The Oath: A Surgeon Under Fire

London, United Kingdom: Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2003. New book, 354 pages. As the struggle for independence in his native Chechnya moved into its bloodiest phase, Dr Khassan Baiev was enjoying a life of affluence as a plastic surgeon in Moscow. But hearing reports that war was about to break out in his homeland, he knew his skills could be more usefully employed helping the wounded. Against the advice of everyone, he returned to Chechnya and found it filled with gangs of rebel fighters, orphans and victims of terrible violence. It is remarkable how anyone could perform intricate surgery under terrible conditions, but he was driven by his allegiance to the Hippocratic Oath: a vow to serve anyone who needed his help. The Oath placed him outside politics, binding him to operate on Chechens and Russians alike, but this led Muslim extremists to swear on the Koran to kill him, and the Russian military to regard him as a traitor. He narrowly escaped execution several times. For now Khassan Baiev is a fugitive from his homeland. He knows for certain that if he returns he will be apprehended and almost certainly killed. It would only be a matter of wich side got to him first. Powerful and evocative, The Oath explores the horrors of war, the consequences of racial intolerance and the enormous disparity between a human's capacity for compassion and for cruelty. Above all, it is a story about choices, heroism and honour, and how one man's courage to put his principles before his instincts almost lost him his life.. Hard Cover. As New/As New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.