Vietnam Doctor

by James W. Turpin, Al Hirshberg

973.92osbwar

175 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of a high-string (pathological anxiety) doctor with a strong altruism drive that causes him to overcome obstacles to serve selflessly needy American and then abroad in a junk-based clinic in Kowloon before serving Montagnards
This is the story of the beginning of Project Concern.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to know the author Jim Turpin when I was a graduate student in North Carolina in the early 1980s. I knew that he had founded Project Concern but knew little of the details involved, Many years later (more than 20) I am living in Hong Kong for a second time. Jim kindly sent me a copy of his book published in 1966. Knowing the book was set in Vietnam, I grabbed the yellowed paperback en-route to Ho Chi Men City last week. I like to read novels set in the places I travel to. From the very first paragraph I was surprisingly captivated. There is no introduction. The reader is immediately thrust into the middle of the jungle and the action from the onset " The valley below gleams with sparkling dew hanging like diamonds from pine, palm, and mahogany tree, from pineapple plants and from banana trees that grow in the lush earth which fills abandoned foxholes." The juxtaposition of tropical paradise with foxholes is perfect. Turpin led by restless and courageous humanitarian stirrings goes into the jungles of Vietnam and establishes a hillside hospital for a desperately poor and forgotten tribe caught in the midst of war. But before that, Turpin begins his charitable clinics in Hong Kong which has been my home for nearly 20 years. His true life tale is inspirational. I appreciate his chapter f the history of Hong Kong before my time - with the notorious Walled City (no longer in existence) and a time when boat people crammed the typhoon shelters, a way of life now practically extinct. The best compliment I can pay the author is that I didn't want the story to end, I wanted to know what happened next .... Project Concern has now been in existence for 50 years. This is the story if its founder and another great story where one person makes a difference to countless lives. Turpin is an unsung hero.

[Cws]

973.92osbwar