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26th out of 50 books
—
2 voters
The First Patient
by
Michael Palmer (Goodreads Author)
From the blockbuster, New York Times bestselling author comes a high-concept, high-octane thriller at the crossroads of presidential politics and cutting-edge medicine. . . .
Gabe Singleton and Andrew Stoddard were roommates at the Naval Academy in Annapolis years ago. Today, Gabe is a country doctor and his friend Andrew has gone from war hero to governor to President of t...more
Gabe Singleton and Andrew Stoddard were roommates at the Naval Academy in Annapolis years ago. Today, Gabe is a country doctor and his friend Andrew has gone from war hero to governor to President of t...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
February 19th 2008
by St. Martin's Press
(first published 1998)
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I've been flying so much lately that I've had an unusually large amount of time to read. But, traveling a lot also means less time to stay organized and plan my reading list. This combination of factors has resulted in me desperately picking up a lot of books not normally found on my shelf because I unexpectedly finished, forgot or lost my "intentional" book. In this case, I'm certainly not complaining. The First Patient was totally captivating. Now, it was also poorly edited (the same bits of e...more
Mar 04, 2009
Beeka
added it
POTUS (President of United States) has chosen Gabe Singleton as his new personal physician, his best friend and college roommate, after his original physician disappeared. The president is in great danger as rumors about his mental health tears the area for a search of truth, Gabe has to find out what is causing Andrew Stoddard's episodes. Episodes of hallucinations and strange behaviors that cannot be explained by anything medically. As the truth unfolds, Gabe realizes the danger his best frien...more
Michael Palmer was coming to Quincy to speak at the Thomas Crane Public Library, so I read this in preparation. His talk was wonderful, and this was my first but not my last Michael Palmer novel. In fact I purchased a copy of his newest novel, Political Suicide, that evening and he was kind enough to sign it "To Harry The Librarian - my favorite kind of book-keeper." I actually haven't read that one yet. He told us it was part of his first attempt, after more than a dozen stand-alone novels, to...more
Gabe Singleton and Andrew Stoddard were roommates at the Naval academy. As a result of a car accident that killed two people, Gabe who was intoxicated at the time was released from the academy. After prison, he became a country doctor/cowboy in Wyoming. On the other hand, Stoddard went from war hero to President of the United States.
While Stoddard is in the midst of a contested reelection campaign, he visits Gabe on his ranch. President Stoddard delivers a surprising request for Gabe to become...more
While Stoddard is in the midst of a contested reelection campaign, he visits Gabe on his ranch. President Stoddard delivers a surprising request for Gabe to become...more
I picked up the book because of its premise. What would happen if the President of the United States was going insane (some would argue this has happened to more than one President already, but we won’t get into that here)? Who would decide and could they hide it from the public? Well, Dr. Gabe Singleton is called by his old college roommate and asked to serve as the President’s personal doctor. Once in DC Gabe is confronted by the startling possibility that the President is not going mad, but b...more
What if.... The United States had the best President in years. What if....the economy, stock market, social security, etc., were in great shape and the future looked better than ever.
What if...this same President, in a bid for reelection is showing signs of mental disorder and those closest to him are trying to hide this from the public.
Andrew Stokddard may be just about the best President the United States has seen in years, but is showing signs of a mental disorder. The President's physician h...more
What if...this same President, in a bid for reelection is showing signs of mental disorder and those closest to him are trying to hide this from the public.
Andrew Stokddard may be just about the best President the United States has seen in years, but is showing signs of a mental disorder. The President's physician h...more
Summary: Gabe Singleton and Andrew Stoddard were roommates at the Naval Academy in Annapolis years ago. Today, Gabe is a country doctor and his friend Andrew has gone from war hero to governor to President of the United States. One day, while the United States is embroiled in a bitter presidential election campaign, Marine One lands on Gabe's Wyoming ranch, and President Stoddard delivers a disturbing revelation and a startling request.
