The April 2013 issue of the Journal of the Gilded Age and
Progressive Era provides a book review of Beth Linker's War’s Waste: Rehabilitation in
World War I America. The book
covers the post war physical rehabilitation of US soldiers maimed during World
War One. The overall verdict is that
the book fills the void on a subject rarely, if ever,
fully written on. One
interesting point is that soldiers could be dishonorably discharged if they did
not obey orders to rehabilitate and use their prosthetic limbs regularly.
The book discusses many medical management issues including the costs of the care provided to injured service members, nursing care, the motivation of the orthopedic surgeons working on the soldiers and establishment of the U.S. Veterans’ Bureau. The author also studies the strong efforts made by the US government to transition these wounded service members back into regular society.
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