What do you think?
We Will Not Be Strangers: Korean War Letters between a M.A.S.H Surgeon and His Wife
In the first war Americans didn't care to understand, young M*A*S*H surgeon Mel Horwitz finds himself in a dusty hospital tent on the Korean front. He and his new wife--back in Manhattan--exchange letters in which they express the timeless urgency of young love and a mutual contempt for war. 31 photos.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1997
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
research
November 2, 2019
Men killing, destroying, sitting in cold and mud and filth. Do they really hate each other? I doubt it.
Really interesting letters between a surgeon and his wife.
⤑ research tag: in an effort to organise my shelves, I’m going to be labelling the books I’m using for study purposes as I tend to dip in and out of these. For further reading on the Korean War, check out this (incomplete list) of other reviews I’ve posted to Goodreads: The Korean War: A History, Beyond the Shadow of Camptown: Korean Military Brides in America, Let The Good Times Roll: Prostitution And The U.S. Military In Asia, Women Marines in the Korean War Era, The Bridge at No Gun Ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War, Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations, Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame, Secrecy, and the Forgotten War, “A Defense Weapon Known to Be of Value”: Servicewomen of the Korean War Era, Name, Rank, and Serial Number: Exploiting Korean War POWs at Home and Abroad, The Korean War at Sixty: New Approaches to the Study of the Korean War, We Will Not Be Strangers: Korean War Letters between a M.A.S.H Surgeon and His Wife and When Hell Froze Over: The Memoir of a Korean War Combat Physician Who Spent 1010 Days in a Communist Prison Camp.
Really interesting letters between a surgeon and his wife.
⤑ research tag: in an effort to organise my shelves, I’m going to be labelling the books I’m using for study purposes as I tend to dip in and out of these. For further reading on the Korean War, check out this (incomplete list) of other reviews I’ve posted to Goodreads: The Korean War: A History, Beyond the Shadow of Camptown: Korean Military Brides in America, Let The Good Times Roll: Prostitution And The U.S. Military In Asia, Women Marines in the Korean War Era, The Bridge at No Gun Ri: A Hidden Nightmare from the Korean War, Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations, Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame, Secrecy, and the Forgotten War, “A Defense Weapon Known to Be of Value”: Servicewomen of the Korean War Era, Name, Rank, and Serial Number: Exploiting Korean War POWs at Home and Abroad, The Korean War at Sixty: New Approaches to the Study of the Korean War, We Will Not Be Strangers: Korean War Letters between a M.A.S.H Surgeon and His Wife and When Hell Froze Over: The Memoir of a Korean War Combat Physician Who Spent 1010 Days in a Communist Prison Camp.
March 7, 2020
Interesting read if you like MASH
May 24, 2016
I sought out We Will Not Be Strangers for research purposes, and it did not disappoint.
The letters are heavy with longing, but at the same time deal with everyday issues as in a matter of fact manner. They paint a clear picture of how a loving and devoted couple deals with being separated by 3,000 miles. You soldier on, both of you. You share everything even though you cannot touch one another. You wait, but you do it together.
It's fascinating to read Melvin's cataloging of his daily routines. He so badly wanted Dorothy to really understand his new life, that he manages to pull you right into it with him. He makes it easy to understand the challenges he faced, not just as a regular guy whose life had been turned upside down, but as a surgeon who was daily performing operations he had never expected to.
Dorothy has at least not been forced to take up an entirely new life. But how much more heartbreaking is it to have the other half of your life disappear completely from your daily rounds? Her surroundings may be comfortingly familiar, but as she writes they are also starkly empty.
I sought out We Will Not Be Strangers for research purposes, but it gave me so much more.
Cheers all,
Melanie
The letters are heavy with longing, but at the same time deal with everyday issues as in a matter of fact manner. They paint a clear picture of how a loving and devoted couple deals with being separated by 3,000 miles. You soldier on, both of you. You share everything even though you cannot touch one another. You wait, but you do it together.
It's fascinating to read Melvin's cataloging of his daily routines. He so badly wanted Dorothy to really understand his new life, that he manages to pull you right into it with him. He makes it easy to understand the challenges he faced, not just as a regular guy whose life had been turned upside down, but as a surgeon who was daily performing operations he had never expected to.
Dorothy has at least not been forced to take up an entirely new life. But how much more heartbreaking is it to have the other half of your life disappear completely from your daily rounds? Her surroundings may be comfortingly familiar, but as she writes they are also starkly empty.
I sought out We Will Not Be Strangers for research purposes, but it gave me so much more.
Cheers all,
Melanie
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews