Ronald J. Glasser – författare

Assigned to Zama, an Army hospital in Japan in September 1968, Glasser arrived as a pediatrician in the U.S. Army Medical Corps to care for the children of officers and high-ranking government officials. The hospital's main mission, however, was to support the war and care for the wounded. “They all came through the hospitals of Japan … the chopper pilots and the RTO's, the forward observers, the cooks, the medics and the sergeants... the heroes and the ones under military arrest, the drug addicts and the killers.” At Zama, an average of six to eight thousand patients were attended to per month, and the death and suffering were staggering. The soldiers counted their days by the length of their tour—one year, or 365 days—and they knew, down to the day, how much time they had left. Glasser tells their stories—of lives shockingly interrupted by the tragedies of war—with moving, humane eloquence.

The powerful story of an unlikely friendship and a doctor''s re-education on the battlefields of the Vietnam WarFresh out of medical school and planning to enter academia, David pragmatically applies to serve in the US Army, thinking he would rather work in a stateside military hospital than get drafted. But when he gets reassigned to Southeast Asia, he suddenly finds himself on a base in Vietnam. He joins a civilian aid mission on a supposedly secure plateau, and spends his days dispensing pills to villagers. As David comes to terms with the unexpected factors that brought him to Vietnam, he must adjust to many more twists and turns—among them his relationship with his driver, Tom, a young, rough-hewn Southerner whose reticence feels unnervingly like indifference. Gradually, however, David sees that there''s far more to Tom than he initially thought. As their friendship grows, David also realizes that his fellow doctors and the troops on base hold widely diverging opinions about the war and its objectives. As it becomes clear that their base is located on a key strategic route—the notorious Ho Chi Minh Trail—and thus a vulnerable target, it''s only a matter of time before battles break out . . .

National Book Award Finalist: The Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of an army doctor—“a book of great emotional impact” (The New York Times).  In 1968, as a serviceman in the Vietnam War, Dr. Ronald Glasser was sent to Japan to work at the US Army hospital at Camp Zama. It was the only general army hospital in Japan, and though Glasser was initially charged with tending to the children of officers and government officials, he was soon caught up in the waves of casualties that poured in from every Vietnam front. Thousands of soldiers arrived each month, demanding the help of every physician within reach. In 365 Days, Glasser reveals a candid and shocking account of that harrowing experience. He gives voice to seventeen of his patients, wounded men counting down the days until they return home. Their stories bring to life a world of incredible bravery and suffering, one where “the young are suddenly left alone to take care of the young.” An instant classic of war literature, 365 Days is a remarkable, ground-level account of Vietnam’s human toll.

From the author of 365 Days comes a poignant, personally inspired tale of a rookie doctor fighting for the life of a desperately ill young girl—a story that grows ever more relevant in this world of increasingly sophisticated and technical medical careIn this riveting and passionately rendered novel, an intern faces the harsh realities of his profession, and the overwhelming highs and lows for which medical school was unable to prepare him. The call comes at three in the morning, ordering the intern to handle a new admission at the pediatric ward of the university hospital. He finds eleven-year-old Mary Berquam, diagnosed with advanced leukemia. The doctors think they might be able to give her drug therapies and put her in remission, but her parents know Mary''s disease is fatal and they want to keep her comfortable rather than put her through painful treatments. The young intern must confront what it means to follow the conventions of his job versus the calling of his conscience.

The powerful story of an unlikely friendship and a doctor''s re-education on the battlefields of the Vietnam WarFresh out of medical school and planning to enter academia, David pragmatically applies to serve in the US Army, thinking he would rather work in a stateside military hospital than get drafted. But when he gets reassigned to Southeast Asia, he suddenly finds himself on a base in Vietnam. He joins a civilian aid mission on a supposedly secure plateau, and spends his days dispensing pills to villagers. As David comes to terms with the unexpected factors that brought him to Vietnam, he must adjust to many more twists and turns—among them his relationship with his driver, Tom, a young, rough-hewn Southerner whose reticence feels unnervingly like indifference. Gradually, however, David sees that there''s far more to Tom than he initially thought. As their friendship grows, David also realizes that his fellow doctors and the troops on base hold widely diverging opinions about the war and its objectives. As it becomes clear that their base is located on a key strategic route—the notorious Ho Chi Minh Trail—and thus a vulnerable target, it''s only a matter of time before battles break out . . .

From the author of 365 Days comes a poignant, personally inspired tale of a rookie doctor fighting for the life of a desperately ill young girl—a story that grows ever more relevant in this world of increasingly sophisticated and technical medical careIn this riveting and passionately rendered novel, an intern faces the harsh realities of his profession, and the overwhelming highs and lows for which medical school was unable to prepare him. The call comes at three in the morning, ordering the intern to handle a new admission at the pediatric ward of the university hospital. He finds eleven-year-old Mary Berquam, diagnosed with advanced leukemia. The doctors think they might be able to give her drug therapies and put her in remission, but her parents know Mary''s disease is fatal and they want to keep her comfortable rather than put her through painful treatments. The young intern must confront what it means to follow the conventions of his job versus the calling of his conscience.

An army doctor''s classic Vietnam War memoir—a National Book Award Finalist and "a book of great emotional impact"—plus two powerful novels (The New York Times). Published in 1971 with the Vietnam War still raging, Ronald Glasser''s unflinching memoir of one doctor''s experience with the human cost of the devastating conflict was hailed by William Styron as "a moving account about tremendous courage and often immeasurable suffering . . . [A] valuable and redemptive work." 365 Days quickly became a powerful anti-war statement of the time that still resonates today, selling over two hundred thousand copies. Turning to fiction, Glasser continued to draw on his own experience as a doctor in the Vietnam War and as an intern in a pediatric ward to craft novels of gripping drama and heartfelt poignancy. 365 Days: In 1968, as a serviceman in the Vietnam War, Ronald Glasser, a pediatrician, was sent to Japan to work at the US Army hospital tending to children of officers and government officials. But he was soon caught up in the waves of casualties that poured in from every Vietnam front. In 365 Days, Glasser reveals a candid and shocking account of that harrowing experience, giving voice to the wounded, the maimed, the dead, with unflinching candor and compassionate humanity. "The most convincing, most moving account I have yet to read about what it was like to be an American soldier in Vietnam." —Newsweek Another War, Another Peace: Assigned to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, an idealistic young doctor forms an unlikely bond with his driver, a battle-hardened soldier, as they struggle to bring medical aid to Vietnamese villagers. "The author of the remarkable classic 365 Days has in this small novel written with such power about a young American doctor in the war zone that surely he has added another memorable book to the literature of those ghastly years." —Gloria Emerson, author of Winners & Losers Ward 402: In this gripping, authentic, and impassioned novel, an intern on pediatric Ward 402 fights to save an eleven-year-old girl with advanced leukemia, which her parents believe to be terminal. "[Dr. Glasser] can describe a medical emergency in a way that makes the entire scene spring to life. . . . This is good and exciting writing." —The New York Times Book Review