The US Review of Books commends “One Degree: An Historical Medical Mystery” by Dr. Gus Kappler for its beauty in unearthing what’s really happening
One Degree: An Historical Medical Mystery is a novel written by Dr. Gus Kappler that combines his medical knowledge with his own experience in Vietnam. An engrossing and informative novel about medical and mystery themes that are delivered with zeal—definitely worth reading.
One Degree: An Historical Medical Mystery, by the author of Welcome Home From Vietnam, is a revolutionary medical thriller. It stars five Vietnam veterans who feel helpless in the face of a devastating viral tissue-destroying sickness that was initially noticed during the Vietnam War before spreading worldwide. It’s the year 1971. Surgical patients recovering from the Vietnam War are dying suddenly of gangrenous septic diseases. The perpetrator has yet to be identified.
A lab tech, Matt Rogowicz, documents the first indication, an aberrant white cell in Private Richard Burrows’ blood. Richard dies a terrible death after his bosses at Walter Reed Army Hospital dismiss his findings.
When the terrible sickness grows more widespread after Matt’s discharge from the Army, he develops PTSD. He is consumed with guilt. In opposition to military culture, he feels accountable for not raising the situation with his superiors. After recovering from PTSD and earning a journalism degree, Matt joins forces with four Vietnam veterans. They’d also come across the identical aberrant white blood cell and its untimely death. They enlist the help of individuals who have been affected by the condition.
The US Review of Books’ Heather Brooks applauded Dr. Gus Kappler’s book, One Degree: An Historical Medical Mystery, for its message to readers, remarking that the book poignantly details how it affected such noncombatants as medical staff and lab technicians like Rogowicz since they witnessed the mangling aftereffects of mechanized warfare on the human body.”
Here’s an excerpt from the US Review of Books that highlights:
” The book proceeds to clearly explain not only the wide array of symptoms that accompany PTSD but also individuals’ coping strategies. Despite their realism, all characters are of the author’s creation. Near the end of the text appears a disclaimer meant to assure readers that potentially harmful pharmaceutical products named in the text do not exist and that expired medications are not kept for future widespread distribution. Still, those who have entertained apprehensions of conspiracies within major pharmaceutical companies may find that this book validates their views.”