story of Doctors versus Admin
Phenomenal book about doctor trying to bring humanity back into medicine. Definitely, a different style compared to his original House of God but still good. Great read.
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- SF
- 06-26-21
Modern spin on "House of God"
I remain partial to the original "House of God," but it was nice to see Shem return with the modern update.
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2 people found this helpful
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- pwdmommy3
- 11-12-22
sad satire of acute medical care in US
Sad but accurate commentary of current US health care system. Calls a spade a spade here.
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