• The House of God

  • By: Samuel Shem
  • Narrated by: Sean Runnette
  • Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,904 ratings)

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The House of God  By  cover art

The House of God

By: Samuel Shem
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
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Publisher's summary

By turns heartbreaking, hilarious, and utterly human, The House of God is a mesmerizing and provocative journey that takes us into the lives of Roy Basch and five of his fellow interns at the most renowned teaching hospital in the country. Young Dr. Basch and his irreverent confident, known only as the Fat Man, will learn not only how to be fine doctors but, eventually, good human beings. Samuel Shem has done what few in American medicine have dared to do---create an unvarnished, unglorified, and amazingly forthright portrait revealing the depth of caring, pain, pathos, and tragedy felt by all who spend their lives treating patients and stand at the crossroads between science and humanity.

With over two million copies sold worldwide, The House of God has been hailed as one of the most important medical novels of the 20th century and compared to Sinclair Lewis's Arrowsmith for its poignant portrayal of the education of American doctors.

©1978 Stephen Bergman (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Fascinating." ( The Wall Street Journal)

What listeners say about The House of God

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Amazing

Best non-fiction book I've ever read: so real, so raw, & so true. I loved it!

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exquisite and true

i loved loved loved this book. important for everyone, essential for medical students and residents.

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Straight from the horse's mouth

I have too many relatives and friends working in the medicine, and everything in this book I already heard and it's factual. And there are even more going on and insanity is systematized at every level, not just at the hospitals.

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Highly recommended!

Great book! The annotator does a fantastic job reading the book. For the physician trainees out there, recommend reading this after you complete your training.

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Recumend

I am a medical professional paramedic firefighter and RPSGT. I could relate to the chaotic nuance of being a teacher, student and practitioner. Love this book.

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Much of this is true today!

For all healthcare professionals… true, hilarious and heartbreaking. This gives so much compassion for our profession.

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Brutal honesty with humor

This introspective novel ducks in and out of reality as the young protagonist medical intern struggles to overcome the callous treatment of young residents and their geriatric patients. You are rooting for the narrator to survive all the obstacles posed by others and himself as he develops his moral code and empathy for others. 

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Very great novel!

Dr Shen personifies love as a basis for medical care as he forgives without exculparing those he accuses of "hubris and cruelty" - including his avatar Roy Basch, who when an ingenue had none of both. House of God is true to nature!

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MANDATORY for health care providers

Read before you start med school. And now I’m reading it again after 20 years in practice and the medical system in the United States might be, in some ways, worse than before!

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Classic

Good narration of a classic. A few mispronunciations but the characters are well presented. Love it.

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