Daybreak has the elements of a good yarn–conflict, tragedy, politics, corruption, and of course, love interests.
High Point: Slaughter was a physician. As a result, his descriptions of procedures and treatments–even dumbed down for the layperson–are usually fascinating.
Low Point: In a few instances, Slaughter’s technical descriptions can be a slog to get through.
Author: Frank G. Slaughter
Publication Date: 1958
Genre: History
Project Gutenberg: Not available
LibriVox: Not available
Movie/TV Adaptation: None
In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, some novelists incorporated detailed and realistic looks at various industries and operations—showing how things worked behind the scenes. Arthur Hailey, the author of Airport, Hotel, Wheels and similar novels, was among the best known.
In the same vein, Frank G. Slaughter was a prolific author and a practicing physician who enjoyed sharing such details about his profession. Daybreak focuses on the operation of a state mental hospital during the mid-20th century. Specifically, it deals with the innovative practice of using drugs instead of surgery to help deal with the worst cases of mental illness.
The book includes a number of rather lengthy discussions among its characters about psychotherapy, surgical techniques, and the concept of drugs versus surgery. Although the discussions are dumbed down for the layman, they can still be a slog to get through. You may even find yourself searching the internet for the definition of terms, descriptions of medical procedures, and pictures of surgical instruments.
Despite that, the book still has the elements of a good yarn—conflict, tragedy, politics, corruption, and of course, love interests. At the end, there is even an ironic twist involving a missing EKG.
It’s worth a read.
