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SUMMARY:Nonfiction Book Discussion Group: AMERICAN SIRENS
DESCRIPTION:The Nonfiction Book Club meets the first Monday of each month 
 at 7 PM. Registration is not required.  Just read the book and join us for 
 the discussion.  Note: We always love hearing from new people with 
 different perspectives\, and we promise not to bite. \n\nThis month's book 
 is:\n\nAmerican Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became 
 America's First Paramedics\nBy Kevin Hazzard\n\nUntil the 1970s\, if you 
 suffered a medical crisis\, your chances of survival were minimal. A 9-1-1 
 call might bring police or even the local funeral home. But that all 
 changed with Freedom House EMS in Pittsburgh\, a group of Black men who 
 became America’s first paramedics and set the gold standard for emergency 
 medicine around the world\, only to have their story and legacy 
 erased—until now.\n\nIn American Sirens - winner of 2023 Christopher 
 Award for books that “affirm the highest values of the human spirit" -- 
 acclaimed journalist and paramedic Kevin Hazzard tells the dramatic story 
 of how a group of young\, undereducated Black men forged a new frontier of 
 healthcare. He follows a rich cast of characters that includes John Moon\, 
 an orphan who found his calling as a paramedic\; Peter Safar\, the Nobel 
 Prize-nominated physician who invented CPR and realized his vision for a 
 trained ambulance service\; and Nancy Caroline\, the idealistic young 
 doctor who turned a scrappy team into an international leader.  At every 
 turn\, Freedom House battled racism—from the community\, the police\, and 
 the government. Their job was grueling\, the rules made up as they went 
 along\, their mandate nearly impossible—and yet despite the long odds and 
 fierce opposition\, they succeeded spectacularly.  Never-before revealed in 
 full\, this is a rich and troubling hidden history of the Black origins of 
 America’s paramedics\, a special band of dedicated essential workers\, 
 who stand ready to serve day and night on the line between life and death 
 for every one of us.\n\n\nAuthor Notes\n\nKEVIN HAZZARD is a journalist\, 
 TV writer\, and former paramedic. His first book\, A Thousand Naked 
 Strangers: A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back\, was published 
 in 2016. He now writes for film and TV\, with work produced by Hulu\, CBS\, 
 ABC\, and Universal. His journalism has been published at 99% Invisible\, 
 the Atavist\, Men’s Journal\, Creative Loafing\, Atlanta Magazine\, and 
 elsewhere. He does medical relief work through Global Response Medicine and 
 is a sought-after voice on emergency medicine. He lives in Atlanta.
LOCATION:Community Room
ORGANIZER;CN="Jennifer Hoelzer":MAILTO:jhoelzer@smfpl.org
CATEGORIES:Book Discussion
CONTACT;CN="Jennifer Hoelzer":MAILTO:jhoelzer@smfpl.org
STATUS:CONFIRMED
UID:LibCal-13241667
URL:https://events.smfpl.org/event/13241667
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