author: Ellen N. La Motte
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2014/06/23
date added: 2015/08/27
shelves: non-fiction
review:
War is hell, and certainly nobody knows this more than the doctors and nurses serving in the field hospitals near the battlefields. Especially those serving the wounded during World War I in Belgium and France. 'The Backwash of War' is a firsthand series of vignettes by Ellen N. La Motte who was an American nurse serving as an army nurse in Europe during the Great War. The release of this version of the book coincides with the 100th anniversary of World War I.
The first thing that struck me was how cynical the book is. I'm more familiar with that tone in books from later wars. Certainly the futility must have been felt, but it comes through clearly here. From a patient with a botched suicide that must be tended to just so he can die to the little Belgian boy who is wounded and his mother is too busy to come visit him because of her business making money off of soldiers. A patient getting a medal means a pension, but also means the patient will die. Patching and healing and returning soldiers to the front only to have them come back to repeat the cycle. Also, the soldiers got older as the war went on as the younger soldiers were all used up.
It's a quick, brutal read and I found it completely engaging. The title is completely perfect. There is apparently a BBC drama called the Crimson Field that is based on this book and I'll have to go looking for that next. If this sounds at all appealing, I can't recommend it enough.
I was given a review copy of this ebook by Pavilion Books, Conway and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read this great book.
via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/V7Kwfy
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