Into the Breach: A Year of Life and Death with EMS

by J.A. Karam

Into the Breach is the true story of paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and heavy-rescue specialists fighting to control trauma and medical emergencies in one of America's toughest and most violent cities: Newark, New Jersey. A riveting account that hauls readers on a first-hand tour of street medicine today, Into the Breach shows what really happens inside an ambulance and some of the diverse and bizarre places EMS workers tread. Through...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312306172
• ISBN13: 9780312306175
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Renaissance Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Should be required reading

Accurately describes the days of EMTs and Paramedics in New Jersey. When I got the book, I couldn't put it down. Shows improvements of EMS since the "Johnny and Roy" days of TV. Wonderful description of the events of 9/11 that happened on their end. The Cavalry Is Coming

A Fascinating and Insightful Read!

I could not turn the pages fast enough. Karam's in-depth and well-researched material takes you on a journey that you do not want to end. Karam draws you into the lives of these urban EMS workers, and those they serve, and refuses to gloss over the brutal reality that takes place in our collective backyards everyday. A fascinating read and a story whose telling is long overdue!

A Glimpse of Reality

Karam's new work is a gripping, action packed book which gives the reader a bit of insight into the unique world of big city EMS. Documenting a year in the life of legendary paramedics such as Walter Drivet and others, Into the Breach shows us the other side of life that so many haven't a clue about. As a Special Agent/Paramedic with a federal agency in the Newark area, I saw firsthand what these guys went through everyday, and can now re-live life on the edge via this book. It's only a matter of time before this book is made into a movie about the real life "Rescue Hero" Walter Drivet.

BUY THIS BOOK NOW

Jana Karam, with remarkable clarity, has captured what it means to be a paramedic and an EMT in Newark NJ. As one who has 20 years experience providng EMS in the City of Newark, first as a volunteer and later with UMDNJ EMS, I can atest that Jana has delivered to the reader 'an inside the lockerroom' and a 'down on the field' view of EMS in NJ's largest city.It is a balanced, honest presentation of the good, the bad and the not so pretty life at UMDNJ EMS. Everybody knows about the police and fire departments. Read about the men and women who also do a job, a job people do not like to think or talk about. A job that makes even the cops and firemen say 'I could never do that...'BUY THIS BOOK AND READ IT NOW. It is one of the best you will ever read.

Wonderful.

This is not Third Watch. Into the Breach a Year of Life and Death with EMS is a disturbing non-fiction descent into the world of the Emergency Medical Service in New Jersey. The author Jana Abrams Karam spent a year riding with New Jersey's EMS teams and her gripping stories from the streets of Newark bring to life the real and wrenching details of what it is like to be a member of the Emergency Medical Service in one of the poorest most violent cities in America. The author goes into great detail about the everyday reality of EMS where Paramedics and EMT's deal with shootings, suicides, child abuse, miscarriages, stabbings, and other horrifying scenes that are an everyday reality for the nations EMS workers. After reading this book I find Into the Breach is mandatory reading for everyone who wants to know the truth about life in the Emergency Medical Service.