War Doctor is a fascinating and humbling account of a doctor’s life in a war zone. Written with real compassion for all humankind. David Nott is a true humanitarian. 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 and field surgery in the most challenging conditions, and with none of the resources of a major London teaching hospital. Nott freely admits that not only did he truly wish to help others on these volunteer missions, but that he also got a charge while "living on the edge";

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. This is a book of extraordinary honesty . . . enlightening, sobering, compelling. It is a marvellous read, and education in itself -- Pat Ashworth * Church Times * I didn't know how to lead on from that sentence, but I didn't want to delete it. War, for me, has always been displayed through the lens of three viewpoints: the warrior, the reporter, and the civilian.I liked how the author spoke in detail of the operations, I was a bit lost, I don't know more than the basic anatomy and roughly which organs do what, and this was detailed and very bloody, but interesting too. I liked hearing about the patients and the little he knew of their lives and countries, especially the Syrians and Syria for which he has a great deal of affection. One intensive care ward containing four patients with all modern life=support equipment was run by a single nurse who continually noted all vital signs and urine etc outputs. Each bed had two video cameras on it, and with her data and those pictures, and Arab-American doctors in the US monitored the ward 24 hours a day and directed the treatment. I was very impressed. 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.

Riveting . . . Nott is no ordinary doctor, as this dramatic telling of his extraordinary life makes clear -- Ian Birrell, The TimesFor 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 and field surgery in the most challenging conditions, and with none of the resources of a major London teaching hospital. In my reflections following this enlightening read, I would prefer not to select a single “most interesting part” of the book, as there are too many near-death experiences—coming face-to-face with ISIS fighters, driving across some of the most dangerous roads in the world and being held at gunpoint. All these are suspenseful, heart-stopping moments. 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. Dr D told me about how in Syria, David Nott was held at gunpoint when operating on the brother of a member of ISIS. The #1 internationally bestselling, gripping true story of a frontline trauma surgeon operating in the world's most dangerous war zones

One of the most brutally vivid evocations of modern warfare that you will read . . . superb, unforgettable, simply written and painfully clear . . . You are constantly amazed that men such as Nott can witness the extraordinary cruelties of the human race, so many and so foul, yet keep going. Be warned: this is a powerful but often traumatic read. * Sunday Times * David Nott is brave, compassionate and inspiring – War Doctor is all of those things and more: a wonderful book that has left me in floods of tears. He needs a knighthood and his book needs to be in every house.’ Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to Hurt

Defiance and Determination

some editing was needed! Many parts were long, repetitive, and overly-detailed. My mind was frequently wandering! The word-for-word phone calls over a lengthy period of time between Nott and doctors in Syria could have been condensed;

The author treated several of these women whose babies had been shot in utero. It was this experience that finally drove him to try to publicize the horror of what was happening in Aleppo once he returned to London. The media showed interest and he began to offer interviews and share pictures taken. Harnessing his increasingly public profile, Nott sought to help those now trapped and in imminent danger in Syria. 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. He says that even in the hospital the female nurses had to wear burkhas and cover their eyes with crocheted veils. One of them flashed her ankle showing fishnet tights - that counts as an act of defiance there. Men, fathers or husbands and children were not allowed to visit the female wards. If the woman was dying, she died without seeing them, she died alone. When he started to pray, I could understand that, he was under the most enormous pressure. But he put himself there! He admits that the first time he was under threat of losing his life and lived, he got the most amazing rush and had become addicted to it, physically, like a junkie. But then he meets his future wife, although he is in older middle age by now and never married, and she goes to church every lunchtime to pray for him and he gets religion and I start to skim. The impressions left by such monstrous behaviour increasingly affected the doctor when he returned to his job in London. During a private consultation he all but lost it when a patient complained about how she suffered due to unsightly thread veins.Incredible non-fiction filled with so much humanity. You will never forget these stories. -- Joanna Cannon, bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep and Three Things About Elsie A devastating account of two decades volunteering his services to some of the world's most dangerous places -- Helen Brown, Daily Mail Doing humanitarian work in a warzone is all kinds of crazy and leaves the volunteers with PTSD for years afterwards.