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12, 20 And 5: A Doctor's Year in Vietnam
A Navy doctor recounts his experiences in Vietnam, his military training, and his personal observations on the conduct of the war
289 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
72 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
John A. Parrish
15 books6 followersJohn A. Parrish, MD, is the cofounder and CEO of the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT) and the former director of the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program. He is a distinguished professor emeritus of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and has served as chief of the department of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Parrish is also a member of the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine. He is the author of Autopsy of War: A Personal History and 12, 20 & 5: A Doctor’s Year in Vietnam.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 9, 2013
I suspect just about everyone reading this will have seen one or more episodes of MASH. Add much blood, gore, and horror and you'll have a fair idea of this book. Parrish was drafted, as were most physicians his age, during Vietnam as their skills, such as they were, were in high demand. ("The alternatives were clear—jail for three years, Canada for life, or Vietnam for one year. ") I say, such as they were, because nothing in their training prepared them for Vietnam.
Parrish was first assigned to a rear hospital located on an airbase (closer to the incoming medevac flights) where there were two scheduled fixed-wing arriving flights although others could come in at any time day or night depending on the level of fighting. They received a set of numbers by radio giving them some warning. The numbers in the title are a reference to that set: "The first represented the number of litter-borne wounded, the second the number of ambulatory wounded, and the third represented the dead.
He learns quickly the principles of triage: ignore the dying for whom there is no hope and work on those for whom there is.
He grabbed a handful of scalp hair and raised the marine’s head up off the litter at which time a large part of his mashed brain tissue slid like jelly out of his broken skull and onto the litter. “No other evidence of injury,” I continued. “His—” He let the head flop back down.
“Are you shitting me?” he said. He gave me a brief look as if I were crazy and then hurried off to help the other doctors as I talked on. “His corneal reflex is absent and—”
“We usually just leave these, Sir. Not much we can do.” A corpsman had been watching the whole sequence of events. There followed a silence that made me feel empty and helpless
. “I know. I know,” I said finally. “I guess I’m used to a little different approach. I just—”
“We don’t always have time to be nice, Sir. You’ll get used to it. Do you want me to put him over in the corner, Sir?”
“Corner? To wait to die?”
“Yes, Sir.”
To help himself deal with the ennui and boredom in the hours between the last patients and night, Parrish decides to learn Vietnamese, a difficult language in that much of the meaning is conveyed through tone and intonation rather than word content. That decision was to have a major influence on his tour. As the word gets out, he's picked to do visits to local villages to offer medical advice and treatment. Of course, since these are our "friends" whom we are trying to influence and show we care, the marines have to go in first to make sure the village is secure and there is constant worry about booby-traps. Parrish remarks that the patrol's sergeant had things well in hand, there were no rapes (they had one hooch doing a brisk "trick" business) or beatings. “These people don’t give their minds and hearts because we come in under guard and pass out pills, candy, and soap. We just provide a little entertainment.” “And support our superiority complex,” I added. “And increase the income of some of the women,” Roland gave an evil smile. “They were getting five hundred piasters a trick from the marines.” “I didn’t see that.”
His colleague replies: “You put those same kids in the jungle for awhile, get them real scared, deprive them of sleep, and let a few incidents change some of their fear to hate. Give them a sergeant who has seen too many of his men killed by booby traps and by lack of distrust, and who feels that Vietnamese are dumb, dirty, and weak, because they are not like him. Add a little mob pressure, and those nice kids who accompanied us today would rape like champions. Kill, rape, and steal is the name of the game.”>/i>
The contrasts are particularly horrifying. Graves registration calls excitedly to report one of the "corpses" moaned. They rush him to triage. He is missing two legs and an arm and his belly is all shot up. Hours of surgery later, he has tubes coming out of everything and one of the orthopods wonders whether they should have bothered given he might only be useful as "third base." Yet the humor masks heroic efforts to save lives and avoid "playing God." They were there to restore life, not decide whether to take it or not. Parrish and the other surgeons worked on the man and sent him to the major hospital in Saigon where the contrast between Parrish, dirty, bloody, smelly is so different from the doctors in Saigon, decked out in white, clean, superior and arrogant. They do all they can. In the end he died. He might as well have stayed in Graves.
" The war took its toll psychologically and tragic stories abound. "One of war’s dirtiest tricks is to leave you physically intact and systematically take away little pieces of your very self." A soldier is brought in who hopped aboard a medevac chopper. Parrish talks to him at triage.
