New Game Shows. Winning Wednesdays on Prime.
Buy used:
$8.93
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Saturday, December 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Wednesday, December 18. Order within 11 hrs 23 mins.
Arrives before Christmas
Used: Acceptable | Details
Sold by -OnTimeBooks-
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comment: Shipped fast and reliably through the Amazon Prime program! Book may contain some writing highlighting and or cover damage.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Healer's War Mass Market Paperback – October 1, 1989

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 286 ratings
See all formats and editions
Previous page
  1. Nebula AwardWinner, 1989
Next page
Protected by an amulet with mystical powers, Lt. Kitty McCulley, a military nurse, goes AWOL in Vietnam to save the life of a former patient with whom she has fallen in love
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    312 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bantam Books
  4. Publication date
    October 1, 1989
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1 x 7 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0553282522
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0553282528
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bantam Books (October 1, 1989)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0553282522
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0553282528
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 286 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Altogether I've written and collaborated on 38 novels, 22 solo and 16 in collaboration with the fabulous Anne McCaffrey.

Among my solo novels is THE HEALER'S WAR, the 1989 Nebula Award winner for best novel, loosely based on my experiences as a nurse in Vietnam.

I have also written a traditional, though humorous, 4-book fantasy series, SONGS FROM THE SEASHELL ARCHIVES, a feminist Arabian Nights fantasy, two fantasies set in the Wild West and the Yukon Goldrush respectively, my obligatory science fiction writer's apocalypse book and the sequel, both set in Tibet, and three books about folk music and magic that made a big hit with the Library of Congress Folk Music Archives, which I blew up in the first book. Three of my books are about fairy godmothers, one is about Christmas and computers, one features Sir Walter Scott in a Victorian gothic mystery set in Edinburgh, and two are about Queen Cleopatra as the living "Past life" of two different women.

My latest is a family-centered satirical series of "purranormal mysteries" featuring Spam, an enterprising orange tabby. In SPAM VS THE VAMPIRE, Spam's guardian, Darcy, suddenly disappears, leaving him and his 14 feline housemates alone with full litter boxes and empty kibble dishes. Although he has never been outside the house before, Spam makes a daring escape during a break-in and seeks information about Darcy, who was last seen in the company of a vampire she met on the internet. The next adventure in the series is a seasonal novelette, FATHER CHRISTMAS, in which Spam learns what Christmas is to the wild animals in his neighborhood and also has an opportunity to get acquainted with his own dead-beat dad. The most recently published is THE TOUR BUS OF DOOM or Spam and The Zombie Apocalyps-o, in which Spam's home town is invaded by zombies under the influence of a power-hungry zombie master. Scaring Spam's friends at Elevated Ice Cream is bad enough but when the zombies put the hoodoo on his pals at SeaJ's fish'n'chips, the situation becomes intolerable.

9 TALES O' CATS and SHIFTY are both collections of my previously published short stories.

For more description and information, visit my new book-dedicated website, http://scarbor9.wix.com/beadtime-stories

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
286 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book an enjoyable and interesting read. They describe the story as true and emotional, based on the author's experiences in Vietnam as an Army nurse. The book is thought-provoking and engaging, with a meaningful and challenging viewpoint that shows both sides of the war.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
ReadabilityStory qualityThought provoking
22 customers mention "Readability"22 positive0 negative

Customers find the book an enjoyable and interesting read. They say it's an important book worth reading and well-written. The story explores the grim realities of war through magical realism.

"......" Read more

"...Ms. Scarborough does an outstanding job highlighting both the senseless waste and horrors of war, as well as the shared basic humanity of all..." Read more

"...Not a comfortable book in any form, but well worth the effort." Read more

"...wouldn't say I loved the book, but overall, it did make for a very interesting read." Read more

12 customers mention "Story quality"10 positive2 negative

Customers find the story gripping and emotional. They appreciate the author's authentic descriptions of the time and place. The book is described as realistic and heart-wrenching at times.

"...But I suppose that does qualify me to say that her hospital scenes rang true, and that they were beautifully written, with great authenticity and..." Read more

"...Some of the story rings very true, based on the author's time in Vietnam as an Army nurse, and part of the story is pure fantasy, regarding the..." Read more

"This was a vividly detailed book, at times it made for a tough and emotional read that quickly drew me in and kept me reading to the end and was..." Read more

"This novel included authentic descriptions of the time and the place...." Read more

5 customers mention "Thought provoking"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and entertaining. They appreciate the author's viewpoint that is meaningful and challenging. The characters engage readers and make them care about the events. Readers also like that the book shows both sides of the war, rather than painting it all black and white.

"...put in spoilers, but I think that Scarborough does an excellent job showing how the events which happen to her poor character affect the woman long-..." Read more

"...I skimmed a lot of that. I liked that she showed both sides of the war, and did not paint it all in black and white, us "good guys" vs. them..." Read more

"I don't normally write reviews, but this book is thought provoking and entertaining, especially for people who grew up during the Vietnam war...." Read more

"...Scarborough's characters pull you in and make you care." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Berni
5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best book I never nominated for an award
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is the best book I never nominated for an award.

