What do you think?
Rate this book
Triage
Horror (dark fantasy) compared to 1984. Scenario has a government decided who is fit and who is not and elimating the unfit. Parts of book prophetic like 1984.
222 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
48 people want to read
About the author
Leonard C. Lewin
12 books4 followersLeonard C. Lewin was an American writer, best known as the author of the bestseller The Report from Iron Mountain (1967). He also wrote Triage (1972), a novel about a covert group dedicated to killing people it considers to be not worth having around.
Lewin graduated from Harvard University. Before becoming a writer, he worked as a labor organizer in New England and in his father's sugar refinery in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was twice married: first to Iris Zinn Lewin and later to poet, playwright and children's book author Eve Merriam. Both marriages ended in divorce. Later, his "longtime companion" was Lorraine Davis.
Father of mystery author Michael Z. Lewin.
Lewin graduated from Harvard University. Before becoming a writer, he worked as a labor organizer in New England and in his father's sugar refinery in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was twice married: first to Iris Zinn Lewin and later to poet, playwright and children's book author Eve Merriam. Both marriages ended in divorce. Later, his "longtime companion" was Lorraine Davis.
Father of mystery author Michael Z. Lewin.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 28, 2020
Written in May 1972, this prescient little book is confirmed by headlines from today’s news cycle to support the theory that we are carefully being culled from the herd for killing to control population growth and the “purity” of our citizenry. Yes, something is very wrong in the United States and this author warned us of it, but like the selfish, self-absorbed, petulant children we are, we refused to listen and we refused to see. Maybe because the truth is far too ugly.
The following is a book review written by William Hjorstberg on July 2, 1972 in the New York Times.
An interesting footnote to modern history is the problem the prosecution at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial confronted in preparing its case. There was no difficulty gathering evidence; the immense task was sorting through a mountain of bureaucratic memoranda and official reports detailing the trivia minutia of genocide. It is precisely this aspect of contemporary life that forms the basis of Leonard C. Lewin’s latest book. (His last, he confesses, was the satire “The Report From Iron Mountain.”)
A triage is a battlefield doctor who “determines who will be selected for immediate medical treatment, who will be put off till later, and who will be abandoned to die.“ Such decisions form the crux of Lewin’s intriguing novel – – only this battlefield is every day society and the decision-makers are college presidents, hospital administrators, businessmen, a Presidential Commission and an independent organization of think-tank specialist freelancing in murder. The victims of the purge are the aged, the indigent, the terminally ill, as well as mental defectives, criminals, drug addicts and elderly multimillionaires who have retired from active public life. In short, anyone whose existence hampers the smooth functioning of the social mechanism.
What makes “Triage” particularly terrifying is it’s utter plausibility. Indeed, considering the clouds of doubt that still surround the Attica uprising and the death of George Jackson, a section of the book detailing a prison riot (provoked deliberately by the authorities, then suppressed with undue violence) confront the reader with the immediacy of today’s headlines. The mundane logic of Mr. Lewin’s faceless characters is convincing enough to confirm everyone’s suspicions of governmental double dealing and behind the scenes Fu Manchu manipulations. Population control is a definite problem; abortion on demand is becoming the law of the land; euthanasia is just around the corner; death squads and the cyanide pie born by Zap Comix’s lethal clowns no longer seem idle prophecy.
And yet, “Triage” is presented as a work of fiction. The author’s introductory disclaimer insist on that fact and here is the books essential weakness — for if what we have is fiction, then it must be judged as such, not on the basis of the ideas conveyed. Unfortunately, “Triage” is very poor fiction. It’s not just the absence of plot or definable characters – – the French “new novel“ has long since taught us to do without such trifling adornments as these – – but a certain indispensable tension within the material is lacking. There are no descriptions, nor even any action. Instead, we have the transcript of bland dialogues, intercommittee memos, newspaper clippings, snatches of television interviews, all followed at intervals by Mr. Lewin’s didactic comments. Such a technique might easily be used to create an effective fiction; consider Thornton Wilder‘s superlative epistolary novel, “The Ides of March,” or even the more prosaic achievements of a thriller like “The Anderson Tapes.” In the hands of Mr. Lewin, what comes out is merely sociology.
Also, the language of the book is at fault. “Triage” is written in what the author himself describes as “an administrative jargon, which bureaucrats always find necessary as an anesthetic against the human consequences of abstract schemes.” In this case, it also serves as an anesthetic against the reader’s involvement. The interoffice memos of the President’s Commission on National Priorities (Mr. Lewin’s primary fiction) are every bit as banal as those of the Third Reich.
This, of course, is the point the author is trying to make, and it is a point worthy of attention; but mimicry is not satire, no matter how accurate the mimic. Jonathan Swift‘s “Modest Proposal” remains a model of satire price precisely because the notion of eating babies to control population is so absurd. In the latter half of the 20th century, genocide and euthanasia are not at all absurd: to the tank-thinkers they are possible, pragmatic solutions. “Triage”may not succeed as satire, but it serves as a clear-cut warning of the excesses technological man is capable of committing in the name of progress.
