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The Other Side of Time: A Combat Surgeon in World War II
The author recounts his experiences as a surgeon during World War II, from November of 1944 during the fighting for Alsace-Lorraine to the end of the war, when the men of his unit were among the first into Dachau
341 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 13, 2016
Good book; good read. Deep thinking writer about the "hell of war" as told from a young surgeon serving and barely surviving on the ETO the incompetence of the "rear guard" otherwise known as the military bureaucracy. So many people died because of the Nazi aggression and bureaucratic incompetence. You would think that the injury, maiming and death toll were equal parts naked Nazi aggression and military bureaucratic incompetence.
This particular author was lucky to have made it out alive thanks in large part to his immediate commanding officer, a West Point Colonel who time and time again saved his armored division from the command to "move forward" or, incredibly, "stop" when to do so would be certain suicide for all involved. I was left with a bad taste in my mouth for the military bureaucrat from publicity seeking General Patton and his entourage on down.
Well written and well worth the time.
This particular author was lucky to have made it out alive thanks in large part to his immediate commanding officer, a West Point Colonel who time and time again saved his armored division from the command to "move forward" or, incredibly, "stop" when to do so would be certain suicide for all involved. I was left with a bad taste in my mouth for the military bureaucrat from publicity seeking General Patton and his entourage on down.
Well written and well worth the time.
July 22, 2011
This is the book to read if you want to know what it was like to serve in the front lines during the final months of WWII. While the author's rants about the incompetence of his higher-ups goes over the top at time, his retelling of the trials and horrors of a armored division fighting in France and Germany far outweigh them. I doesn't get into the overall strategy of the war but deals with what it was like for the foot soldier and tanker fighting with sometimes inferior equipment against the mighty German Army.
Living in Germany in the same area his Division fight over adds to the reading of the book. Living next to the German people who he can't forgive for what they did during the war is also thought provoking.
Living in Germany in the same area his Division fight over adds to the reading of the book. Living next to the German people who he can't forgive for what they did during the war is also thought provoking.
September 16, 2023
It was my pleasure to have met the author, after reading his WW2 memoir, "The Other Side of Time".
It was the winner of the Booker Prize, for the outstanding work of nonfiction, after its publication in 1987. As a doctoral student in American history some 20 years earlier, I had read dozens of books on the subject. But I was struck by the immediacy of his memoir, and the flowing and vivid narrative it portrayed. After his wife's death, he was going through her things and discovered a bundle of letters which he had written to her, while he was a combat surgeon serving under General Patton. He noted in the book that he wanted to publish a memoir based on the letters, before he, too, went over to "The Other Side of Time." His father was the American literary agent for the Irish author James Joyce, and the son writes with an eloquence and vividness which is evident from the beginning of the book.
I will paraphrase a brief section of the book, which will serve as a backdrop for his eloquence, and for that which led to our meeting.
It was a freezing day in December, 1944 when Phibbs and his comrades were huddled around a fire getting ready to cross the Rhine River into Germany. They were in the vanguard of the American forces preparing to invade Dermany. An American jeep drove up with a driver, an accordianist, and a woman wearing an Eisenhower jacket, and a skirt "slit up to the limits of military censorship. She had hair like cornsilk, blue eyes, and a voice that was heavenly to hear. She was everything that a soldier dreamed of in a woman."
The woman was Marlene Dietrich. I was so moved by the eloquence of his tribute to her, that I sent it to her in Paris, where she was living. Three weeks later, I received a phone call as I was preparing to leave for work: "Is this Michael Saks ? This is Marlene Dietrich in Paris."
she asked if I could provide her with Dr. Phibbs contact information, which I did. He called me afterward, and said that they had spoken for over half an hour, about their grandchildren, the War, Michael Jackson, and Moonwalking.
But I digress. Suffice it to say, that of all of the accounts of the War, both fiction and nonfiction, this one stands at the top, in terms of its power and eloquence. For anyone wishing to read a stirring account, I can recomment it without reservation.
It was the winner of the Booker Prize, for the outstanding work of nonfiction, after its publication in 1987. As a doctoral student in American history some 20 years earlier, I had read dozens of books on the subject. But I was struck by the immediacy of his memoir, and the flowing and vivid narrative it portrayed. After his wife's death, he was going through her things and discovered a bundle of letters which he had written to her, while he was a combat surgeon serving under General Patton. He noted in the book that he wanted to publish a memoir based on the letters, before he, too, went over to "The Other Side of Time." His father was the American literary agent for the Irish author James Joyce, and the son writes with an eloquence and vividness which is evident from the beginning of the book.
I will paraphrase a brief section of the book, which will serve as a backdrop for his eloquence, and for that which led to our meeting.
It was a freezing day in December, 1944 when Phibbs and his comrades were huddled around a fire getting ready to cross the Rhine River into Germany. They were in the vanguard of the American forces preparing to invade Dermany. An American jeep drove up with a driver, an accordianist, and a woman wearing an Eisenhower jacket, and a skirt "slit up to the limits of military censorship. She had hair like cornsilk, blue eyes, and a voice that was heavenly to hear. She was everything that a soldier dreamed of in a woman."
The woman was Marlene Dietrich. I was so moved by the eloquence of his tribute to her, that I sent it to her in Paris, where she was living. Three weeks later, I received a phone call as I was preparing to leave for work: "Is this Michael Saks ? This is Marlene Dietrich in Paris."
she asked if I could provide her with Dr. Phibbs contact information, which I did. He called me afterward, and said that they had spoken for over half an hour, about their grandchildren, the War, Michael Jackson, and Moonwalking.
But I digress. Suffice it to say, that of all of the accounts of the War, both fiction and nonfiction, this one stands at the top, in terms of its power and eloquence. For anyone wishing to read a stirring account, I can recomment it without reservation.
June 9, 2018
A truly amazing book! I learned more about World War II soldiers and their lives in this remarkable book. Literature, war, humor, philosophy, and insights galore. It should have been a bigger seller and award-winner. It is a book that will not easily be forgotten and shouldn't be. I have been digging into World War II and the armored divisions to follow my dad's year in the war. This gave me even greater respect and understanding of a man I never got a chance to know. Read this book if you are interested in the way the war was lived.
October 2, 2016
Beautiful and heartbreaking. The horror of war is front and center in this book.
August 1, 2011
1988 PEN Center USA Award Winner for Nonfiction
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews