The Other Side of Time: A Combat Surgeon in World War II

The author recounts his experiences as a surgeon during World War II, from November of 1944 during the fighting for Alsace-Lorraine to the end of the war, when the men of his unit were among the first into Dachau

Phibbs, now a retired Arizona cardiologist, used the "flaming tedium" and sleepless nights of WW II to record the events and impressions that comprise this engrossing, splendidly written memoir. He recounts a year spent as surgeon for a 3000-man combat command, which fought its way from Lorraine to the Bavarian Alps via newly liberated, typhus-ravaged Dachau. Both as participant and observer, his evocations of battles and the men who fought them and of the endless stream of wounded are extraordinarily vivid. He chronicles achievements, friendships and heroic acts along with terror, pain and the stupidity of bureaucracies of all kinds, treating with contempt comfort-loving chaplains, French collaborators and the arrogance of certain generals. Phibbs's compassion, appreciation of life and sense of humor make palatable the horrors he recreates.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Personal memoirs of U.S. Army medics are not common, and this one is among the best. These frank and highly anecdotal reminiscences of a cardiologist-surgeon who served with an armored division in the European theater tell relatively little of the history of the Army's Medical Service, but a great deal about the author. The effect is like listening to the war stories of a crusty yet still idealistic uncle whose idealism and anguish shine through his skepticism about the human animal. Recommended for general collections.Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Prog., Los Angeles
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.