Product Description

When North Korean forces invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, Otto Apel was a surgical resident living in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife and three young children. A year later he was chief surgeon of the 8076th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital constantly near the front lines in Korea.

Immediately upon arriving in camp, Apel performed 80 hours of surgery. His feet swelled so badly that he had to cut his boots off, and he saw more surgical cases in those three and a half days than he would have in a year back in Cleveland.

In addition to his own story, Apel answers the questions anyone interested in a MASH unit would ask: What were the operating conditions like? What was a typical work load? What level of care did patients get? How did the doctors, nurses, and enlisted personnel get along? And, perhaps most obviously, how realistic was the TV series?

Along the way, he tells the history of the MASH and the appalling lack of training received by the newly drafted doctors staffing those units. He also reveals many significant medical innovations in emergency medical care, from advances in arterial repair to the use of blood plasma in the treatment of hemorrhagic shock.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #191076 in Books
• Published on: 1998-08-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 248 pages

From Library Journal
The popular television series M*A*S*H owes its historical accuracy in part to Apel, chief surgeon of the 8076th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in 1951 and consultant on the show. Here Apel (with son Pat) expands on the themes common to the television episodes and familiar to viewers: the severe working conditions, the irreverence hospital staff often had for army protocol, and the insufficiency of necessary supplies. Apel outlines the historical and political forces that created these conditions and, ironically, the considerable advances in emergency medical care made during the Korean War. Although his work is heavily autobiographical, Apel draws from primary and secondary Korean War literature to provide statistics and documentation. Personal photos appear throughout the text. Well written and researched, this book provides entertainment as well as historical value and is appropriate for both public and academic settings.AAndy Wickens, Univ. of Illinois, Lib. of the Health Sciences, Chicago
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The 1951 doctors' draft took Otto Apel out of surgical residency and sent him to Korea. He felt obligated to serve but now deplores his lack of military training before being placed at the battlefront. In contrast to his preparation was that of the other subject of his account, the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH), developed to meet the special needs of the Korean War. Aided by his son, Apel writes in particular about the formation and daily activities of the 8076th MASH, to which he was assigned. He began operating the moment he reached the unit, stationed near the 38th parallel, and learned military surgery from the muddy or dusty ground up. Improvisation was essential every day, as was teamwork among the surgeons, nurses, and support staff, who, Apel shows, provided exemplary care for the wounded soldiers. The great difference between the MASH on TV and the MASH at the battlefield, Apel and his colleagues later felt, was that the latter had casualties. William Beatty

Review
"Apel shows the true side of the Army hospitals." -- Ohio Today

"Most readers will find Apel's memoirs fascinating, horrifying, humorous, and heartbreaking." -- Library Lane

"One of the most readable memoirs that I have come across. A real contribution to the history of the Korean War." -- Mac Coffman

"The book is a wonderful paean to all our men and women who served in Korea." -- Ohioana Quarterly

"Well written and researched, this book provides entertainment as well as historical value." -- Library Journal

Customer Reviews

Good Read
This book is not about the T.V. show M*A*S*H. But the tv show did get many of its episodes from this book. From arterial transplants to make shift clamps these Doctors opened many new doors to the medical world. Chapter 6 "In the O.R." is pretty gruesome. Details of intestinal wounds abdominal wounds and pretty much everything a war could destroy on a body.

But its not all blood and guts. D.R. Apel talks of the korean's who helped around the camp. The use of the white rocks in the compund. Plus his first day at the MASH was spent on his feet for 72 hrs. operating. Amazing.

I would have ggave the book a five star rating but there was a section on a paper the D.R. wrote on arteral repair which IMO took away from the book. It might have worked better at the end of the book.

Nice pictures of procedures and Korea. This book is a must for people who like the TV show and would really like to see what went on in a real MASH outfit during the real Korean war.

An Excellent Tribute to the M. A. S. H. Units in Korea.
Dr. Appell's book "M. A. S. H.: An Army Surgeon in Korea" is an excellent tribute to the men and women of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals by a veteran surgeon of the 8076TH M . A. S. H. unit. My only complaint is that the book was not a little longer. For any fan of the movie or t. v. series this book is a must-read. Dr. Appell (who was a consultant for the series), tells us what life was really like in a M. A. S. H. unit. The series took some liberties with actual events, but its overall portrayal was fairly accurate-though the series lasted 10 years compared to the three years of the Korean War itself, and the average length of stay for surgeons in a M. A. S. H. was about 8 months. Dr. Appell has written a very interesting book.

Content makes up for writing
It's clear that the author is a doctor and not a writer. The book cries out for editing; writing errors and organizational issues permeate the book. That said, after I got about halfway through these things stopped bothering me. The story made up for it. The reality of the MASH is much more interesting than what's portrayed on the screen. It gave me a new respect for military medicine. If you can make it through the starting chapters it's a great read.