His personal physician has suddenly and mysteriously disappe...more
His personal physician has suddenly and mysteriously disappe...more
Feb 28, 2010
Liz
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
james patterson fans
Recommended to Liz by:
alison cardone (stepmom)
Shelves:
mystery-suspense
Let me just say this book was very predictable.
Gabe Singleton a doctor from Wyoming is visited by his best friend/the President of the US to come be his personal doctor in the White House. Andrew Stoddard's previous doctor has mysteriously disappeared.
When Gabe gets to the White House, he notices there is something seriously wrong with the President. Numerous attacks of psychosis have occurred and Gabe is determined to set out to find out what is causing these. He learns it is by toxic poisonin...more
Gabe Singleton a doctor from Wyoming is visited by his best friend/the President of the US to come be his personal doctor in the White House. Andrew Stoddard's previous doctor has mysteriously disappeared.
When Gabe gets to the White House, he notices there is something seriously wrong with the President. Numerous attacks of psychosis have occurred and Gabe is determined to set out to find out what is causing these. He learns it is by toxic poisonin...more
The story began with the President of the United States, Andrew “Drew” Stoddard, calling for the help of an old friend, Dr. Gabe Singleton. The President’s previous personal doctor had disappeared and Gabe was the only person he could really trust.
Reluctantly, Gabe accepted the offer. After arriving at the White House,before he even had an opportunity to settle in, he discovered the President wasn't OK. For the past three months, the President had four psychological episodes. Dr. Ferendelli had...more
Reluctantly, Gabe accepted the offer. After arriving at the White House,before he even had an opportunity to settle in, he discovered the President wasn't OK. For the past three months, the President had four psychological episodes. Dr. Ferendelli had...more
One day I found myself at the library, unprepared... I didn't have a single book I went there to check out, so I found myself going slowly through the aisles looking for something to read. After a while, I stumbled upon this book by Michael Palmer. Having had a great experience with him in the past (see The Fifth Vial), I decided, why not? and I checked it out. I don't know why I didn't like this book so much. I mean, I guess the story was interesting (the President's health is in danger and it'...more
I've always enjoyed Michael Palmer novels, which are usually medical thrillers. This novel definitely has a medical bent, as, right off the bat, we meet Dr. Gabe Singleton, a doctor in a small Wyoming ranch town. As we meet Gabe, however, we also meet U.S. President, Andrew Stoddard, Gabe's college roommate and lifetime friend. Drew has traveled to Wyoming to lure Gabe to return with him to Washington, D.C. and to ask him to take the post of personal physician to the President. The previous phys...more
3.0 out of 5 stars where are the really good medical thrillers now?, July 19, 2008
This review is from: The First Patient (Hardcover)
OK first off I am a nurse. Also I have been an editor for a publishing company that produces medical and allied health materials.
I LOVE medical stuff.
This book fell so short -- it was like they gave you a cool premise and then spend 100 pages with background junk and a little paragraph or two about nanotechnology and how heroic and manly the guy from Wyoming was an...more
This review is from: The First Patient (Hardcover)
OK first off I am a nurse. Also I have been an editor for a publishing company that produces medical and allied health materials.
I LOVE medical stuff.
This book fell so short -- it was like they gave you a cool premise and then spend 100 pages with background junk and a little paragraph or two about nanotechnology and how heroic and manly the guy from Wyoming was an...more
I read The Fifth Vial and loved it so picked this one up when it came in at the library. Oh so different....only in books can 2 people fall in love with one look while being chased by the bad guys and ...well I won't spoil the story but all I can say is as much as I loved a previous title (and others) by this author, I would not recommend this one.
Not my favorite of Michael Palmer's books. I must have been in a bad mood while I was reading it. Usually his books have more medical details (which I missed) and a more obvious political agenda (which I'm glad was not so prevalent). I guessed right from the beginning one of the "surprises" revealed at the end of the book--seemed a bit obvious. I did enjoy the White House setting, but I didn't connect so much with the main character. Like I said, I must have been in a bad mood when I read it.
