This is a book full of medical marvels and the worst of human depravity during a war. I would have given this 5 stars had the last 20% not become overly political. The boy's death turned me into a person marked by war: it was the Sarajevo equivalent of a campaign medal, although not one to wear with pride.”

Dr D told me about how in Syria, David Nott was held at gunpoint when operating on the brother of a member of ISIS.

Praise

In last three years, our foundational team had trained more than 550 doctors during seven hostile environment surgical courses." The author was cogent in explaining the important role of war doctors and tells us the significance of acquiring the necessary expertise before going into the battlefields as a war doctor. Ability to work with minimal resources is the most essential quality that a war doctor should possess. He also tells us the importance of having a strong mind as the patients we have to deal with due to the war injuries are entirely different from those we regularly treat in hospitals and clinics. A devastating account of two decades volunteering his services to some of the world's most dangerous places -- Helen Brown, Daily Mail I have read enough about Syria to know what was going on there but reading Dr David Nott’s account and those of his colleagues out there just highlighted how awful that situation really was. Civilians caught in the middle of a horrible civil war and then ISIS arrive. The injuries from the barrel bombs and snipers were brutal. No wonder Dr Nott had a hard time on his return to the UK. He witnessed some seriously messed up stuff. wars most affect those who are worst equipped to deal with them: people who are poor or disenfranchised, living in inadequate or unsanitary conditions with few of the amenities we take for granted in the West. War can make an already difficult existence impossible.

I have a deep respect for anyone who goes into dangerous situations to help those in need, even if their own lives are at risk. I could never envision myself doing that! This memoir gives a very good indication of what these people go through. his lunch with Queen Elizabeth II sounded very familiar! I recently read about this particular incident in The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown; and,For more than twenty-five years, David Nott has taken unpaid leave from his job as a general and vascular surgeon with the NHS to volunteer in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones. From Sarajevo under siege in 1993, to clandestine hospitals in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, he has carried out life-saving operations in the most challenging conditions. It was considered one of the longest sieges of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. During the Bosnian war, Sarajevo was besieged by the Army of Republika Srpska. The author is mentioning in detail all the difficulties that the people of Sarajevo had to go through. Book Genre: Autobiography, Biography, Biography Memoir, Health, Medical, Medicine, Memoir, Nonfiction, Science, War This was the future, I believed – not just parachuting into a war zone, saving the odd life and then going home; it was about providing a legacy, leaving my temporary colleagues better equipped to deal with an ongoing situation that they themselves could not walk away from.

Brave, compassionate and inspiring - it left me in floods of tears' Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to Hurt

The author documents with searing honesty the realities of his work and how he spent countless hours only yards from fighting in the Middle East as he performed complex and sometimes extraordinary surgeries on patients. Although I have of course seen many news reports on the conflicts in places like Syria, it’s an entirely new perspective to hear about it first hand. On several occasions, the authors life was at risk as he came face to face with weapons. And once, when Isis soldiers invaded his theatre as he performed surgery. Medicine has long been a subject of interest to the popular media. But in the latter part of the book, the author has given unnecessary importance to show the enigmatic relationship between popular medicine and media.

A devastating account of two decades volunteering his services to some of the world’s most dangerous places.’ Helen Brown, Daily Mail International development and aid is work that is good, needed and riddled with moral quandaries and dilemmas. (And when done even slightly below average, the consequences are disastrous, but that's a different topic and it's not like Nott even skimmed the surface of this tension despite decades of experiences).

Summary

Fortunately, Dr Nott was able to realise this, with the support of his future wife. When the stress reached its nadir, he sought professional help instead of building a carapace around himself and withdrawing deeper into the bottomless pit of his agony. This has taught me that courage is not about being strong all the time. True courage entails having the humility to admit vulnerability and ask for support. As Dr Nott’s wife, Eleanor, writes in the Afterword, “David embodies the truly heroic, if we will but allow our heroes the vulnerability and humanity that make them real people.” Most Interesting Part of the Book A Lasting Impact