First published 2023
Dr. Glasser arrives at Zama Army hospital in Japan in September 1968, assigned as a pediatrician to treat officers' children. But the hospital's real work becomes caring for thousands of wounded soldiers flowing back from Vietnam. Helicopter pilots, radio operators, forward observers, cooks, medics, and sergeants pass through the wards. Each month brings six to eight thousand patients. The soldiers mark time by counting down their tour of duty, tracking every remaining day until they reach 365 and can go home. Glasser witnesses their interrupted lives and the weight of their suffering. Through his eyes, we see both heroes and those facing military arrest, drug addicts and killers, all united by war's brutal interruptions. The stories reveal how conflict transforms ordinary people and how those who tend the wounded must find meaning amid relentless tragedy.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, medical, 20th-century, war, military-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, war
Setting: Japan, Vietnam, Zama Army Hospital
Period: 1968, 20th-century
310 pages · Paperback · George Braziller Inc.
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, medical-trauma