Ba...more
Ba...more
A medical / political thriller.
Gabe is college friend of President Drew Stoddard. Drew visits Gabe on his Wyoming ranch and pleads with his old pal to come to DC and be his personal physician - his doctor has disappeared mysterioulsy, and he wants someone he can trust by his side. (In retrospect, I wonder - how DID the President convince him to go?!?)
Things are not as they seem, of course, and someone attempts to take Gabe's life not once, but twice. The pretty nurse that Gabe finds himself att...more
Gabe is college friend of President Drew Stoddard. Drew visits Gabe on his Wyoming ranch and pleads with his old pal to come to DC and be his personal physician - his doctor has disappeared mysterioulsy, and he wants someone he can trust by his side. (In retrospect, I wonder - how DID the President convince him to go?!?)
Things are not as they seem, of course, and someone attempts to take Gabe's life not once, but twice. The pretty nurse that Gabe finds himself att...more
Insipid. By using a one word review, I've essentially matched the amount of time and effort the author put into this novel. Between the simplistic writing style, the "medical suspense" that was no more than taking a Michael Crichton plot and dumbing it down immensely, and a love story that can most easily be described as nauseating, I have no reason to recommend this book in any way other than it was a very fast 500 pages...could have been like a kid being served cauliflower and told he had to f...more
Another fine vacation book; I finished this one on the way home from Vegas. It was fun to read a political thriller (endorsed by former president Bill Clinton ) with medical/science elements included. The foreshadowing and reminders of the various plot threads were applied with a sledgehammer and far too frequently for my taste, and I'm clearly not the target audience for the science bits. It was impossible for me to believe that a doctor deemed skilled enough to serve as the President's persona...more
I really enjoy the medical thrillers by Robin Cook and Michael Palmer. They're a bit farfetched, but thought provoking since medicine and the other sciences are fraught with ethical issues these days. This one's hero is a Wyoming physician called in to sub for the President of the United States' physician, who has mysteriously disappeared. The President and his temporary physician are longtime friends. There are some real surprises and the story is exciting and involving, though of course farfet...more
Unfortunately, a co-worker had hyped this book up to me so much that it could never have lived up to it. I liked it, but didn't love it. It was my first Michael palmer, and I do think I will try another one.
This book was a little convoluted at times but over all it had an interesting premise. The President is having episodes which technically make him unfit to make decision so the 25th Amendment should come into play and the Vice President should take over. However through various tests and other wild things the Dr. finds out the president is being 'poisoned' so to speak. The Dr. then has to go into hiding for fear of his life and the president brings in his college roommate also a Dr. to take over...more
I needed a lighter, quick read after finishing a 900+ page book and this one was handy. I have read Michael Palmer books and found them enjoyable and interesting. This one fit the bill. It's is a mystery/thriller involving the president's personal physician, a Wyoming rancher/doctor who was the president's college room-mate and a plot to discredit the president. While not great literature, it was interesting - both the insights into medical coverage of the president and some of the issues of nan...more
Feb 17, 2009
Dorothy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
readers of cloak and dagger books
Recommended to Dorothy by:
My book club
The First Patient is just another politically based cloak and dagger thriller. The main characters are the President, Andrew Stoddard, better known as POTUS and his old time classmate at the Naval Academy,
Gabe Singleton. They are bound together by their mutual interests, their experiences as young men, and an accident that happened during their youthful drinking days.
Time has passed. Drew is now the President of the United States. Gabe has become a country doctor back in Wyoming. Why would th...more
Gabe Singleton. They are bound together by their mutual interests, their experiences as young men, and an accident that happened during their youthful drinking days.
