Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink

Hurricane Katrina caused the power, lights, air conditioning and plumbing to go out in hospitals all over New Orleans. How the medical staff of those hospitals responded in those dire conditions is the basis for the compelling and thought-provoking Five Days at Memorial.

At Charity Hospital, where the staff was used to making do with less, they tried to maintain routine care and the death toll was very low. But at Memorial Hospital, there were quite a few deaths, many under suspicious circumstances. And there were rumors that some members of the medical staff had decided to euthanize patients that they figured were going to die anyway. At the center of the controversy is Dr. Anna Pou, whose supporters saw as a hardworking, dedicated surgeon but whose detractors saw as a murderer of helpless patients.

It's a fascinating, well-researched book. It ends with questions about lessons learned from Katrina on preparing for natural disasters and allocating scare medical resources during times of crisis.