It's taken me a while to read this book, but since it's a collection of blog entries it's easy to 'dip in and out' without losing the plot.

Tom Reynolds is an Emergency Mediecal Technician (Ambulance crew to you and me!), who lives and blogs in London.

I've been reading his blog for sometime thanks to the recommendation of Liz, and he writes extremely well; often about difficult or sensitive situations that he's had to deal with.

Pulling no punches, Tom describes his working days (or nights); the frequent flyers (often alcoholics), the false alarms, calls for colds, headaches and other non-emergency patients - along side the descriptions of real emergencies, the frustrations of working for a 'failing' NHS, the politics and the crazy pedestrians who think nothing of trying to 'make a dash for it' in front of his speeding vehicle!

I've really enjoyed this book, but then I knew I would as I still follow his blog!

Visit the blog here - http://randomreality.blogware.com/

This was a quick read which I really enjoyed. It was interesting to parse the differences between American and British behavior and health care. I think that people who work in emergency medicine see both the best and worse that humans are capable of...on a daily basis. The humor was fresh and the author's voice rang true. ( )

I received this book from the Early Reviewer's club. While this isn't a book I would normally select for myself to read, I am so happy I stumbled upon it. All I can say is what an interesting book! I really like how Mr. Reynolds included a variety of blogs throughout the book. The content ranged from sad, to depressing, to informative, to just plain hilarious. Mr. Reynolds has a fantastic sense of humor, which makes the book highly entertaining. ( )

Warning: I got this book as part of the early reviewers program so I might be a little biased. This is the kind of book for people interested in medicine and health related stories. It also may serve well for people who like 'believe it or not' Ripley's type true stories. An easy read. I found it entertaining and informative, if sometimes unbelievable.

Blood, Sweat, and Tea by Tom Reynolds (a pseudonym - the author's real name is Brian Kellet) is a collection of entries from his Blog, Random Acts of Reality.. In some cases, he has added additional comments that bring home his point or provide a little "what happened next."

This was an enjoyable book, a fairly fast read. It was actually nice to learn that a London ambulance driver's patients are much the same as pretty much any patient I've encountered here in the US as a nurse - which is to say, I guess, that they're all human and subject to the same fears and frailties.

This is a very good blog, but I wish there had been more than that to the book. Mr Reynolds would have done well to re-organize these posts into chapters, each of which told a story or underscored the points he wanted to make. As is, it's a hodgepodge of experiences that may accurately reflect his day-to-day job but that do not accurately reflect the nature of his work.

It is clear that Mr Reynolds is both witty and kind. He insists that he is a misanthrope, but his actions speak louder than his words. He claims repeatedly that he "hates everyone equally," but all of his patients get the care that they need and deserve. It's nice to know we have men like him out there. ( )

another "commuter bus read"

I tried to finish this book, but I couldn't. Perhaps I will try again at a later date. I have read blogs, and I have read journals/diaries. However, this is the first book based on a blog that I have read. This book was just too disjointed for me to get into. No flow whatsoever. I don't know if it is a result of the blog format or the author. Perhaps better selection of which blogs to include in the book might have helped. I got the feeling that some story lines/threads were missing some key parts. It did have some interesting and humorous bits, but just couldn't sustain. ( )

You may be tempted to put down Tom Reynold's Blood, Sweat, and Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulanceafter reading the tragic story in the prologue. Don't. This book based on a compilation of posts from his popular blog Random Acts of Reality, does have its share of tear jerker stories, but balanced by enough humour to help the reader maintain sanity and see how Reynold's maintains his as a member of the London Ambulance Service...

Full review at: http://library.tom-hanna.org/2008/tom...

When Tom Reynolds, an EMT in East London, started blogging his day-to-day adventures, I wonder if he ever dreamed that those posts would find their way into book format. From his blog “Random Acts of Reality” we now have “Blood, Sweat and Tea: Real Life Adventures in an Inner-city Ambulance”.

Reynolds doesn’t sugarcoat his busy shifts and it’s not difficult to sense his anger and frustration with so many aspects of his employment such as uncooperative motorists who don’t move for a wailing ambulance, government standards for response times that dictate whether a job was successful or not by their response time regardless of the outcome, and emergency vehicles that break down constantly creating more work for the other units. Oh, and the patients don’t make life easy either.

The entries are gripping and it’s easy to enjoy his acerbic sense of humour while also noting his professionalism. He details a scene easily and not too graphically (most of the time) so it’s easy to get caught up in the moment.

I admire Reynolds’ honesty throughout the book. He’s definitely not looking to go out of his way to make friends yet his misanthropic attitude towards the vast majority of the human race (with the exception of Little Old Ladies) doesn’t stand in his way of doing his best for all his patients. ( )

I received this as part of the early-reviewers section and I really enjoyed it. There was something surreal (I know how overwrought that word is, but it's as close as I could get) about reading a book based on a blog while being able to access the blog at the same time; it was a unique experience that truly enriched the reading.

You can find the full review at my writing and blogging blog, http://weirdink.theweirding.net" target="_blank" rel="me">Weird Ink and while you're there, go ahead and subscribe! ( )

This was my first early reviewer book to snag. I really enjoyed it. It was a quick read, but still quiet interesting.

Blood, sweat and tea is the edited version of a blog by Tom Reynolds, who works as an EMT in Londen. He took most of his blog and edited in into one book. The format is therefore not your typical book format. It is quick hit, small blurbs more than actual formed paragraphs. Makes it very easy to read a few, then put it down for later.

