A Surgeon in Belgium

"A Surgeon in Belgium" by Henry Sessions Souttar is a non-fiction chronicle from the early 1900s that tells the story of Souttar, a surgeon's helper, during World War I at a Belgian field hospital. This book gives a close look at how medicine worked during the war and how conflict changed people's lives. The author shares stories about friendships among the medical team and the difficulties they overcame when dealing with the terrible injuries of war. Souttar starts by describing the excitement he and his friends felt as they traveled to the front lines, ready to see and take part in the war's important events. He paints a picture of their arrival in Antwerp, showing the city and nearby areas, and setting the stage for the war. The beginning shows the strong difference between soldiers acting brave and the sad stories of suffering civilians, along with the strength of the people dealing with hard situations. Souttar thinks about the complicated parts of human nature during war, mixing the excitement of being part of something big with the upsetting experiences of people caught in the fighting.