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Gas Man
10… 9… 8… 7… 6… That’s about as far as you get, counting backwards, as you wait for surgery to begin – and that’s all most people know about what I do.
But what happens between you conking out and waking up? And what does the anaesthetist have to do with it all? Do they just sit around playing sudoku while the rest of the team do all the hard work? And why are they so obsessed with what time you ate dinner?
Join Colin Black on his journey from accidental medical student to HSE and NHS trainee and, finally, Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist at the largest children’s hospital in Ireland, where any given day could end in laughter or tears – and that’s just the staff.
Razor-sharp and forthright, Gas Man is a disarming and frequently hilarious account of life in one of the most fascinating and thrilling professions at medicine’s frontline, where every day is a heady cocktail of severe pressure, poignancy, and profound social awkwardness.
But what happens between you conking out and waking up? And what does the anaesthetist have to do with it all? Do they just sit around playing sudoku while the rest of the team do all the hard work? And why are they so obsessed with what time you ate dinner?
Join Colin Black on his journey from accidental medical student to HSE and NHS trainee and, finally, Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist at the largest children’s hospital in Ireland, where any given day could end in laughter or tears – and that’s just the staff.
Razor-sharp and forthright, Gas Man is a disarming and frequently hilarious account of life in one of the most fascinating and thrilling professions at medicine’s frontline, where every day is a heady cocktail of severe pressure, poignancy, and profound social awkwardness.
304 pages, Paperback
Published September 2, 2021
66 people are currently reading
569 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
October 3, 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed Gas Man by Consultant Paediatric Anaesthesist Colin Black. It's a laugh out loud, touching, interesting insight into the work of consultant anaesthesists in busy teaching hospitals. Fans of This is Going to Hurt would love it by Adam Kay would love it, it's hilarious. People who work in children's hospitals are very special kind of people and this book makes me grateful for my two healthy sons. Well worth a read 🌟🌟🌟🌟
October 24, 2021
I like medical stuff generally but the writing here is really poor and I felt mildly patronised the whole way through
September 30, 2021
Having worked in a hospital on my student years in Ireland it was great to hear the stories that goes behind the scenes. The book is funny and has a great play of words!
October 25, 2025
4 stars
This was gas, man! ha ha :)
No seriously if you're curious what my day to day life/gossip looks like... this is it. So often I was thinking "so TRUE!" when hearing the anecdotes. This memoir is written as not too serious anecdotes from Black's work experience and formative trainee years. There are some reflective threads in there, but like he says, this isn't a politically charged book. It was exactly what I needed when walking to and back from the hospital for that 7:30am ward round.
I think he'd be fun in tutorials.
This was gas, man! ha ha :)
No seriously if you're curious what my day to day life/gossip looks like... this is it. So often I was thinking "so TRUE!" when hearing the anecdotes. This memoir is written as not too serious anecdotes from Black's work experience and formative trainee years. There are some reflective threads in there, but like he says, this isn't a politically charged book. It was exactly what I needed when walking to and back from the hospital for that 7:30am ward round.
I think he'd be fun in tutorials.
January 11, 2023
Average. rekomendacja DTP trochę zawiodła
June 4, 2025
This book deserved a review purely for the authors sense of humour … it had so many laugh out loud moments I found myself continuously cracking up throughout!
Even if you don’t particularly enjoy a medical memoir it’s well worth a read if you want a good laugh!
Even if you don’t particularly enjoy a medical memoir it’s well worth a read if you want a good laugh!
July 22, 2022
An interesting insight into life as a consultant in Ireland. The dedication that healthcare staff here have to their profession is unfathomable, and I enjoyed that Colin didn’t shy away from showing how gruelling the work schedule can be. I found it hard to get through and think it could have been condensed slightly.
September 17, 2022
I love a good medical memoir, I enjoyed parts of this but overall not my favourite. I think I'd have enjoyed it a lot more without the reoccurring motif of making lists of things that started out as medical and then became jokes? That will only make sense if you've read the book but yeah, fine the first time, but there must have been 8+ instances which got cringe and repetitive.
November 27, 2021
Great book
As a surgeon I thoroughly enjoyed this insight into the life of the person “behind the drapes” , and it appears it’s not totally dissimilar. Great book, lots of laugh out loud moments.
As a surgeon I thoroughly enjoyed this insight into the life of the person “behind the drapes” , and it appears it’s not totally dissimilar. Great book, lots of laugh out loud moments.
June 22, 2022
A really interesting book about paediatric anaesthesia. I’d recommend if you enjoy other medicine related biographies.
February 4, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyed the tongue in cheek attitude & mild sarcasm. It’s nice to see the human side of the profession is like every other.