The following is a book review written by William Hjorstberg on July 2, 1972 in the New York Times.
An interesting footnote to modern history is the problem the prosecution at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial confronted in preparing its case. There was no difficulty gathering evidence; the immense task was sorting through a mountain of bureaucratic memoranda and official reports detailing the trivia minutia of genocide. It is precisely this aspect of contemporary life that forms the basis of Leonard C. Lewin’s latest book. (His last, he confesses, was the satire “The Report From Iron Mountain.”)
A triage is a battlefield doctor who “determines who will be selected for immediate medical treatment, who will be put off till later, and who will be abandoned to die.“ Such decisions form the crux of Lewin’s intriguing novel – – only this battlefield is every day society and the decision-makers are college presidents, hospital administrators, businessmen, a Presidential Commission and an independent organization of think-tank specialist freelancing in murder. The victims of the purge are the aged, the indigent, the terminally ill, as well as mental defectives, criminals, drug addicts and elderly multimillionaires who have retired from active public life. In short, anyone whose existence hampers the smooth functioning of the social mechanism.
What makes “Triage” particularly terrifying is it’s utter plausibility. Indeed, considering the clouds of doubt that still surround the Attica uprising and the death of George Jackson, a section of the book detailing a prison riot (provoked deliberately by the authorities, then suppressed with undue violence) confront the reader with the immediacy of today’s headlines. The mundane logic of Mr. Lewin’s faceless characters is convincing enough to confirm everyone’s suspicions of governmental double dealing and behind the scenes Fu Manchu manipulations. Population control is a definite problem; abortion on demand is becoming the law of the land; euthanasia is just around the corner; death squads and the cyanide pie born by Zap Comix’s lethal clowns no longer seem idle prophecy.
And yet, “Triage” is presented as a work of fiction. The author’s introductory disclaimer insist on that fact and here is the books essential weakness — for if what we have is fiction, then it must be judged as such, not on the basis of the ideas conveyed. Unfortunately, “Triage” is very poor fiction. It’s not just the absence of plot or definable characters – – the French “new novel“ has long since taught us to do without such trifling adornments as these – – but a certain indispensable tension within the material is lacking. There are no descriptions, nor even any action. Instead, we have the transcript of bland dialogues, intercommittee memos, newspaper clippings, snatches of television interviews, all followed at intervals by Mr. Lewin’s didactic comments. Such a technique might easily be used to create an effective fiction; consider Thornton Wilder‘s superlative epistolary novel, “The Ides of March,” or even the more prosaic achievements of a thriller like “The Anderson Tapes.” In the hands of Mr. Lewin, what comes out is merely sociology.
Also, the language of the book is at fault. “Triage” is written in what the author himself describes as “an administrative jargon, which bureaucrats always find necessary as an anesthetic against the human consequences of abstract schemes.” In this case, it also serves as an anesthetic against the reader’s involvement. The interoffice memos of the President’s Commission on National Priorities (Mr. Lewin’s primary fiction) are every bit as banal as those of the Third Reich.
This, of course, is the point the author is trying to make, and it is a point worthy of attention; but mimicry is not satire, no matter how accurate the mimic. Jonathan Swift‘s “Modest Proposal” remains a model of satire price precisely because the notion of eating babies to control population is so absurd. In the latter half of the 20th century, genocide and euthanasia are not at all absurd: to the tank-thinkers they are possible, pragmatic solutions. “Triage”may not succeed as satire, but it serves as a clear-cut warning of the excesses technological man is capable of committing in the name of progress.
October 10, 2022
an excellent satirical novel, from the same fiendish mind what brung us 'report from iron mountain'. takes the form of a series of reports from a think-tank who debate the use of various tactics to eliminate sections of the population. The schemes elaborated range in magnitude from deliberate negligence of fire safety at a residential home, up to warfare. All these projects follow a coldly diabolical logic. For instance, it is determined that total elimination of the heroin trade is undesirable - instead the objective is to maintain and regulate dealing at a managable level. To this end, a lottery-like distribution of the odd fatal batch is proposed.
The unnamed think-tank advocates a corporation-centric, consumer-driven society. Fancy that! Just imagine. A model of car is devised that will kill the driver if it started improperly. It is believed that a desire for danger is an essential component of the appeal of the motorcar, and that the element of risk will appeal to consumers.
Far-fetched, you say? Perhaps, but such exaggeration is in the nature of satire, see 'A Modest Proposal'. The point is, upon examination, the truth is not very far removed from that which we reject as outrageous. The end results are the same. Car manufacturers would not be so blatant as to design a car which effectively puts a bullet in a careless driver, but fatalities and injuries from the road fill the news with such mundane regularity they do not inspire comment - so much so that my mentioning it comes across as a banality.