Some of the sections are rather graphic, and he does use a bit of medical terminology, which he explains, and a bit of england slang, which he doesn't. A hint for anyone who reads this and is from the US. There is a chapter in the back of the book that explains both the medical and slang terms used in the book.

A note of caution. If you believe that all healthcare workers are saints, that never think or feel a bad thing about thier paitents, this is not the book for you. Mr Reynolds will dissude you of that notion about one minute into the read. His theory on racisim is simple, he hates everyone. Although he says that repeatedly, you can tell he actually cares for people (except drunks) and does a good job of it. But, he does have a wicked sense of humor that some may not appreciate in thier healthcare providers. Having been involved in the medical field for the last 10 years, I can assure you, it is quite typical.

All and all a very good read.

mommymouse

A great and interesting look at the work life of an ambulance driver in inner city London. The narrator is incredibly likable and his job is infinitely interesting. The people he meets and works with are all different. I loved the insiders look at what it is like to be an ambulance drivers. ( )

It cannot be denied that EMTs and paramedics seem to have some of the most exciting jobs out there. Obviously, they put their lives on the line and face enormous pressure every day, and there's a natural curiosity towards the lives they lead. Blood, Sweat, and Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulance capitalizes on this "inquiring minds want to know" factor and compiles a moderately interesting collection of true tales from a London EMT.

Unfortunately, as you continue reading the book, it turns out that EMTs' jobs are just like ours; most days are fairly routine, and it's only the exciting ones that stick out. For example, Mr. Reynolds's saga regarding a potential HIV exposure captures the reader's interest early on in the book. However, after that, the stories tend to fall into predictable patterns. "The patient was a X-year old male/female, complaint of Y (usually "fitting", where, surprise surprise, the patient is an alcoholic). I arrived in more/less than 8 minutes and surveyed the scene. It turned out to be/not be a call that required an ambulance. There was/wasn't a pulse and the patient was/wasn't breathing. I did Z. The patient lived/died, and I felt good/kinda good/bad about it."

While some of the patient stories are interesting, thought-provoking, or humorous, the posts where Mr. Reynolds talks about himself or takes the wider perspective are what really keep the book going. The book itself is a compilation of entries from Mr. Reynolds's blog "Random Reality", so it is technically available for free online. The author does a good job of selecting and editing the most interesting entries, but, aside from a desire to support this author, I don't know if the book content as a whole justifies the price tag. In fact, going onto the website (http://randomreality.blogware.com), I was quickly able to find some additional content that really should have been included. Additionally, the book could have incorporated more photos; the very few that were included felt more like afterthoughts.

My suggestion is to go check out the website, and, if you like what you see, buy the book as a donation to the author. (Or, probably better, somehow make the author a donation directly.) The writing scores high while the value scores low. Overall score: 3.5/5. ( )

About: Adapted from his blog Random Acts of Reality: http://randomreality.blogware.com/ (a wonderful blog and one of my favorites), a London Ambulance Service emergency medical technician presents tales from his job.

Review: Well written, bite-sized chunks of emotion-filled (compassion, fear, frustration, caring, humor to name a few) prose. Gives a great look at how hard EMTs work and how few people know what they actually do andthe too little recognition they get. ( )

Blood, Sweat, and Tea is an interesting, quick read. In it, Tom Reynolds (a pseudonym) describes his time spent in the London Ambulance Service.

The good: Tom is a funny, interesting writer. Whether he is ranting or describing a sad case, he is able to connect with the reader. After reading his entries, I feel like I have a much better understanding of the NHS and London culture as a whole.

The bad: This books is basically a simple repackaging of Tom's blog, Random Acts of Reality. Some of the posts have brief introductions or comments, but really, very little is added. In a few annoying places, he refers to comments left on the blog, which he doesn't include. He also refers to other posts that he does not include. This can be frustrating. Also, the book is not organized in any way. It would be more helpful and satisfying if Tom used his blog posts as a starting point and then divided up the book into themes, perhaps with additional commentary or stories. As it is, I find this book hit or miss. You would get a more complete understanding of the LAS world by simply reading the blog. ( )

This was quite an enjoyable quick read. I'm a regular blog reader, so I actively appreciate the format of blog entries, which made this easy to swallow. I'd never read this blog before, but I can see why it had/has? a huge readership. The writer is good at making readers see just how working as a emergency services worker is. And seeing as I know nothing about it, I thought it was a good introduction--and not too gory, either.

I think there is something here, too, that is universal. Most people can instinctively understand normal work woes, and those are also presented here--office politics, as it were, in the ambulance bay. Who doesn't have to deal with that? It made the writer pretty likable.

I'm definitely not unhappy that I spent time reading this book, and I'd recommend it to someone who likes blogs and/or medical-type reads. ( )

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.
( )

This seems to be a new phenomena. Transcribing blogs so that they get a wider audience. This is not a bad thing. This is the EMT part of Tom Reynold's Blog. Much of it is the sort of things people are gagging to hear in a pub when someone reveals that they work in the Ambulance service. It's full of humour (he is an equal opportunities bigot, he hates every equally) and pathos (Victims brought me to tears) and it really made me think about the Ambulance service. I subscribed to his blog almost immediately, his rants have the ability to make to sit back and take notice.

Well worth reading, even if it's something you don't do or you're squeamish. Yes there are gory parts, but that's life. ( )

See my review
http://kosmyryk.typepad.com/wu_wei/20... ( )

It is good if you read the blog. Easy enough to pick up and put down. ( )