February 15, 2022
I really enjoyed this book, I don’t know why people are saying it’s bad it’s the best book I’ve read in a long time
One of my favs
One of my favs
June 22, 2025
Þessi var bara lala. Er alltaf að leita að medical bók sem er svipuð og This is Going to Hurt. Þessi er mikið síðri. Er þó skrifuð í svipuðum stíl sem örstuttar dagbókarfærslur. Hún var notaleg að hlusta á en ekki spennandi og hélt mér ekki mikið.
Var spennt að heyra hvernig kerfið á Írlandi er og það var alveg fínt að læra meira um það.
Hann er svæfingar- og gjörgæslulæknir þannig ég hélt að það kæmu sögur og tilfelli um gjörgæslusjúklinga og bráðatilfelli en þetta eru nánast eingöngu sögur frá vinnu hans við svæfingu fyrir aðgerðir fyrsta árið sem sérfræðingur. Sko það er bara takmarkað hægt að kreista áhugaverða og spennandi hluti frá þeirri hlið. Kynni hans á sjúklingunum eru svo takmörkuð í þeirri aðstæðum að næstum það eina sem sagt er frá er ,,barn með *grunnsjúkdómur* kemur í aðgerð, þetta örlítið áhugavert gerðist”. Maður lyftir rétt öðru munnviki en engin af sögunum nær nægilegri dýpt til að maður finni til með fólkinu eða upplifi spennuna sem fylgja bráðum eða erfiðum tilfellum. Stundum var eins og hann væri viljandi að skauta yfir hvað gerðist, bæði medisínskt og tilfinningalegt, til að hlífa fólkinu en þetta endar allt á að vera svo grunnt að maður skilur ekki tilganginn með því að skrifa þetta á annað borð.
Það var ekkert megin þema, engin lokaorð sem skýrðu tilgang eða skilaboð.
Ég grét ekki, ég hló ekki.
Var spennt að heyra hvernig kerfið á Írlandi er og það var alveg fínt að læra meira um það.
Hann er svæfingar- og gjörgæslulæknir þannig ég hélt að það kæmu sögur og tilfelli um gjörgæslusjúklinga og bráðatilfelli en þetta eru nánast eingöngu sögur frá vinnu hans við svæfingu fyrir aðgerðir fyrsta árið sem sérfræðingur. Sko það er bara takmarkað hægt að kreista áhugaverða og spennandi hluti frá þeirri hlið. Kynni hans á sjúklingunum eru svo takmörkuð í þeirri aðstæðum að næstum það eina sem sagt er frá er ,,barn með *grunnsjúkdómur* kemur í aðgerð, þetta örlítið áhugavert gerðist”. Maður lyftir rétt öðru munnviki en engin af sögunum nær nægilegri dýpt til að maður finni til með fólkinu eða upplifi spennuna sem fylgja bráðum eða erfiðum tilfellum. Stundum var eins og hann væri viljandi að skauta yfir hvað gerðist, bæði medisínskt og tilfinningalegt, til að hlífa fólkinu en þetta endar allt á að vera svo grunnt að maður skilur ekki tilganginn með því að skrifa þetta á annað borð.
Það var ekkert megin þema, engin lokaorð sem skýrðu tilgang eða skilaboð.
Ég grét ekki, ég hló ekki.
November 24, 2021
An interesting read. The title alone is misleading but the book cover helps in understanding the title. For people undergoing surgery whether elective or emergency, minor procedure or day surgery, one of the last people they see before entering an operating theatre will be the gas man. He comes to talk to you and find out about your health and gets you to sign a form. He (or she) will administer something to relax you and put you to sleep and that’s it; as far as you are concernedits over to the surgeon. This interesting and strangely light hearted book(mainly) takes you into the daily work life of an anaesthetist and what goes on while you’re unconscious.
The authors approach makes this an enjoyable read too, from becoming a doctor to becoming a consultant his daily work life is quite eye opening.
The authors approach makes this an enjoyable read too, from becoming a doctor to becoming a consultant his daily work life is quite eye opening.
January 9, 2022
LOVED this book! It was the perfect mix of witty but educational. A very entertaining read.
April 21, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ REALLY REALLY GOOD, BUT NOT THE BEST THING I'VE EVER READ -- Generally I hand out this rating to books that I thoroughly enjoy/find extremely interesting/have a lot of fun reading. I save 5 star ratings for only the best of the best, so a 4 star rating is usually indicative of a high quality book. A book could be knocked down to 4 stars because there were some parts that I wasn't entirely fond of, some parts that could be improved upon, or maybe I just didn't like the ending. Still, I would likely recommend this book to most people, with the proviso that I enjoyed it but it wasn't the best ever.
