"We called it THE VUE, and without a doubt, that was the most
complimentary nickname Bellevue Hospital ever had." So begins The View
from the Vue, an "entertaining, colorful recall" (Publishers Weekly)
of life a half-century ago at New York City's medical court of last
resort.
Between 1959 and 1965, Dr. Larry Karp served as medical student, intern,
and resident physician at Bellevue. During these six years, he came to
know and understand the people who wended their way through the dingy
hallways and roach-infested subterranean passages, and inhabited the
sparsely furnished wards of the fabulous hospital whose origins date
back to 1811. It's not surprising that Dr. Karp has never been able to
forget The Vue. Writing in a style both human and humorous, he recalls
some of the astonishingly funny and dramatic events he lived through,
involving bizarre patients and grotesque working conditions. In the
process, he gives us a clear picture of what it was like at Bellevue in
the early sixties . . . for both doctors and patients.