MASH: A Novel about Three Army Doctors

by Richard Hooker

Book Overview

Before the movie, this is the novel that gave life to Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John, Hot Lips Houlihan, Frank Burns, Radar O'Reilly, and the rest of the gang that made the 4077th MASH like no other place in Korea or on earth.

The doctors who worked in the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) during the Korean War were well trained but, like most soldiers sent to fight a war, too young for the job. In the words of the author,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688149553
• ISBN13: 9780688149550
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Riveting Hilarity

This is an absolutely awesome buy! Whether you're a M*A*S*H fan or not, this book will have you chuckling for hours. Very well written with each chapter, in a sense, serving as its own short story (kind of like the episodes in the TV show). I'd recommend this book to all M*A*S*H fans and anyone, really, who likes sarcastic humour, over-the-top pranks, and even those who have an interest in medicine/surgery. The book itself is soft-cover with medium-large print and is probably a fairly quick read for even an average reader. (^_^)

Great book...

Richard Hooker's story about three army doctors who deal with the stresses of meatball surgery in Korea is a great book. Never mind that it served as the basis for a movie and one of the most popular TV shows ever; if you think you know the story, you probably don't. The movie and the TV show loom so large in popular culture that it is almost impossible to write a review without some mention of the video version's of Hooker's work. What we find of the familiar names is that the doctors in the book are neither the anarchists of the movie nor the peaceniks of the series, but simply a few Type A personalities who don't have a lot of respect for authority and are stuck in a tough job without much to occupy their spare time. This is really a study in the difficulty of life performing meatball surgery mere miles from the front line, and the methods men use to cope with the stress of dealing with life and death situations on an hourly basis. I think the most compelling part of this book is the daily wait for the six o'clock helicopter. I won't disclose the plot details, but this little portion of the story breaks the life of the MASH down into its most basic elements. I have to say I enjoyed this book immensely. As is almost always the case with the book form of a story, the characters are so much fuller than they can be on screen. Hooker has a dry, witty sense of humor that is on display throughout the story, but he never fully allows the reader to forget the stress and the pall of death and destruction that hangs over the camp. Hooker establishes a fine line between humor and horror, and writes about three doctors who couldn't survive the latter without the former.

Ah'd purely love to see it angry.

Richard Hooker's M*A*S*H is quite a diverse book. It is part dramatic documentary on Korean War combat surgery and the remarkable achievements of the surgeons in spite of their lack of field training, the indequate medical facilities with which they had to work, and the sub-human conditions under which they had to perform miracles.It is also an extremely broad farce. The human sacrifice of Shakin' Sammy and the Jesus Christ personal appearance tour (actually a beer-swilling, half-naked, bearded Trapper John lashed to a crucifix) are a couple of examples of the exaggerated comic stylings.This interspersing of drama and comedy makes this an interesting if somewhat unsual read and also makes it a perfect subject for dramatization. When it is in comedy zone, it is way out there. When it is in drama zone, it is quite serious. According to Hooker's forward, the surgeons in a MASH were exposed to many extremes. With his writing style, Hooker has exposed us to extremes as well. It is one of my favorite books and I highly recommend it to fans of either the movie or the TV series. The film captures more of the book's bawdy, ribald spirit. The TV show captures more of the sentiment.I also recommend "MASH: An Army Surgeon In Korea" by Otto F. Apel if you want the real story of what life in a MASH was. If you are a fan of the film/book/series and think you have an understanding of how rough it was back then, read this. It was a lot worse. An excellent read.Add both of these books to your collection and then thank your lucky stars this isn't 1951 and you are draft eligible.

The Altman Movie Captured It...

...and the early tv episodes with Rogers as Trapper captured the true chemistry as originally designed by Hooker. In fact, the Altman movie follows the 1st MASH novel quite well, down to the addition of the Spearchuker as a ringer in the football game and "Suicide is Painless". If you are a true MASH fan, go back and read this. You will love it. If you are not much of a MASH fan, find it and read it anyway. It will make you a convert....

Excellent work!

Richard Hooker's M*A*S*H should well go down as a classic. It's even funnier than the movie or the series, yet it can also be touching. As hilarious as it is, there is always the constant reminder that a horrific war is going on. The reader soon realizes that the antics of Hawkeye and Trapper are not just for their amusment, but are mechanisms to retain their sanity in a world gone mad. A must read for all interested in life, war, or humour.