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My ranking criteria (✅= Yes, ❌= No, ➖= Kind of/a little bit):
*Bonus points if I can't put the book down, it makes me feel strong emotion, or genuinely surprises me in some way.
*Penalty points for editing errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.), for children who act too mature or too young for their age (this is a bugbear of mine), or if there is something in the book that just really pisses me off for any reason.
1. I was sucked into the story from the beginning ✅
2. The story had a proper beginning, middle, and end ✅
3. The writing evoked a feeling of suspense ➖
4. I was engaged the whole way through/didn't get bored ✅
5. The characters were interesting ➖
6. There was some form of character development ➖
7. The book wasn't predictable in terms of relying on tired tropes, clichés, themes, stereotypes, etc. ✅
8. I cared about the outcome of the story ➖
9. I didn't work out the ending/the ending surprised me ➖
10. The ending was satisfying ➖
🌟 Bonus points: +1 for teaching me a lot!
☠️ Penalty points: None.
🏅 OVERALL RANKING: 8/10 (4/5 stars)
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Thoughts, Conclusion, and Recommendation:
*I am about a year behind on my reviews due to starting a new job, and Goodreads giving me a "the servers are over capacity" error every time I tried to use it for MONTHS. As a result of this (and also my memory not being perfect), this review is likely going to be lighter on details and shorter than my reviews normally are.
Gas Man is a fascinating look into what it's like for a paediatric anaesthetist to do their job on a day-to-day basis. I listened to this audiobook while in the midst of a medical memoir book binge, and this one stood out as something different. I learnt a lot from this book, and I never got bored, which is saying something! If you like non-fiction books that delve into the lives of medical professionals, this one is a must-read. 4 stars.
----------
My ranking criteria (✅= Yes, ❌= No, ➖= Kind of/a little bit):
*Bonus points if I can't put the book down, it makes me feel strong emotion, or genuinely surprises me in some way.
*Penalty points for editing errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.), for children who act too mature or too young for their age (this is a bugbear of mine), or if there is something in the book that just really pisses me off for any reason.
1. I was sucked into the story from the beginning ✅
2. The story had a proper beginning, middle, and end ✅
3. The writing evoked a feeling of suspense ➖
4. I was engaged the whole way through/didn't get bored ✅
5. The characters were interesting ➖
6. There was some form of character development ➖
7. The book wasn't predictable in terms of relying on tired tropes, clichés, themes, stereotypes, etc. ✅
8. I cared about the outcome of the story ➖
9. I didn't work out the ending/the ending surprised me ➖
10. The ending was satisfying ➖
🌟 Bonus points: +1 for teaching me a lot!
☠️ Penalty points: None.
🏅 OVERALL RANKING: 8/10 (4/5 stars)
----------
Thoughts, Conclusion, and Recommendation:
*I am about a year behind on my reviews due to starting a new job, and Goodreads giving me a "the servers are over capacity" error every time I tried to use it for MONTHS. As a result of this (and also my memory not being perfect), this review is likely going to be lighter on details and shorter than my reviews normally are.
Gas Man is a fascinating look into what it's like for a paediatric anaesthetist to do their job on a day-to-day basis. I listened to this audiobook while in the midst of a medical memoir book binge, and this one stood out as something different. I learnt a lot from this book, and I never got bored, which is saying something! If you like non-fiction books that delve into the lives of medical professionals, this one is a must-read. 4 stars.
April 20, 2025
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: non-fiction - memoir
Does the blurb reflect the plot: it’s a great overview of what’s to come
Sum it up: With all the books about doctors and surgeons in the United Kingdom’s public health systems, Gas Man stands out as a unique voice as this time we hear from an Anaesthetist. As serious as it is funny, Black grabs your hand and dives in head first to the public health system, first with adults and then as he goes on to specialise in patients congenital heart disease and with paediatric anaesthesiology both in the UK and Australia. Like any good memoir, you don’t feel like you’re just reading along but rather; that you’re sitting down having a chat as you hear about the good, the bad and the ugly. Aided by lots of short sorties rather than a small amount of long chapters, Gas Man makes for an easy read because it’s like hearing a lot of anecdotes or diary entities rather than slabs of text. This, combined with Black’s humorous and compassionate voice, makes for an eggsemplary read that I highly recommend.
Who should read it: anyone who enjoys memoirs will like this, but it will particularly resonate with those who enjoyed any of Dr Adam Kay’s books.
To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo or @peggyanne_readsandruns on Instagram.