"Relax.”
“Fucking gunny thinks I’m crazy.” The boy was fighting tears. “Fucking gunny took me off my watch. I can stand my own fucking watch, I just need some nerve pills or something. I can stand two watches for every one the fucking gunny wants me to.”
“I think you could use some rest. We’ll talk again later.”
“Fucking gunny. I could kill that son-of-a-bitch. Toughest gunny in the corps. I love the bastard. If he wants me to stand watch, I’ll stand watch all night every night.”
“I know, buddy.”
“It gets so fucking black at night. Everything moves. My eyes play tricks. I get so worked up that my breathing is louder than the crickets and I hear voices. I shot at the fucking voices. That’s why the gunny sent me here. If they’d been VC I’d be a fucking hero. Now, I’m crazy. It’s not fair.”
“We’ll talk again.” Prince [the psychiatrist] called for a corpsman who stood by the desk while Prince wrote something on the chart. Prince handed the chart to the corpsman, “Snow him. The usual. Thorazine. Phenobarb later. I want to talk to him tomorrow.”
“Is he crazy?” I asked. “Don’t know, John. We’ll find out tomorrow when he’s rested. They’re all crazy when they first come in.”
“I guess his gunny realized he needed some rest.”
“He shot his gunny in the head.”
I could go on and on. One of the best Vietnam memoirs I have read. And from an unusual perspective. My thanks to the publisher for this preview in exchange for my always honest review.
Parrish was first assigned to a rear hospital located on an airbase (closer to the incoming medevac flights) where there were two scheduled fixed-wing arriving flights although others could come in at any time day or night depending on the level of fighting. They received a set of numbers by radio giving them some warning. The numbers in the title are a reference to that set: "The first represented the number of litter-borne wounded, the second the number of ambulatory wounded, and the third represented the dead.
He learns quickly the principles of triage: ignore the dying for whom there is no hope and work on those for whom there is.
He grabbed a handful of scalp hair and raised the marine’s head up off the litter at which time a large part of his mashed brain tissue slid like jelly out of his broken skull and onto the litter. “No other evidence of injury,” I continued. “His—” He let the head flop back down.
“Are you shitting me?” he said. He gave me a brief look as if I were crazy and then hurried off to help the other doctors as I talked on. “His corneal reflex is absent and—”
“We usually just leave these, Sir. Not much we can do.” A corpsman had been watching the whole sequence of events. There followed a silence that made me feel empty and helpless
. “I know. I know,” I said finally. “I guess I’m used to a little different approach. I just—”
“We don’t always have time to be nice, Sir. You’ll get used to it. Do you want me to put him over in the corner, Sir?”
“Corner? To wait to die?”
“Yes, Sir.”
To help himself deal with the ennui and boredom in the hours between the last patients and night, Parrish decides to learn Vietnamese, a difficult language in that much of the meaning is conveyed through tone and intonation rather than word content. That decision was to have a major influence on his tour. As the word gets out, he's picked to do visits to local villages to offer medical advice and treatment. Of course, since these are our "friends" whom we are trying to influence and show we care, the marines have to go in first to make sure the village is secure and there is constant worry about booby-traps. Parrish remarks that the patrol's sergeant had things well in hand, there were no rapes (they had one hooch doing a brisk "trick" business) or beatings. “These people don’t give their minds and hearts because we come in under guard and pass out pills, candy, and soap. We just provide a little entertainment.” “And support our superiority complex,” I added. “And increase the income of some of the women,” Roland gave an evil smile. “They were getting five hundred piasters a trick from the marines.” “I didn’t see that.”
His colleague replies: “You put those same kids in the jungle for awhile, get them real scared, deprive them of sleep, and let a few incidents change some of their fear to hate. Give them a sergeant who has seen too many of his men killed by booby traps and by lack of distrust, and who feels that Vietnamese are dumb, dirty, and weak, because they are not like him. Add a little mob pressure, and those nice kids who accompanied us today would rape like champions. Kill, rape, and steal is the name of the game.”>/i>
The contrasts are particularly horrifying. Graves registration calls excitedly to report one of the "corpses" moaned. They rush him to triage. He is missing two legs and an arm and his belly is all shot up. Hours of surgery later, he has tubes coming out of everything and one of the orthopods wonders whether they should have bothered given he might only be useful as "third base." Yet the humor masks heroic efforts to save lives and avoid "playing God." They were there to restore life, not decide whether to take it or not. Parrish and the other surgeons worked on the man and sent him to the major hospital in Saigon where the contrast between Parrish, dirty, bloody, smelly is so different from the doctors in Saigon, decked out in white, clean, superior and arrogant. They do all they can. In the end he died. He might as well have stayed in Graves.
