Book Signing - Ghetto Medic

Author Rachel Hennick and Bill Hennick (Rachel's father and the subject of the book) will be on hand for a book signing. Ghetto Medic is the gripping true story of Bill Hennick, a firefighter in Baltimore who joins the still segregated fire department at the height of the civil rights movement, witnesses the race riots of 1968 and battles the ensuing infernos. His story is set against the history of Baltimore, known for its rich black heritage, the home of jazz legends such as Billie Holiday and Cab Calloway. After the Great White Flight, Bill becomes a paramedic. He embarks on a spiritual journey as he risks his own life in caring for the poor in a city with one of the world's highest crime rates.

“If H. L. Mencken were here he would say, ‘go out immediately and buy a copy of Ghetto Medic,’ for nobody knew more than Mencken about story telling, language refinement, or the city of Baltimore . . . This book is an absorbing tale, beautifully written.”

—Dennis Smith, author of the bestseller Report From Engine Co. 82

“Bill Hennick is an unsung hero in the history of Baltimore and in the battle against racism and segregation in the South . . . [A] remarkable story . . . vividly told.”

—Lee Gutkind, Author and Editor, Creative Nonfiction Magazine

“[Ghetto Medic] has the tension of a good novel . . . Though I know the ending of some [parts] of the story I am riveted by Hennick’s telling of it.”

—Marc Steiner, WEAA 88.9 FM