Yeah, while some of my stories are quite gory, others can be very enlightening. Though, in hindsight, the best outcomes are when the patient pulls through. It's then that you know you've done your job, and you get a bit of a buzz out of that.

Put the sirens on and get ready to hit the road, because fact is stranger than fiction in this fabulous Australia-wide collection of ambos stories from bestselling author Bill 'Swampy' Marsh.

Rural and remote ambulance drivers and paramedics are a dedicated and gutsy bunch who work tirelessly to care for their communities, often in isolated and inhospitable conditions, with few resources but plenty of experience, courage and care. Ambos deal with it all: car crashes, delivering babies, snake bites, heart attacks, lost bushwalkers, drug overdoses - even the occasional crook camel. One thing they are never short of is a story or two to tell.

This memorable and eye-opening collection of real-life accounts of professionals and volunteers alike racing by road, air and water to save people in strife is by turns, poignant, bizarre, heartbreaking and hilarious.

Bill 'Swampy' Marsh is an award-winning writer and performer of stories, songs and plays. He spent most of his youth in rural south-western NSW and now lives in Adelaide. Swampy is one of ABC books' bestselling authors of Australian stories; this is his twenty-second book.