I read it when it first came out and considered nominating it for the Mythopoeic Award. I decided not to on the basis that the fantasy element was not really mythic in nature. But it got the Nebula Award, which is even better, because that is awarded by authors, honoring excellence among their own.

This is Scarborough's masterpiece. I just reread it and it holds up very well, decades later. Her story of the traumatic experiences of an army nurse are just as relevant today with today's vets. The fantasy device, the amulet given her by the old man, is a wonderful vehicle enabling the main character to grow in empathy and knowledge of "the enemy" - and realizing that the enemy doesn't always look that different from you. I don't want to put in spoilers, but I think that Scarborough does an excellent job showing how the events which happen to her poor character affect the woman long-term, with an eye to hope at the end.

This is an amazing, important book that everyone should read.
11 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
R. Warren
4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written story of the grim realities of war
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2016
Verified Purchase
Gritty story of a nurse's experience in the war in Viet Nam, based on the author's actual experience, with one element of magic woven in. Lots of realistic detail of her work with wounded patients, and of life during the war. I skimmed a lot of that. I liked that she showed both sides of the war, and did not paint it all in black and white, us "good guys" vs. them "bad guys." And portrayed the negative effects of war on all involved.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Susan O'Neill
5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic, adeptly written, moving
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2015
Verified Purchase
Okay, so I'm not exactly an impartial reader, because I was an Army nurse in Viet Nam about the same time Scarborough was. But I suppose that does qualify me to say that her hospital scenes rang true, and that they were beautifully written, with great authenticity and the effortless-seeming authority that excellent writers bring to their craft.

But it was when she moved her protagonist, an idealistic young woman from the Midwest, into the field and, ultimately, the hands of her country's enemy, that the author performed a marvelous sleight-of-hand: she not only made it all believable, but through fiction and fantasy, she spoke the kind of truth that non-fiction is seldom able to express. The book does not flinch away from violence, and Scarborough employs it skillfully, to enhance the reality of the scene and underline--subtly, I felt--the core futility of being a healer in war, where empathy--to see the enemy as human--can be deadly.

The Healer's War had me turning pages late into the night. It brought back memories--not always a huge plus for a Viet Nam vet--and broke my heart, and made me feel that I'm not the only nurse who came out of Viet Nam questioning my government's rush to "solve" its political issues with war. I would heartily recommend it not only to fantasy buffs, but to mainstream readers who are interested in the era or the war, or who just want a good read. I only wish that this fine book would receive the same level of acclaim enjoyed by Tim O'Brien's fantasy Going After Cacciato.

Susan O'Neill, author, Don't Mean Nothing
13 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Susan Flett Swiderski
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-Provoking View of War
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
As any book about war should be, many parts of this book are absolutely heart-wrenching. Some of the story rings very true, based on the author's time in Vietnam as an Army nurse, and part of the story is pure fantasy, regarding the special powers of healing and understanding bestowed by an old Vietnamese man's amulet. Ms. Scarborough does an outstanding job highlighting both the senseless waste and horrors of war, as well as the shared basic humanity of all combatants and the hapless innocents caught in the middle.

Four and a half stars, rounded up to five.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Robin Hershberger
3.0 out of 5 stars Lt. Kitty loves her job and the people she cares for...fantasy or not!
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2019
Verified Purchase
I always look for books that involve nurses. I didn’t know that this book was fantasy. But I did enjoy Kitty and her friends. I also enjoyed her Vietnamese patients at the American hospital. Because of her love of the boy, she was willing to sacrifice her career to take him in country to a hospital there. As things go awry...they go from bad to worse.
Helpful
 Report
Nocturnal
4.0 out of 5 stars All the atrocities of war, from sexual harassment to misogynistic generals, to almost getting dead.
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
I read Scarborough's The Godmother a while ago, I think I read the sequel too but can't now remember. I remember I found both of them amusing but not deep enough to stick with me long as some other fantasy/sci-fi writers have. I was also a mid-teen during the Vietnam war, one of those protestors who wanted to bring the boys home (and they were just boys, average age was 19!). My favorite uncle was a Special Forces guy over there, did 3 terms because he couldn't abandoned his buddies, came home to wrestle with his own conscience and try to do something back home that would make a difference. But he didn't talk about the war except to say it was hell--until Ken Burns tapped him for the recent PBS documentary. My cousin was a medic over there, came home but eventually died from leukemia way before his time. Because of both of them (my uncle was injured several times), I was curious about the women over there, the nurses in particular, because those women volunteered to go and faced things they had never imagined back home, suffered the same mental anguish and resulting problems from what they saw, felt, heard, lived there. I wasn't sure how Scarborough's "fantasy" Vietnam book was going to read--nothing fantasy about that war. I loved the story EXCEPT the bit about the amulet and what it did, that just felt waaaayyyy to contrived and sort of out of place. I do understand how she needed a vehicle to allow first the old miracle man to move about freely healing, but then saving the Lt., an American female, from a fate that could have been much more brutal and deadly. I am glad Scarborough was able to climb herself out of her funk after returning to the States; not ever vet has been able to. This book is a good introduction for everyone who reads it who have had no inkling or curiosity about the "foreign" women who went and worked in Vietnam. Those women are of a caliber that is unbelievable. I'm glad we now have a memorial to the women who served in DC.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report