Genre: non-fiction - memoir
Does the blurb reflect the plot: it’s a great overview of what’s to come
Sum it up: With all the books about doctors and surgeons in the United Kingdom’s public health systems, Gas Man stands out as a unique voice as this time we hear from an Anaesthetist. As serious as it is funny, Black grabs your hand and dives in head first to the public health system, first with adults and then as he goes on to specialise in patients congenital heart disease and with paediatric anaesthesiology both in the UK and Australia. Like any good memoir, you don’t feel like you’re just reading along but rather; that you’re sitting down having a chat as you hear about the good, the bad and the ugly. Aided by lots of short sorties rather than a small amount of long chapters, Gas Man makes for an easy read because it’s like hearing a lot of anecdotes or diary entities rather than slabs of text. This, combined with Black’s humorous and compassionate voice, makes for an eggsemplary read that I highly recommend.
Who should read it: anyone who enjoys memoirs will like this, but it will particularly resonate with those who enjoyed any of Dr Adam Kay’s books.
To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo or @peggyanne_readsandruns on Instagram.
September 26, 2024
My second non-fiction pick for September was Gas Man a book that I have had on my TBR for quite a while so I finally decided to pick it up. Gas Man tells the story of the observations of an anaesthetist in Ireland. There are two sections to the book how the author came to be an anaesthetist and part 2, the observations he made over the course of a year. The book tracks his training through the HSE and NHS before he becomes a consultant paediatric anaesthetist at the largest children's hospital in Ireland.
I enjoyed the book it is quite funny in parts as well as very touching! It gives the reader an interesting insight into the world of anesthesiology, something I didn't know much about prior to reading. It definitely made me realize how much more they do than just put you to sleep. You can also tell the author enjoys his job while also not shying away from the harsh realities of working in a children's hospital and the long gruelling hours the work schedule can be when training especially. Although I enjoyed this book, I don't think it is a book I would reread, I enjoyed some elements but I also found myself not always wanting to pick it up. Overall, I think if you like books on medical insights and Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt then I think you will enjoy this book.
I enjoyed the book it is quite funny in parts as well as very touching! It gives the reader an interesting insight into the world of anesthesiology, something I didn't know much about prior to reading. It definitely made me realize how much more they do than just put you to sleep. You can also tell the author enjoys his job while also not shying away from the harsh realities of working in a children's hospital and the long gruelling hours the work schedule can be when training especially. Although I enjoyed this book, I don't think it is a book I would reread, I enjoyed some elements but I also found myself not always wanting to pick it up. Overall, I think if you like books on medical insights and Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt then I think you will enjoy this book.
August 30, 2022
Colin Black's observations on his working life as a paediatric anaesthetist are presented as journal entries numbered discontinuously from 1 to 365. Several missing entries reassure the reader that the overworked author did benefit from some days off or even days when nothing noteworthy happened. The content ranges from high drama to professional preoccupations and personal and occupational trivia. Black's descriptions of the demands on his skill and the explanations of his decisions and management are excellent, and the glossary is useful for reminding those of us who can't retain the more arcane abbreviations, but the jocular style and tone are problematic. His obtrusive use of commonplace, cliches, expletives and locker-room language -- does he really 'get [his] knickers in a twist'? -- becomes increasingly tiresome. I appreciate the need for black humour (no pun intended) in a stressful situation but not the careless, if not quite feckless, talk that costs readers' tolerance.
May 10, 2024
I wanted to enjoy this so much more than I did unfortunately. Normally, anything medical and I love it but this just felt all over the place for me. It's clear he was trying to be funny in many places but the humour was quite dry. I felt although there were some small snips of stories of real cases, almost written in diary format, there was no structure to those stories and it was almost like he went off on a tangent, telling us half a story then quickly moving onto something else.
A little off-putting for me, not what I expected. Lots of facts and while they were needed in some places, not too much. It was a tad excessive, would have preferred more real life stories instead of just small snippets. I struggled with this as I was never keen to pick it back up but I did finish the book.
A little off-putting for me, not what I expected. Lots of facts and while they were needed in some places, not too much. It was a tad excessive, would have preferred more real life stories instead of just small snippets. I struggled with this as I was never keen to pick it back up but I did finish the book.
April 29, 2022
Listened on borrow box. Yet another medic who thinks their training is harder than that of every other profession. Yet another medic moaning about how tough it is to have to spend a couple of years in London. I'm getting pretty tired of this. Many people work in professions during which they are not even on a salary during their training - think of PhDs - many people spend many years on 1,2 or 3 year contracts, moving from country to country (postdocs etc). Their chances of getting a professorship toward the end of an outstanding career are extraordinarily slim yet this guy is complaining about how hard they journey was to a very highly paid consultancy job in his mid-30s? Gimme me a break.