The last chapter is about the Vietnam war, raging at the time of the book's publication, and rams home the point - as fantastic and bitter-blackly humourous the preceding chapters might strike the reader, they are trumped by the reality then unfolding in south-east Asia, and the motivations behind such events.
The last chapter places the book firmly in the 1970s, but otherwise it isn't particularly dated. Indeed, certain recent events, etc., etc. Why not have a good old think, yourself? 'Think Yourself Clever', 's what I always say.
Another thing I simply ALWAYS say (to the cat, mostly, a captive audience when a tin of Wiskas is in play) - feel free to boo, hiss, damn-my-eyes, cry 'hogwash!', and so on - what I ALWAYS say is: ye olde internet has made folks LITERAL and not LITERATE. Hence this lunatic obsession with nebulous 'Truth' (TM, reg.). Literary devices are the archaic province of opiated fops lounging around Lake Geneva, or ancient Greek boy-lovers. Maybe thay are, at that! Most people can't afford fey affectations like poetics. They need good, hard TRUTH, like a car in a garage. If you can't touch it, where do you put the money?
Another absurd affectation - I was really lucky (or else the nibelungen manipulated reality in my favour - same thing, really) and managed to get a copy of this book for a sane price. It's falling to bits, but all pages are present and correct. In an episode almost worthy of inclusion in a kid-brother companion to Triage, I can imagine the asking price being grotesquely inflated on the premise that some secret knowledge is revealed within. It is, kind of, but of the sort you can also get from some magic mushrooms and an I Claudius DVD, if you are a good student.
If I had a scanner, I'd upload a pdf, as it is, I can do a word document but I'm a slow typer and errors are liable to creep in. subtly distorting the intentions of the original text, thereby I become co-author by proxy, sublimating another man's thought and work in the forge of mine own craving, frustrated Will. And that would never do. Watch this space for unalloyed foolishness of my own mint.
The unnamed think-tank advocates a corporation-centric, consumer-driven society. Fancy that! Just imagine. A model of car is devised that will kill the driver if it started improperly. It is believed that a desire for danger is an essential component of the appeal of the motorcar, and that the element of risk will appeal to consumers.
Far-fetched, you say? Perhaps, but such exaggeration is in the nature of satire, see 'A Modest Proposal'. The point is, upon examination, the truth is not very far removed from that which we reject as outrageous. The end results are the same. Car manufacturers would not be so blatant as to design a car which effectively puts a bullet in a careless driver, but fatalities and injuries from the road fill the news with such mundane regularity they do not inspire comment - so much so that my mentioning it comes across as a banality.
The last chapter is about the Vietnam war, raging at the time of the book's publication, and rams home the point - as fantastic and bitter-blackly humourous the preceding chapters might strike the reader, they are trumped by the reality then unfolding in south-east Asia, and the motivations behind such events.
The last chapter places the book firmly in the 1970s, but otherwise it isn't particularly dated. Indeed, certain recent events, etc., etc. Why not have a good old think, yourself? 'Think Yourself Clever', 's what I always say.
Another thing I simply ALWAYS say (to the cat, mostly, a captive audience when a tin of Wiskas is in play) - feel free to boo, hiss, damn-my-eyes, cry 'hogwash!', and so on - what I ALWAYS say is: ye olde internet has made folks LITERAL and not LITERATE. Hence this lunatic obsession with nebulous 'Truth' (TM, reg.). Literary devices are the archaic province of opiated fops lounging around Lake Geneva, or ancient Greek boy-lovers. Maybe thay are, at that! Most people can't afford fey affectations like poetics. They need good, hard TRUTH, like a car in a garage. If you can't touch it, where do you put the money?
Another absurd affectation - I was really lucky (or else the nibelungen manipulated reality in my favour - same thing, really) and managed to get a copy of this book for a sane price. It's falling to bits, but all pages are present and correct. In an episode almost worthy of inclusion in a kid-brother companion to Triage, I can imagine the asking price being grotesquely inflated on the premise that some secret knowledge is revealed within. It is, kind of, but of the sort you can also get from some magic mushrooms and an I Claudius DVD, if you are a good student.
If I had a scanner, I'd upload a pdf, as it is, I can do a word document but I'm a slow typer and errors are liable to creep in. subtly distorting the intentions of the original text, thereby I become co-author by proxy, sublimating another man's thought and work in the forge of mine own craving, frustrated Will. And that would never do. Watch this space for unalloyed foolishness of my own mint.
July 12, 2025
This satirical dystopian novel has stuck with me for over fifty years, and resonates with some of what is happening in health care today.
It deserves to be read, and I wish I could find a copy, since mine seems to have been lost along the way.
It deserves to be read, and I wish I could find a copy, since mine seems to have been lost along the way.
August 5, 2011
This novel made me think about the ethics of triage practices for the first time. I did not know at the time of reading that Lewin was the author of The Report from Iron Mountain.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews