In Three Wars

About the Book

In Three Wars is a riveting, and often humorous, personal account of the experiences of a doctor, trained in South Africa and England, applying his skills to the practice of war surgery. Beginning with his experiences in the South African Medical Corps during the Second World War where he was posted “Up North” to Egypt, In Three Wars combines personal anecdotal and historical background with keenly observed commentary on medical successes and failures in exigent circumstances. It provides a compelling, first-hand account of the struggles of dedicated doctors and nurses to preserve lives and limbs in the face of war’s destruction.

About the Author

Cyril J. Kaplan graduated with an MBChB from Cape Town Medical School in 1940. As a volunteer in the South African Medical Corps during the Second World War, he was posted to a medical hospital in the Middle East and visited Palestine for the first time. Following the War, he studied in Edinburgh, Liverpool and London, obtaining a Masters degree in Orthopaedic Surgery, and Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons. During the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, he volunteered as an orthopaedic surgeon in the Israeli Army Medical Service, returning there in 1971 during the War of Attrition and in 1973 following the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. He and Dr. Sylvia Kisner, who he met in Israel in 1949, married and made their home in South Africa. In 1989 they moved to the United States where Cyril joined the orthopaedic staff at Montefiore Hospital, until his retirement in 2002.