Quacks: Hilarious, bizarre and shocking stories from a former junior doctor
Ahmed Handy

I really don’t think that Quacks is a good title for this book because I initially thought it would be about doctors who shouldn’t be treating patients – though, in retrospect, given what the author has written about some of his fellow doctors, perhaps it is actually a good title.

Quacks is about a newly minted junior doctor in England working in the Midlands who is of Middle Eastern ethnicity. Rather than focusing on the patients, the author concentrates on his interactions with his superiors, and this makes for interesting reading. Readers, particularly those residing outside of England, are provided with an overview of the National Health Service and the hierarchical structure of its medical practitioners. It’s a bit different here in the United States and there were times when I did get lost and had to re-orient myself to the way they do it across the pond, but it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book.

This is a short book and an easy read. If you are looking for an in-depth exposé of the NHS, you would need to look to other books, but if you’re looking for one young physician’s view of the system, then you’ll enjoy Quacks.

4/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion, which I have given here.]