Doctors [Mass Market Paperback]

Erich Segal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1989

Writing with all the passion of Love Story and power of The Class, Erich Segal sweeps us into the lives of the Harvard Medical School's class of 1962.  His stunning novel reveals the making of doctors--what makes them tick, scheme, hurt . . . and love.  From the crucible of med school's merciless training through the demanding hours of internship and residency to the triumphs--and sometimes tragedies--beyond, Doctors brings to vivid life the men and women who seek to heal but who must first walk through fire.  At the novel's heart is the unforgettable relationship of Barney Livingston and Laura Castellano, childhood friends who separately find unsettling celebrity and unsatisfying love--until their friendship ripens into passion.  Yet even their devotion to each other, even their medical gifts may not be enough to save the one life they treasure above all others. Doctors --heartbreaking, witty, inspiring, and utterly, grippingly real--is a vibrant portrait that culminates in a murder, a trial . . . and a miracle.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his most skillfully written novel to date, Segal ( Love Story , The Class ) tackles a timeworn but engrossing theme: the grueling education of doctors, and the toll exacted by their careers. As Segal sees it, many physicians are "wounded healers" who know that "to care is to crack" in this brutally competitive, sometimes poorly self-policed profession. When childhood friends Barney Livingston and Laura Castellano enter Harvard Medical School in 1958, they are soon physically and emotionally overwhelmed by mountains of demanding coursework, a classmate's suicide and the vivisection of clumsily anesthetized dogs. Later, Barney, a Manhattan psychiatrist, witnesses the heartwrenching suffering of mental patients at Bellevue Hospital, including his tragically misdiagnosed former basketball coach. Pediatrician Laura is harshly penalized by tyrannical superiors who resent her complaints about their conduct. A medical-school classmate, brilliant black surgeon Bennett Landsmann, encounters racism within and beyond the medical establishment. Seth Lazarus, another class member, faces murder charges for a mercy killing. With his usual facility, Segal spins a highly readable story that addresses the gravest, most pressing issues facing doctors today. 250,000 first printing; $250,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A superior story . . . A moving and compelling novel of doctors and their fears--how they confront them or are confounded by them."--UPI.

"Segal's best work to date."--New York Post

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553278118
• ISBN-13: 978-0553278118
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Medical student who felt this book was his life story, August 19, 2000

By 

James Cho "whopper170" (Loveland, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctors (Mass Market Paperback)

I felt like Erich Segal had researched my own life and experiences to write his book. Many of my own sleepless nights studying, worrying, questioning my own abilities and sacrifice for my hopeful profession are experienced by the characters in this wonderful book. If any of you out there wonder what medical school or being a doctor is really like, other than ER, I don't think you'll get anything better than this.

I think the only thing that detracted from the realism is that many chapters explored the characters lives in what was years in a chapter, but this was necessary or the book would have been at least ten times longer.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Life, January 21, 2004

By 

Anne M Kobbermann (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctors (Mass Market Paperback)

As someone that has gone through the unique experience of medical school (and survived) I have to say that although this book is fiction, it is the closest thing to my own experience that I have found. If you want a clear representation of what medical school is like, this is the book. I highly reccomend it for anyone who is interested in going to medical school.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars doctors, April 18, 2000

By 

Ken Liebeskind (New york) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctors (Mass Market Paperback)

the story of harvard med school students and the careers theypursue is moving and fascinating. anyone w/ an interest in medicinewill enjoy it but segal goes beyond this, tieing the story into theevents of the times, from the liberation of nazi concentration camps to the black panthers movement of the 1960s. i'm from new haven, ct. where segal puts the panthers and i remember their presence from childhood. of course the main focus is the on the medical profession which segal has researched thorougly to tell the story of the students and doctors and the work they do. case after case is presented here in highly readable fashion. the book is very long, but never boring as the story moves along steadily and the reader becomes involved with the characters, especially barney and laura, the childhood friends from brooklyn who go on to harvard law and successful careers in psychiatry and children's medicine. END