" The war took its toll psychologically and tragic stories abound. "One of war’s dirtiest tricks is to leave you physically intact and systematically take away little pieces of your very self." A soldier is brought in who hopped aboard a medevac chopper. Parrish talks to him at triage.
"Relax.”
“Fucking gunny thinks I’m crazy.” The boy was fighting tears. “Fucking gunny took me off my watch. I can stand my own fucking watch, I just need some nerve pills or something. I can stand two watches for every one the fucking gunny wants me to.”
“I think you could use some rest. We’ll talk again later.”
“Fucking gunny. I could kill that son-of-a-bitch. Toughest gunny in the corps. I love the bastard. If he wants me to stand watch, I’ll stand watch all night every night.”
“I know, buddy.”
“It gets so fucking black at night. Everything moves. My eyes play tricks. I get so worked up that my breathing is louder than the crickets and I hear voices. I shot at the fucking voices. That’s why the gunny sent me here. If they’d been VC I’d be a fucking hero. Now, I’m crazy. It’s not fair.”
“We’ll talk again.” Prince [the psychiatrist] called for a corpsman who stood by the desk while Prince wrote something on the chart. Prince handed the chart to the corpsman, “Snow him. The usual. Thorazine. Phenobarb later. I want to talk to him tomorrow.”
“Is he crazy?” I asked. “Don’t know, John. We’ll find out tomorrow when he’s rested. They’re all crazy when they first come in.”
“I guess his gunny realized he needed some rest.”
“He shot his gunny in the head.”
I could go on and on. One of the best Vietnam memoirs I have read. And from an unusual perspective. My thanks to the publisher for this preview in exchange for my always honest review.
June 18, 2017
My sister recommended this book. The author is a professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School. This book was published in 1972. It's an excellent book about his experiences as a young internist who joined the Marines and served in very dangerous and difficult situations. The book's focus is very narrow, but it paints a brutal and compelling picture of the horrors of treating horrendous injuries to young Marines, Vietnamese civilians, and a few ARVN soldiers.
September 18, 2018
Well written autobiography of a physician and the year he spent in the Armed Services working at various bases in Vietnam.
Quite an eye opener for those who don’t have any knowledge of battlefield hospitals, surgery and medical triage.
For those of us who have been enlightened about what happened to wounded servicemen in Vietnam, this book is a look from the physician’s side of the war.
It is not a pretty fairy tale story, but reminds us throughout the book of the suffering, death and healing that took place. It also tells of the toll taken in lives and lives that were changed forever.
Quite an eye opener for those who don’t have any knowledge of battlefield hospitals, surgery and medical triage.
For those of us who have been enlightened about what happened to wounded servicemen in Vietnam, this book is a look from the physician’s side of the war.
It is not a pretty fairy tale story, but reminds us throughout the book of the suffering, death and healing that took place. It also tells of the toll taken in lives and lives that were changed forever.
May 28, 2019
It's strange that this is considered historical by this point. It's Vietnam. I read it thirty years ago and it was like MASH only in Vietnam. Black humor. Sometimes so awful and funny I had tears in my eyes. And other times... I just had tears in my eyes. Maybe I'll find it again and see how it holds up. Or maybe I'll let it hold its golden place in my memory of a stunning memoir that just grabbed me and wouldn't let me go.
November 9, 2016
I read this book after my brother served in a field hospital in Vietnam Nam. As a nurse, it was fascinating and horrific at the same time.
February 23, 2015
Loved it...hated it....couldn't put it down in spite of my ambivalence. I read for four straight hours, devouring the story, horrified by the brutality of a 'not war' and finally realizing that this book had been written from the gut of a man who had gone through one of the most challenging situations any human being could live through. There were no happy endings per se; but there was some resolution and I guess that's all anyone can ask of an author who lays his soul bare for all the world to see. I don't think I'll read it again, but I certainly won't ever forget it either.
October 8, 2017
Good account of medical triage in Vietnam
Parrish's account of his war experience describes the overwhelming exhaustion and automatic response that it took for him to care for injured and dying marines in Vietnam. However, his description of R&R contained too much sex and obscene language. Another star if those chapters had been heavily edited.
