<DIV><DIV><DIV><P>It looked for a while as if Michael Collins would spend his life breaking concrete and throwing rocks for the Vittorio Scalese Construction Company. He liked the work and he liked the pay. But a chance remark by one of his coworkers made him realize that he wanted to involve himself in something bigger, something more meaningful than crushing rocks and drinking beer. </P><P>In his acclaimed first memoir, <I>Hot Lights, Cold Steel</I><I>,</I> Collins wrote passionately about his four-year surgical residency at the prestigious Mayo Clinic. <I>Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs </I>turns back the clock, taking readers from his days as a construction worker to his entry into medical school, expertly infusing his journey to become a doctor with humanity, compassion, and humor. From the first time he delivers a baby to being surrounded by death and pain on a daily basis, Collins compellingly writes about how medicine makes him confront, in a very deep and personal way, the nature of God and suffering&#8212;and how delicate life can be. </P></DIV></DIV></DIV>