The Hospital

"The Hospital shows how fragile our country’s health care was even before the pandemic, and how that fragility affects staff and administration as well as patients."—The Washington Post

"A richly researched, highly contextualized, deeply compelling narrative."—Chicago Tribune

"Alexander also brings to his writing a deep understanding of the larger economic, political, and social trends that are slowly crushing the lives of the people he met in Bryan, and of people like them all over this country. In his telling, Bryan becomes a microcosm of American sickness in all its dimensions."—Washington Monthly

"An absorbing story of one small hospital in a state of rapid transition."—The Columbus Dispatch

"'Potent."—Dayton Daily News

"The irony of it all, captured . . . Alexander won deep access."—Ohio Capital Journal

"Hillbilly Elegy with a bad cough . . . Political, scary, and empathetic."—Sidney Herald

"Compelling."—Salon

"Show[s] the cruel gulfs in American health care."—Associated Press

"Gripping . . . A blueprint of how the American health crisis came to be."—The New York Post

"America is broken, but sometimes it takes looking at the smallest shattered pieces to realize how broken. That is the sad lesson at the core of Alexander’s The Hospital."—Rolling Stone

"Brian Alexander spares no punches . . . an awesome book, hopefully in the running for a well-deserved award."—San Francisco Book Review

"This book is an essential read for anyone involved in healthcare. If we are to bring about sweeping changes in this system, we must understand the forces involved. Alexander does a masterful job of using several perspectives to lay bare the greed at the center of it all."—Intima

"Emotionally and politically astute . . . Alexander’s analysis is insightful and compelling; above all, it is empathetic."—SAGE

"Even in a year when the failures of the American healthcare system are painfully, catastrophically clear, Brian Alexander’s portrayal of a small-town hospital fighting for survival stands out."—LitHub

"The Hospital is a heart-rending and unforgettable real-time journalistic deep dive. With the Affordable Care Act at the center of our national debate, I can't think of a more timely book. The doctors, nurses and medical technicians in these pages are front-line heroes."—Douglas Brinkley, Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast

"A brilliantly imaginative and creative way of telling the story of today's America and the roots of what ails it, through the travails of a small-town hospital. In The Hospital, Brian Alexander does again so well what he did in Glass House—telling the big story from the small place."—Sam Quinones, author of Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic

“Brian Alexander, a master storyteller, delivers an extraordinary tale about a community hospital fighting for its life in America’s heartland. He shows us why rural hospitals matter.”—Eric Eyre, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Death In Mud Lick

“In this clear-eyed biography of a community hospital, Brian Alexander offers a powerful indictment of the American health care system. The Hospital will break your heart.”—Andrea Pitzer, author of Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World

"A stunning achievement—closely observed, deeply compassionate and beautifully written. What The Wire did for the Baltimore drug trade, The Hospital does for the business of healthcare in a struggling Rust Belt community . . . It's not just good—it's important."—Carl Elliott, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics

"The Hospital shows us the deep connections between health care, the economy, and people's lives. Brian Alexander masterfully weaves national history and events into the story of a small local hospital and its community. This book is devastating, gripping, and beautiful."—Beatrix Hoffman, Professor of History, Northern Illinois University and author of Health Care for Some

"A superb account of a small-town hospital whose first priority is delivering high-quality medical care . . . In this eye-opening investigative study, [Alexander] offers vivid portraits of a dozen individuals, including the hospital’s CEO, Phil Ennen, and readers will receive an expert education in his duties . . . A deeply insightful . . . portrait of America’s diseased health care system."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Alexander’s scorching reportage provides a distressing, infuriating picture of health care delivery and highlights the heroic fight of a little hospital and humble hamlet to stay vital.”—Booklist (starred review)

"The time Alexander spent embedded in the community gives continuity and depth to the stories of the individuals he connected with and puts a human face on broader issues of social inequality. This expertly reported account will resonate and find a wide audience.”—Library Journal (starred review)

"This wrenching account brilliantly diagnoses the flaws in America’s healthcare system."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)