Sick to death. Hedley Thomas. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2007 (ix + 427 pp). ISBN 978 1 74114 881 7.

Typically, journalists write readable books; even journalism textbooks are easy to follow. So it is with Hedley Thomas’ story of Bundaberg Hospital’s saga with Dr Jayant Patel. The journalist credited with publicly exposing the discredited surgeon (and more importantly, the terrible deficiencies of the Queensland public health system) leads us on a trail of discovery, ineptitude, political chicanery and tragedy.