Michael J. Collins (1)

I absolutely loved this book. Collins' writing style is witty, funny, and engaging. The stories he tells are by turns humorous, dramatic, gruesome and horrifying -- made all the more so by the fact that they're true. Although it's a memoir, it reads like a novel. I came to care deeply for all the characters (though I hate to call them that), including Collins' family, his colleagues, and his patients. I can't remember the last time I was so tense while reading; the book has the makings of a show more great episode of ER or Grey's Anatomy. It had my heart pounding, and I caught myself having to take a break just to breathe before I could find out how a case concluded. And yet, I couldn't put it down. I read it in a day. I'd wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the subject matter, though I will warn it's not for the faint of heart or those with a weak stomach. (A ) show less

In Hot Lights, Cold Steel, Dr. Michael Collins recounts his four years of medical residency as an orthopedic resident at the world renowned Mayo Clinic. In addition to stories about cases during his residency, Collins also interjects snippets of his life with his wife and ever growing family as well as his stints of moonlighting in a rural hospital 90 miles away.

Collins’ memoir is an interesting glimpse into the life of medical residents, an area of medicine that I think doesn’t get a show more lot of attention. Residents are in between medical students and practicing physicians. They know a lot of textbook knowledge, but have yet to apply it in the field. Collins’ does a good job of showing the reader how terrifying and yet exhilarating the process is of becoming a real surgeon.

Collins’ memoir is full of stories that are both humorous and heart breaking. For every silly drunk he encounters, there is the sad story of an 18 year old beautiful cancer patient. Collins’ uses these stories to also contemplate on the futility of many of the things that doctor’s do. In the end, we all go to the same place. Yet Collins’ fights the good fight because he knows nothing else. He can’t stop trying to fix things, no matter what the eventual outcome.

Hot Lights, Cold Steel is overall a solid memoir of medical residency. Some of the language is complex and may lose readers who don’t want to look up specific knee muscles. Regardless, I would still recommend the title to anyone who has an interest in personal medical stories. show less

Hot Lights, Cold Steel is, in a way, like many other books I’ve read before. It’s a medical memoir, a genre I have an interest in. Yet it manages to set itself apart through Collins’ sensitive and insightful prose about not only his training, but, really, about the entirety of his life through the four years of his residency. Collins has written a book enjoyable for many reasons, a feat not often achieved by a book typically focused on one, partitioned part of the author’s life.

Full show more review: http://libwen.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/hot-lights-cold-steel-by-michael-j-collin... show less

A great read for pre-med students, gives first hand insight into the life of a resident. It is important for pre-med students to understand the life of a doctor is not all glamour and money and I think this book paints a picture of the stress and moral conflict that comes with being a resident. A good way to be introduced to some medical terminology as well as understand how a residency program functions.