Parrish's account of his war experience describes the overwhelming exhaustion and automatic response that it took for him to care for injured and dying marines in Vietnam. However, his description of R&R contained too much sex and obscene language. Another star if those chapters had been heavily edited.
May 19, 2016
The futility of war
Excellent recounting of the horrors of being an undertrained physician thrown into the hell of an evac unit in Vietnam. Would encourage all nonmedical people with interest in history,especially war,to read.
Excellent recounting of the horrors of being an undertrained physician thrown into the hell of an evac unit in Vietnam. Would encourage all nonmedical people with interest in history,especially war,to read.
July 24, 2011
Excellent read. I am a huge fan of military type novels, and I absolutely love this book. Definitely one of my favorites.
July 20, 2015
Excellent first hand account of a doctor in Vietnam. Gruesome, but it is war, after all!
December 22, 2023
Anyone who has had any family, or interest in Vietnam should read this book. It gives a realistic look into the conflict, and doesn't sugar coat it like I've found most books about Vietnam to do. Is it utterly depressing and completely fucked at times? Yes. But that's the reality of war.
April 4, 2021
What an exhausting book.
I first started reading this book while I was in the hospital last year, which was really stupid. I was in a rough spot, having recently suffered a heart attack, and I was kind of depressed anyway at the time. After a while I had to stop reading because the book was bringing me down.
This is a depressing look at a horrible war and the toll of that war on the author, a doctor who went on a one-year deployment. The horrors that he sees over the course of his deployment are almost beyond imagination, and I can't imagine the exhaustion of trying to care for SO MANY people as they came in, suffered, screamed, died, or got better and went out to die. Many, many horrendous anecdotes and stories really get across just how horrific the war really was.
One aspect of the book that really stuck out to me was that the author cheated on his wife while on the trip, and he openly writes about it here, but his wife actually encouraged him to write the thing. I appreciate her spirit of forgiveness.
The ending is a bit abrupt and confusing, but still, an excellent and soooo depressing book.
I first started reading this book while I was in the hospital last year, which was really stupid. I was in a rough spot, having recently suffered a heart attack, and I was kind of depressed anyway at the time. After a while I had to stop reading because the book was bringing me down.
This is a depressing look at a horrible war and the toll of that war on the author, a doctor who went on a one-year deployment. The horrors that he sees over the course of his deployment are almost beyond imagination, and I can't imagine the exhaustion of trying to care for SO MANY people as they came in, suffered, screamed, died, or got better and went out to die. Many, many horrendous anecdotes and stories really get across just how horrific the war really was.
One aspect of the book that really stuck out to me was that the author cheated on his wife while on the trip, and he openly writes about it here, but his wife actually encouraged him to write the thing. I appreciate her spirit of forgiveness.
The ending is a bit abrupt and confusing, but still, an excellent and soooo depressing book.
June 8, 2020
A different view of Vietnam
To start with, I'm not a big fan of Vietnam books. I had only read one in the past (We were soldiers once ...).
I don't know as I've read numerous books about our other wars.
This was a good book. It spent time describing the He'll of what was going on.
It also showed what I'd describe as the M*A*S*H aspect of it: irreverent humor, lots of drinking, sex, etc.
What I felt was the strongest part of the book is that it never got far away from the truth: people died. Good people, bad people, old and young. That horror was never more than a couple of pages away. And it would come up unexpectedly: `our training officer said he wanted to go back to Vietnam. So I wasn't surprised that I saw him there. Not was I surprise by the hole in his neck and his lifeless body'.
It was a good book
To start with, I'm not a big fan of Vietnam books. I had only read one in the past (We were soldiers once ...).
I don't know as I've read numerous books about our other wars.
This was a good book. It spent time describing the He'll of what was going on.
It also showed what I'd describe as the M*A*S*H aspect of it: irreverent humor, lots of drinking, sex, etc.
What I felt was the strongest part of the book is that it never got far away from the truth: people died. Good people, bad people, old and young. That horror was never more than a couple of pages away. And it would come up unexpectedly: `our training officer said he wanted to go back to Vietnam. So I wasn't surprised that I saw him there. Not was I surprise by the hole in his neck and his lifeless body'.
It was a good book
July 5, 2019
This was a very ... compelling read. There were some extremely disturbing scenes, but I think that was something the author really wanted to bring forward? I definitely think the book could have done without the graphic sex scenes from the author’s R & R ... and yet it highlighted some of the terrible choices with which these young soldiers were faced in a politically supercharged arena and highly traumatic circumstances. Again, memoirs are not my chosen genre, but this book was difficult to put down, and even more difficult to forget.