Time has passed. Drew is now the President of the United States. Gabe has become a country doctor back in Wyoming. Why would th...more
Mar 08, 2013
Sandra
added it
Recommends it for:
mystery and sci fi lovers
Recommended to Sandra by:
no one
Another excellent Michael Palmer page-turner. Set in Washington, DC, the story is engaging when the President's physician, and his daughter disappear, Gabe is asked to leave his job out West to come care for the President, a close personal friend from youth. Someone is trying to make the President appear to be out of his mind - but who? As Gabe delves deeper into Washington politics, he uncovers a sinister, frightening plot. A lady Secret Service detective is assigned to keep her eyes open, and...more
This is the first book by this author that I have read.
It was a good story, with medical information that I enjoyed learning about. The author is himself, a physician.
As a medical thriller, I enjoyed the mystery, action, and the political insider information, you find in this book.
'The First Patient' is the story of the US President, his physician, and the crisis' that occur around them both.
I liked the book, and will read other's by this author.
(This book was even recommended by President Bill...more
It was a good story, with medical information that I enjoyed learning about. The author is himself, a physician.
As a medical thriller, I enjoyed the mystery, action, and the political insider information, you find in this book.
'The First Patient' is the story of the US President, his physician, and the crisis' that occur around them both.
I liked the book, and will read other's by this author.
(This book was even recommended by President Bill...more
Good adventure & suspense. Idealistic president is in danger from mysterious person or persons using the latest nanotechnology. His best friend becomes his personal physician & the center of much of the intrigue. The science is scary with its implications for our lives today & in the near future. Fast moving yarn which asks you to suspend credibility in many areas with a few twists & turns to keep it interesting. Science fiction, conspiracy, politics, even a little romance, good...more
This book provides an interesting look at how nanotechnology could one day impact the medical field, but with a scary twist involving the President of the United States. Story focuses on Gabe Singleton, who is a doctor in a small farming community that also happens to be a longtime friend of the President. Palmer writes a brilliant story involving these two characters, secret service, assassins, and many others. Definitely leaves you wondering who is plotting to remove the President from office...more
Not sure who recommended this book, but I'm sure glad they did. I've read other books by Palmer which I didn't enjoy as much. But this one was very good! It was almost like an episode of CSI, except the victim is still alive. In this book the president's personal doctor goes missing and the president is suffering from occasional bouts of incoherency. The president's good friend, who is a doctor, is asked to come in and take his place. Everything goes down hill from there. I did notice that the b...more
Another pageturner from Michael Palmer. Not as medically-driven as some of his earlier books, The First Patient adds political intrigue and nanotechnology to the mix here. With echoes of Michael Crichton, The First Patient is a fast paced thriller about President Drew Stoddard and his college friend Gabe, now a doctor in the West. Drew hires Gabe as his personal physician after his current official doctor disappears during a presidential health crisis (and a reelection campaign). Conspiracies an...more
A medical/thriller/mystery, this is one of the best fiction books I've read in a loooong time. Dr. Gabe Singleton is persuaded by his old college friend Drew Stoddard (who happens to be the President) to become his personal physician. What the good doctor doesn't know until a few days into his new job is that The Prez just happens to be having periodic, brief periods of insanity! But caused by whom?? A nail-biting plot that kept me guessing who the villain was, with short James Patterson-type ch...more
Gabe Singleton and Andrew Stoddard were once Naval Academy roomates. Today, Gabe is a country doctor and his friend Andrew has gone from war hero to governor to President of the United States. One day, while the United States is embroiled in a bitter presidential election campaign, Marine One lands on Gabe's Wyoming ranch, and President Stoddard announces that his personal physician has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared--and he desperately needs Gabe to take the man's place.
Now ensconced in...more
Now ensconced in...more
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Michael Palmer, M.D., is the author of the forthcoming A Heartbeat Away (2011), The Last Surgeon, The First Patient, The Fifth Vial, The Society, Fatal, The Patient, Miracle Cure, Critical Judgment, Silent Treatment, Natural Causes, Extreme Measures, Flashback, Side Effects, and The Sisterhood. His books have been translated into thirty-five languages. He trained in internal medicine at Boston Cit...more
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"Hezká představa, ale já mám spíš dojem, že sprchujeme hejno opic.”
Jun 19, 2011 01:55pm