The Contract Surgeon - Softcover

Set in the Great Plains during the bloodiest period in its history, The Contract Surgeon is a tale of bravery, medical daring, justice and love. Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, or Mac, is the young contract surgeon, pulled West from a prestigious medical career to be a surgeon for the U.S. Army in what would become known as the Great Sioux War of 1876. Crazy Horse is the legendary Sioux leader, the most feared of the Sioux war chiefs. His dedication to his people forces him - after years of war and famine - to surrender to the U.S. Army. One, a man of science. The other, a mystic. Their unlikely friendship defied their peoples' war. Mac is among the men who ride out with the column to accept the chief's surrender and is shocked to find that he recognizes the chief. They had met four years earlier in far different circumstances, each unaware of who the other was. Their friendship develops after the surrender, goes far deeper than either might have guessed. When rumors soar that Crazy Horse is plotting revenge against the army, he is arrested; and in a bungled attempt to contain him, the chief is stabbed. McGillycuddy declares him his patient. The army wants Crazy Horse to live - in death he will become an indestructible symbol of rebellion. In The Contract Surgeon, friendship is stronger than the law and the love of one friend for another is more binding than the Hippocratic oath. Beautifully written, set in the stunning North Dakota badlands, the novel documents the total destruction of a way of life while confirming the invincibility of the human spirit. Its tapestry of time and events is masterfully woven into the account of a single day - the last day in the life of the great war chief Crazy Horse - to reveal the secrets that created history. (6 1/4 X 9 1/4, 324 pages, map)

Dan O'Brien ranks among the West’s most celebrated writers. He divides his time between working as an endangered-species biologist, running a cattle ranch, and writing. He is the author of four novels, a short story collection, and three works of nonfiction, including Buffalo Bill for the Broken Heart: Restoring a Piece of the American West. He lives in South Dakota.