June 14, 2016
I did not enjoy reading this and felt the author was more interested in selling a book and in impressing the reader about his sexual encounters and his political views than anything else. I see he went on to be a dermatologist, well. He did write some more books which i will not read.
April 12, 2016
The book follows Dr. Parrish into Vietnam where he served as a General Medical Officer in a variety of settings. It's a bit like MASH with teeth. The flow of disabled and dead marines is overwhelming at times and cannot help but disturb the psyche of everyone involved.
May 3, 2018
Another perspective
Not only is Dr. Parrish an excellent story teller, the history he relates is interwoven with the limits the human psyche can withstand. Tet was a turning point in the war; his perspective is powerful.
Not only is Dr. Parrish an excellent story teller, the history he relates is interwoven with the limits the human psyche can withstand. Tet was a turning point in the war; his perspective is powerful.
May 16, 2025
Doctor John Parrish provides a unique view of life in Vietnam in his memoir, 12,20 & 5. A Doctor's Year in Vietnam. Set in 1967 and 1968, Parrish is assigned to several combat bases near the DMZ during some of the heaviest fighting of the entire war. During his tour, he attempts to save thousands of young men, some horribly injured, while trying to remain safe and sane.
Published in 1972, when the war is winding down, Parrish doesn't portray himself as a hero or a patriot. Rather, he paints himself as a hapless young doctor, who gets drafted into the quagmire of an unpopular and unjust war. At one point he refers to himself as a victim and in many - if not most - ways he is. However, he also attempts to blame the war for his own lack of judgment and self-control. I suspect that he is haunted by both the events that befell him and, in a few cases, how he responded to them.
Parrish's work is distinctive as a Vietnam memoir and offers insight that most other war memoirs cannot. Few medical doctors spend time post-conflict writing their story. The book is grim. It offers little or no humor to punctuate the daily grind of Dong Ha. But it also serves as an important lesson for society, military planners and governing officials as they determine how and when we should get involved in war.
Published in 1972, when the war is winding down, Parrish doesn't portray himself as a hero or a patriot. Rather, he paints himself as a hapless young doctor, who gets drafted into the quagmire of an unpopular and unjust war. At one point he refers to himself as a victim and in many - if not most - ways he is. However, he also attempts to blame the war for his own lack of judgment and self-control. I suspect that he is haunted by both the events that befell him and, in a few cases, how he responded to them.
Parrish's work is distinctive as a Vietnam memoir and offers insight that most other war memoirs cannot. Few medical doctors spend time post-conflict writing their story. The book is grim. It offers little or no humor to punctuate the daily grind of Dong Ha. But it also serves as an important lesson for society, military planners and governing officials as they determine how and when we should get involved in war.
April 28, 2019
I had high hopes for this novel, but it turned out to be very different from what I was expecting. Way less of the queer content I'd been expecting, and way more battle stuff and things that made it difficult for me to suspend my disbelief. Chief among those: Eliana's young age. Sorry, but having a 16-year-old musician suddenly was just too much for me to swallow.
I liked the start of the novel - the setup with the importance of music, and the religious heresy, was super interesting. But eh, there ended up being just too much focus on doctrinal stuff, and the plot just didn't hold up for me, and there were too many holes in the worldbuilding. So, I ended up skim-reading quite a lot towards the end. I still started the second book right after finishing this one, so I suppose this was compelling enough for me to want to know what happens overall.
I liked the start of the novel - the setup with the importance of music, and the religious heresy, was super interesting. But eh, there ended up being just too much focus on doctrinal stuff, and the plot just didn't hold up for me, and there were too many holes in the worldbuilding. So, I ended up skim-reading quite a lot towards the end. I still started the second book right after finishing this one, so I suppose this was compelling enough for me to want to know what happens overall.
September 12, 2024
This book deserves special attention. It is the story of one doctor's service as a General Medical Officer during the Vietnam War. Several things are notable. Firstly, of all the books I have read about Vietnam, the one has the most graphic descriptions of the damage done to 19- and 20-year old boys' flesh from the instruments and accidents of war, and that is said by the retired anesthesiologist reviewer with a strong and well-trained stomach. Secondly, the author was able to draw me into his losses of self and his distortions of realities secondary to over-work and no sleep. It was as close to being insane as I ever want to get. Thirdly, he showed how the very many sides of the debate about the merits of his war exit -- of any war. Finally, his concluding story is as bizarre and unsettling as the playing of the Ode to Joy in Stanley Kubrick's The Clockwork Orange. Not for the faint of heart. The triumph is that he is more human -- squared? cubed?
