Between Flesh and Steel: A History of Military Medicine from the Middle Ages to the War in Afghanistan
“This comprehensive book transforms our understanding of military history by exploring a new dimension as to why armies win or lose in war. The importance of military medicine to an army’s success or failure is a subject that has been largely ignored by military historians until now. Gabriel’s book opens up a new way of thinking about war, one that demonstrates how the mix of culture, politics, and science determines the medical fate of the soldier on the battlefield and thus of armies themselves. It will introduce medical professionals, historians, and general readers to a very different perspective on war, one they need to understand if they wish to fully comprehend how human suffering has influenced the history of conflict.”—John Scott Cowan, principal emeritus, Royal Military College of Canada, and chair, Defence Science Advisory Board of Canada“Richard Gabriel’s grasp of matters military and medical—amply illuminated by his spirited writing style—brings a novel perspective to centuries of combat. From the dawn of firearms in the fifteenth century to the war in Afghanistan in the twenty-first, this intriguing book is nothing less than a history of Western warfare told from the perspective of the casualties and medics and physicians who treated their wounds. Gabriel has once again given us an outstanding work of military history.”—Michael Robbins, editor,Military History Magazine“With this latest addition to his already impressive list of books, Richard Gabriel, the most prolific military historian of his generation, writes with his usual insight, eloquence, and attention to detail about an oft-neglected aspect of the history of armed conflict: the development of military medicine and its contributions to the revolution in medical science. In doing so, he has produced what must be regarded as the definitive treatment of the subject, one from which historians, medical practitioners, and general readers will learn much. A very valuable book that is highly recommended.”—Steve Weingartner, coauthor ofFaithful Warriors: A Combat Marine Remembers the Pacific War