The Hostage Heart: A novel

by Gerald Green

When Dr. Eric Lake, easily the equal of DeBakey, undertakes coronary surgery at City General on a very rich man who's overindulged in rich foods for years along with other immoderate activities, the OR is taken over by two terrorists, with others backstopping them, who want a ten-million-dollar ransom to feed the poor. Lake never takes his eyes off his patient's veins, large as a fire hose, and proceeds unflappably with the revascularization while another man is killed, the money's brought in, and he's taken hostage for a short period.

Genres: Thriller

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Gerald Green (April 8, 1922 – August 29, 2006) was an American author, journalist, and television writer. He attended Columbia College, where he edited the Jester, starred in several Varsity Shows, and was a member of the Philolexian Society. He graduated from the college in 1942 and, after serving in the US Army in Europe during the Second World War, where he was also the editor of the army's Stars and Stripes newspaper, he returned to New York to attend the Columbia Journalism School.

Green wrote many novels, the best known being The Last Angry Man, published in 1956. It was adapted into a movie by the same name which was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Muni) and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White. His other novels include His Majesty O'Keefe (co-authored with Lawrence Klingman), adapted into a 1954 film, North West, Portofino P.T.A., To Brooklyn with Love, My Son the Jock, The Lotus Eaters, and East and West. His 1962 novel Portofino P.T.A. was adapted into a musical, Something More!, by composer Sammy Fain and lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman.

He wrote the teleplay for Holocaust, a critically acclaimed 1978 TV miniseries that won eight Emmy Awards, including one for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series," and was credited with persuading the West German government to repeal the statute of limitations on Nazi war crimes. He later adapted the script into a novel of the same title. In recognition for this effort, Green was awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld International Peace Prize for literature, 1979. Green won another Emmy nomination for his 1985 TV script for Wallenberg: A Hero's Story. Green was also a writer, producer, and director for NBC News. In 1952, he co-created (with Dave Garroway) NBC's The Today Show.

Green lived in Stamford, Connecticut for twenty years and moved to New Canaan, Connecticut. His first wife, Marie, died of cancer. They had three children: Nancy, Ted and David. He married Marlene Eagle in 1979, becoming stepfather to Dr Janie Worth (Née Eagle), Julie Cardo (Née Eagle) and David Eagle. Green died of pneumonia in Norwalk, Connecticut on August 29, 2006.

Reviews

[Diane Wachter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gerald Green, RDC-M #2, 1976, @ 1976, 3/85. The operating room is taken over by terrorists who want to ransom the rich patient all the while the doctor is performing coronary surgery. Okay.

[Samantha Obermeyer]

The text was by no means difficult. There was a healthy balance between description, thought and motive, and framing the tone of the scenes. I was surprised by the small glimpses into different character’s thoughts. They were just seldom enough that you wished there were more, but frequent enough to remind the reader that each character was unique and had an entirely different set of hopes and fears running through their minds.

Read more... https://samasasim.wordpress.com/2020/...

[Greg Fletcher]

I like the book. Very suspenseful. Very fast paced. I knew what I wanted to happen....but I didn't know what was going to happen. And that............is always a good thing to experience when reading a book or watching a movie.

[John Pitcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was like a movie that kept you on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what would happen next.

[Craig Schlossin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thin plot with characters that were not believable.

[ChrisGA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good medical thriller even thouh it is 40 years old.