Several years ago, my husband introduced our family to the tv show Emergency! I was a toddler when it first came out and so missed it in its original airing. The show became a family favorite. But, it was almost mind boggling to me to imagine a time when there were no paramedics, despite the fact that they came to be during my lifetime.

Recently, on our local scanner page on Facebook, a Fireman posted about the value of the firetrucks showing up at an emergency scene and the skills that the firemen had to save lives. In the comments, someone mentioned this book on the history of the paramedic program. I, instantly, clicked over to Amazon and purchased it.

This is the story of how our modern emergency services came into being. About a doctor with a mission and drive to make prehospital care a reality so that people arrive at the hospital alive. It is about the men (and subsequently women) he trained and the things they were able to do because he made this happen. It's a noholds barred, non filtered, honestly written account. It was very interesting! He is obviously very biased toward Dr. Zydlo's contribution to the program, because he admits that there were movements elsewhere and even mentions California's program and the passing of the Wedworth-Townsend Paramedic Act and even how Emergency! helped push popular opinion, but he insists that Zydlo was the one that mad e it all happen. I'd like to read some accounts of the other programs that were happening at the time. Regardless, Dr. Zydlo was very instrumental in creating what we have today and this was a fascinating read.

This Crossing Zone is a Little Free Library. Look for the Red box on a post in the yard.