Also, I just don't find it ethical to be using patients' illnesses as fodder for a book.
Also, I just don't find it ethical to be using patients' illnesses as fodder for a book.
May 22, 2022
Excellent
After working with many anaesthetics ( this is uk!) In Post Anaesthetic Care Unit, caring for patients from 8 hours old to 100* years. I have the greatest admiration for the different anaesthetists I've worked with. Some I would let anaesthetise me others i would not let near my cat!! Many are good friends and give advice as required. Colin sounds fantastic to work for and seems an ideal doctor. Do write some more books as there is always something to learn. Thank you
After working with many anaesthetics ( this is uk!) In Post Anaesthetic Care Unit, caring for patients from 8 hours old to 100* years. I have the greatest admiration for the different anaesthetists I've worked with. Some I would let anaesthetise me others i would not let near my cat!! Many are good friends and give advice as required. Colin sounds fantastic to work for and seems an ideal doctor. Do write some more books as there is always something to learn. Thank you
December 23, 2021
As the parent of a complex cardiac baby who also had a spinal fusion I was the recipient of a lot of the chats Colin describes so well.
It's been a few years since we successfully graduated from crumlin children's hospital but this book brought a lot of the memories back.
Especially the format of the one thing that you remember from that day or week in the hospital.
All I can say is he's spot on about how special the people and the hospital are
It's been a few years since we successfully graduated from crumlin children's hospital but this book brought a lot of the memories back.
Especially the format of the one thing that you remember from that day or week in the hospital.
All I can say is he's spot on about how special the people and the hospital are
July 7, 2024
I like medical memoirs and have read a bunch already. Gas Man didn't stand out for me, probably because I have heard most of what was written in here before.
I couldn't really warm to the diary-style writing, since it didn't really combine to case studies or similar they way I know it from other medical memoirs. Probably not surprising, since anaesthetists usually don't follow patients long term.
I couldn't really warm to the diary-style writing, since it didn't really combine to case studies or similar they way I know it from other medical memoirs. Probably not surprising, since anaesthetists usually don't follow patients long term.
August 21, 2025
Just not for me. I have read a couple of the hospital type memoirs and usually enjoy them but struggled with this one. I found the tone patronising - sometimes even the most basic of vocabulary was explained, many of the jokes didn't land for me and I found it a bit of a slog to finish. The short anecdotal stories did lend itself
well to reading this along side other books as you can pick it up for just a few pages.
well to reading this along side other books as you can pick it up for just a few pages.
September 20, 2025
Things I'd have never thought I'd see mentioned in an anaesthetist's memoir, especially one who works in a children's hospital:
- Italia '90
- Lake Titicaca
- North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un
- "We don't negotiate with terrorists" as a chapter title
Dr. Black is both knowledgeable and hilarious (Irish humour at its finest!). I enjoyed reading his observations and gained a deeper understanding of the role of the anaesthetist.
- Italia '90
- Lake Titicaca
- North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un
- "We don't negotiate with terrorists" as a chapter title
Dr. Black is both knowledgeable and hilarious (Irish humour at its finest!). I enjoyed reading his observations and gained a deeper understanding of the role of the anaesthetist.
October 12, 2025
Enjoyable book. The format allowed for easy picking up and putting down, which may be a positive or negative (took me longer than I’d like to finish!). As a big fan of medical books I enjoyed a different perspective, and the latter focus on Paediatrics was especially interesting and different to my usual medical books. Similar to Adam Kay’s ‘This is going to Hurt’ except obviously in a completely different speciality.
May 20, 2022
I wasn't asked to count backwards but since my first experience with general anaesthesia I have new heroes to admire. The anaesthesiologists. Or is it anaesthetists.
I was switched off and then switched on again after someone rearranged things inside. I knew nothing about this. Remarkable.
And to do this for kids...
Thank you for this insightful book.
I was switched off and then switched on again after someone rearranged things inside. I knew nothing about this. Remarkable.
And to do this for kids...
Thank you for this insightful book.
October 8, 2022
I listened to this book but think I would have enjoyed it more had I read it. The author has a soft gentle tone but this book deserved the narration of an actor to really bring all the sarcasm and humour to life. Funny, witty, self deprecating, yet caring and full of compassion for his patients this simple look at a year in the life was easy going and engaging.
September 24, 2023
One of those books that intrigues you with its cover, and only got better when I opened it :) It was entertaining, informative, serious and funny. I finished the book with a greater understanding of what hospital specialists have to do to get to their positions. The structure of the book was interesting as it follows a year of work.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews