CHECKLIST

摘要

During WWII, one of the greatest fears of any aviator was that of being burned. Early in the conflict, most aircraft did not have self-sealing fuel tanks and a hit in such a tank could result in an inferno. The ranks of terribly burned RAF aircrew quickly mounted. Plastic surgery was known to only a few surgeons before WWII and their techniques were rudimentary at best. The Allies were tremendously fortunate in having the maverick surgeon Archibald Mclndoe who was operating from a small hospital in the south of England. Guinea Pig Club by Emily Mayhew (Greenhill, $28) tells how Mclndoe set up a then-revolutionary regime of treatment and secured a group of patients -his Guinea Pig Club -and began treating these terribly burned men so they could be returned to service and society. Based on extensive research into official records and moving first-person recollections, this book (first published in 2004 and now updated) brings home the heroism and triumphs of the Guinea Pigs as they fought to survive and regain their lives.