A Best Scientific American Book of the Year

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The Scientific American named GOD’S HOTEL one of its Best Science Books of 2012: best books of the year. The review in part reads, in part, that “Sweet is a medical practitioner who started working at San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital, based on an almshouse model dating back to the Middle Ages (the “god’s hotel,” or Hotel-Dieu, of the title). This book came highly recommended by colleagues, and deservedly so. Modern healthcare, at least in the US, is fairly pragmatic and utilitarian in its approach. Sickness and disease are problems to be solved, and the practice of medicine gives us the tools to find those solutions. And I, for one, am grateful for all that modern medicine has to offer. But Sweet’s book reminds all of us that medicine is also about not losing sight of patients’ humanity. It’s equal parts funny and poignant, and a very enjoyable read.”