MISSOULA, Mont., Jan. 16, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The bloody Civil War changed many things for the future of the young country. One of these changes would come in the field of medicine, as the practices of the gory field hospitals were advanced upon in later wars. One of the most authentic renditions of Civil War field medicine, the new novel, The Sword and the Scalpel (now available through 1stBooks), by Earl Wagner Wharton, presents a historically accurate account of the goriest war in American history.
The Sword and the Scalpel focuses on young Jonathan Carter, a young man from Virginia on the verge of graduation from a prestigious medical college in Philadelphia. When the war breaks out, he is forced to choose sides. He can return home to the South to protect his family home and the people he loves, or he can stay in Philadelphia, pursue a promising career in medicine and court the beautiful and talented girl of his dreams. No matter what he chooses, he knows he will suffer loss and heartache.
Jonathan befriends Jess Blackford, a lanky Union soldier from New Jersey. Their friendship and adventures become a symbol of the divided spirit of America. Wharton spares no gore, despair or agony to create a vivid and accurate picture of the Civil War. With meticulous detail, he offers renditions of the injuries, the suffering, the medical treatment and the techniques used in the most trying circumstances.
"Medicine in America would be changed forever by the experiences on the bloody battlefields of the war between the States," Wharton says.
Historically accurate, engaging and intelligent, The Sword and the Scalpel details the Civil War in a way that has not been done, perhaps, since The Red Badge of Courage.
A retired doctor from Akron, Ohio, Wharton practiced medicine for 35 years. He also has an engineering degree from the University of Michigan and served in the Navy as an engineering officer. He also graduated from Ashland University with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. Wharton moved to Haywire Ranch in Mission Valley, Mont., with his wife, Betty, after his retirement. The Sword and the Scalpel is his first book.
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