June 26, 2025
This book was first published more than 50 years ago. I had not heard of it until Kindle Unlimited released it for free recently. It is about John Parrish’s year as a young doctor in Vietnam. Because of the medics at war, this was always going to be compared to Richard Hooker’s “M*A*S*H.” I think that in many ways it is better than that book. It is a lot more raw, a lot more real. Like in the Korean War novel, there are the occasional hijinks, a lot of drinking, and some infidelity. There are also a few funny moments. However, this is much more harrowing, and not played for laughs.
January 22, 2025
Parrish's book of his experience as a doctor at field hospitals in Vietnam is graphic and disturbing. It is also brilliant for the way he demonstrates the reality of war. His work is nothing like M.A.S.H. For him and for the soldiers he treated, war is a grinding, soul-destroying business. He did his work well and endured horror.
January 8, 2025
Blunt and beautiful writing.
Thank you John for your service in Vietnam and for relating your experience in such a direct and skillful manner. Outstanding literary work. Should be required reading for every voting age American.
Thank you John for your service in Vietnam and for relating your experience in such a direct and skillful manner. Outstanding literary work. Should be required reading for every voting age American.
May 19, 2016
True experience of the horror of Vietnam
I read this book to gain a historical insight from a doctors' point of view. Dr. Parrish describes, in detail. his experiences in field hospitals and aid stations. His style of writing is conducive to a very fast read, if you are as familiar with that period of history as I am. I liked the fact that he told it like it was no matter how unbelievably horrible it was. As a former medic, who served in Germany during that period, I can now fully understand the training we received. This book is not to be viewed as entertainment but rather as educational reference for anyone in the medical field.
I read this book to gain a historical insight from a doctors' point of view. Dr. Parrish describes, in detail. his experiences in field hospitals and aid stations. His style of writing is conducive to a very fast read, if you are as familiar with that period of history as I am. I liked the fact that he told it like it was no matter how unbelievably horrible it was. As a former medic, who served in Germany during that period, I can now fully understand the training we received. This book is not to be viewed as entertainment but rather as educational reference for anyone in the medical field.
September 19, 2022
This is an interesting personal story of a doctor's tour during the Vietnam War. It is heart-breaking, and disturbing, and very revealing. War is brutal. And cruel. And it hurts everyone involved.
This is a personal account of the horrifying conditions under which the medical professionals lived and survived during this war. It tells of friendships, drinking, smoking, whoring, and the ugly, unending horror of trying to give medical aid to those who prosecute our wars.
It was written over 50 years ago, but is still a valuable read for anyone.
This is a personal account of the horrifying conditions under which the medical professionals lived and survived during this war. It tells of friendships, drinking, smoking, whoring, and the ugly, unending horror of trying to give medical aid to those who prosecute our wars.
It was written over 50 years ago, but is still a valuable read for anyone.
April 27, 2017
I was going to mark down for the dream descriptions -- I don't think such detail is necessary when reality is already serving as a bad dream -- but I went with four stars because this book must have been incredibly hard to write. My darling cousin survived Vietnam and all these years later it pains me to think that he experienced the trauma Parrish describes without the moral conviction that we should have been involved in the fight.
February 7, 2020
This is an amazing book. I can’t rate it highly enough.
The insight into military medicine in the 70s was eye opening..had no idea they were using renal replacement therapy for SIRS back then.
The description of the war is incredible from a medics view point. The shear overwhelming workload and the psychological effect. A must read for all Acute medics.
Would make an excellent film.
The insight into military medicine in the 70s was eye opening..had no idea they were using renal replacement therapy for SIRS back then.
The description of the war is incredible from a medics view point. The shear overwhelming workload and the psychological effect. A must read for all Acute medics.
Would make an excellent film.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 4, 2019Excellent, realistic, account of a junior doctor in Viet Nam, completed in 1972 soon after his service there. The futility of the particular war is highlighted throughout.
Highy recommended.
Highy recommended.
October 9, 2020
This is a hard book to review. It was raw, crude, occasionally overly sexual, and incredibly honest. I didn’t necessarily LIKE it. But I will remember it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews