Official Review: Sad Joys on Deployment by Greg Bruce

[LinaMueller]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sad Joys on Deployment" by Greg Bruce.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Sad Joys on Deployment by Greg Bruce is a nonfiction book that presents the accounts of an Australian doctor who had studied to be an orthopedic surgeon. In 1988, called to serve his country, he was recruited into the Royal Australian Air Force Specialist Reserve. It describes the circumstances and particularities of the ten overseas deployments that he had to experience.

The book discusses military affairs in an unorthodox way. Unlike most common books, there are no detailed tactical operations descriptions. The author discusses themes that encompass the difference between military surgery and civilian surgery, cultural tourism, conditions during the deployment, the role of international organizations, among others.

My favorite part of the book was discovering how a doctor who has witnessed chaotic war situations can enjoy doing his job. Incredible as it may seem, the author says in the book that he "came out of all the deployments with a positive sense of enjoyment." At the end of the book, he mentions Pierre-Irénée Jacob, the pharmacist who was with Napoleon during much of the European wars. Both believe that local cultural exchanges, trade, and military tourism can make these experiences edifying. All of this makes me think that doctors do not suffer so much from the events in the war.

After much thought, I can safely say that there is nothing negative to mention about this book. I found a few grammatical errors and text that has not been correctly bolded, but they are undoubtedly insignificant details. The book is professionally edited. There are no swear words nor any sexual content, which is surprising. I have read many books on war, and in almost all, there was profanity. It seems that the world of doctors in conflicts is a parallel world separate from the world of the ordinary soldier. This reality does not diminish the importance of the doctors, quite the contrary. While some are taking lives, often being ordered by lobby groups that want to get rich, the doctor struggles to save lives.

I gladly rate Sad Joys on Deployment four out of four stars. These are fascinating accounts of a doctor's view of military conflicts. As much as I have read several books with military themes, I had never read a similar work written through the eyes of a doctor. The book is exciting and describes several events, having no apparent flaw. I recommend this book to all readers who are interested in military matters. There are intelligent and detailed descriptions of how some international organizations fail in their missions and some political and social details that you will not read in ordinary military books.

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Sad Joys on Deployment
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[Kanchan Sharma]

The review is depicting so many twists and turns that I am really wishing to read the book.

[Franklin Chigozie]

I'm loving where the story is going, I would love to read it

[Kennedy NC]

Looks like an interesting and intriguing review. Would definitely love to get my hands on this book. Great review.

[MarcellaM]

It certainly seems like a good book a doctor's world in soldiers lives is a good read. It would surely make sense that the book doesn't contain any profanity considering the fact that doctors in most cases are accountable for what they say.