Larry Rogers

Sword and Scalpel: A Doctor Looks Back on Vietnam Larry Rogers

A fascinating memoir detailing the life and experiences of Dr. Larry Rogers, who volunteered to serve as a medical doctor in Vietnam during the most intense phase of fighting--the days and months leading to and culminating with the Tet Offensive, the decisive campaign of the war.  Though defeated soundly by American and South Vietnamese forces, the Viet Cong scored a massive political victory. Slogging through streams and jungle, Dr. Rogers and his colleagues weathered not only fire fights and rocket attacks but scorpions and deadly snakes. There were also stunning medical triumphs, including returning life to a soldier left for dead in a makeshift morgue and resuscitating another by hastily jerry-rigging a defibrillator from an auxiliary generator and strips of radio-antenna wire. A riveting portrait of survival and healing during a time of war.