Richard Hooker (1) (1924–1997)
Author of MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors
For other authors named Richard Hooker, see the disambiguation page.
Richard Hooker (1) has been aliased into H. Richard Hornberger.
Series
Works by Richard Hooker
Works have been aliased into H. Richard Hornberger.
Associated Works
Works have been aliased into H. Richard Hornberger.
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Hornberger, H. Richard
Hornberger, Hiester Richard, Jr. (full name) - Birthdate
- 1924-02-01
- Date of death
- 1997-11-04
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Peddie School, Hightstown, New Jersey, USA
Bowdoin College
Cornell Medical School - Occupations
- author
surgeon - Organizations
- U S Army
- Nationality
- USA
- Burial location
- Hillside Cemetery, Bremen, Maine, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Maine, USA
Members
Reviews
I have always loved this book! I think it was a unique and special book for its time, a lightweight counter to the heavy stuff going on around it, such as Catch 22, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, A Clockwork Orange and the like, all of which are great, but are a reflection of their times, as well as what was going on socially, culturally and politically in the US, particularly with Vietnam -- and Hooker using Korea as an obvious substitute in his commentary on such things couched in humor. show more The beauty of this novel is, it DOES allude to and address some really serious issues and things, similarly to the other books mentioned, but again, differently so that one didn't feel so threatened, to use an odd description of possible/probable reader response to others of that time. Brilliant, IMO. And of course, the TV show that came out of the movie that came out of this book was one of the best loved TV shows of all time, including by me as a major fan, so the book set off a chain of awesome (cinematic) events that impacted millions of people, largely in a good way. So while most people probably wouldn't consider this novel as more than a cheap comedy, I tend to see much more value in it and I'll stand behind that as long as I'm alive. Definitely recommended! show less
I wish I’d had the chance to watch more of M*A*S*H, as I love its sense of humour. The film was hilarious and so is this book. I’m taking off one star because quite a few jokes are at women’s expense, also the descriptions of American football are incomprehensible if you’re British and hate sport. Nonetheless, it repeatedly made me laugh on the train and the cast of oddball characters are magnificent. Hooker has such a talent for dialogue and for dipping slightly into pathos before show more veering back to surreal absurdity. That seems a very effective way of depicting war’s impact just off the front lines. A good example:
After all the hijinks and banter, I found the ending unexpectedly moving. The lesson here (and from several TV shows I could name) is that I’m willing to let a certain amount of misogyny slide if the whole thing is really funny. Especially if the context is a war. I wonder if there's a legal means of streaming M*A*S*H the series. show less
”What are you doing here, gentlemen?” he asked.
“Buildin’ us a mermaid trap,” Duke informed him. “Y’all want to help?”
The Colonel was trying to blend into the environment. “I see,” he said. “Where do you expect to catch mermaids?”
“The river’s alive with them,” answered Trapper.
“I see,” said the Colonel again. “Assuming that you are able to catch one of these creatures, what do you propose to do with it?”
Hawkeye gave the Colonel a look of impatience and scorn. “We’re gonna screw the ass off her,” he stated.
The Colonel was trying desperately to hang in there. “Do you have reason to believe that mermaids may be effectively utilised for that purpose?”
“Oh, Finest Kind,” Hawkeye assured him.
“Numero Uno,” said Trapper John.
“Yeah,” said the Duke.
Colonel DeLong departed to his tent to think. Colonel Blake, before departing for Tokyo, had deliberately and perhaps maliciously not briefed him on the Swampmen.
After all the hijinks and banter, I found the ending unexpectedly moving. The lesson here (and from several TV shows I could name) is that I’m willing to let a certain amount of misogyny slide if the whole thing is really funny. Especially if the context is a war. I wonder if there's a legal means of streaming M*A*S*H the series. show less
This was a nostalgic gem of a read for me.
Originally published in 1968, Richard Hooker's (a pseudonym) debut novel is a semi-autobiographical account of one aspect of the Korean War. It introduces us to the "Swamp" -- a tent inhabited by 3 (and then 4) surgeons assigned to the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. Hawkeye Pierce, John McIntyre (Trapper), and Duke Forrest deal with the horrors of war through dry martinis, golf, and elaborate (junior high type) pranks aimed at incompetent show more superiors.
Fans of the television series will enjoy reading this source material as a fond trip down memory lane. It's genuinely funny in some parts that made me laugh out loud, and captures a definite type of wit that helped make the show so popular.
One thing you'll notice is the writing quality. Given that Hooker was a surgeon and not a novelist, the prose often seemed clunky and not well put together. The characters meander from one antic to another and there is no real emotion or much more aside from describing the crazy, often immature, shenanigans that I found hard to believe would truly be tolerated in any sort of military installation even in those times. Despite this, however, I really enjoyed the book for the nostalgic escape and it was a fun, quick read that reminded me of times in my life long ago when this movie and TV series made such an impact on my future.
I was able to listen to the newly released audio book provided by the publisher while also following along in the e-book. The narrator, Scott Brick, is one of my favorites. He does an excellent job of voicing all the characters, giving them unique accents, and definitely captures the dry and irreverent tone which works well with the text. One thing that struck hard was that there are many politically correct edits and specific word changes from the rough, unfiltered language typical of military life at that time. These changes were mostly done to eliminate racial and ethnic slurs, remove the descriptions that were offensive to women, and altered some stereotypical portrayals of certain characters. The production was well done and enhanced my enjoyment of the book. show less
Originally published in 1968, Richard Hooker's (a pseudonym) debut novel is a semi-autobiographical account of one aspect of the Korean War. It introduces us to the "Swamp" -- a tent inhabited by 3 (and then 4) surgeons assigned to the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. Hawkeye Pierce, John McIntyre (Trapper), and Duke Forrest deal with the horrors of war through dry martinis, golf, and elaborate (junior high type) pranks aimed at incompetent show more superiors.
Fans of the television series will enjoy reading this source material as a fond trip down memory lane. It's genuinely funny in some parts that made me laugh out loud, and captures a definite type of wit that helped make the show so popular.
One thing you'll notice is the writing quality. Given that Hooker was a surgeon and not a novelist, the prose often seemed clunky and not well put together. The characters meander from one antic to another and there is no real emotion or much more aside from describing the crazy, often immature, shenanigans that I found hard to believe would truly be tolerated in any sort of military installation even in those times. Despite this, however, I really enjoyed the book for the nostalgic escape and it was a fun, quick read that reminded me of times in my life long ago when this movie and TV series made such an impact on my future.
I was able to listen to the newly released audio book provided by the publisher while also following along in the e-book. The narrator, Scott Brick, is one of my favorites. He does an excellent job of voicing all the characters, giving them unique accents, and definitely captures the dry and irreverent tone which works well with the text. One thing that struck hard was that there are many politically correct edits and specific word changes from the rough, unfiltered language typical of military life at that time. These changes were mostly done to eliminate racial and ethnic slurs, remove the descriptions that were offensive to women, and altered some stereotypical portrayals of certain characters. The production was well done and enhanced my enjoyment of the book. show less
Above all I'm glad to have completed Butterworths noncanonical "Mash goes to ..." series. This one was better than the last few. It started out very good with the supreme chairman of the USSR trying to appease his wife while trying to please his mistress. I thought we might actually get a new story. But alas within a few chapters Butterworth reverted to his standard formula of finding a way to get a bunch of people from all over the world to convene on the title location in the last chapter. show more All-in-all nothing to write home about but nothing to get upset about either. I actually did have a few laugh-out-loud moments & even though I'm a Jimmy Carter fan I found this very Republican take on Jim-Boy entertaining. show less
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- Rating
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