The ''M*A*S*H'' book series includes the original
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
that inspired the
movie and then the
TV series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
. The first, ''
MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'', was co-authored by H. Richard Hornberger (himself a former military surgeon) and
W. C. Heinz (a former
World War II war correspondent); it was published in 1968 under the
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
Richard Hooker
Richard Hooker (25 March 1554 – 2 November 1600) was an English priest in the Church of England and an influential theologian.The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Oxford University ...
. It told the story of a
U.S. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals were U.S. Army field hospital units conceptualized in 1946 as replacements for the World War II-era Auxiliary Surgical Group hospital units, which had become obsolete. MASH Units were in operation from the Korean ...
in
Korea during the
Korean War. In 1972, Hornberger (writing again as Hooker) published the sequel ''
M*A*S*H Goes to Maine'', covering the lives of the surgeons after they returned home from the war.
After the success of the ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
The ...
'' TV series, a long series of "M*A*S*H Goes to ______" novels appeared, beginning with ''M*A*S*H Goes to New Orleans'' in 1974. Although credited to Hooker and
William E. Butterworth, they were essentially written by Butterworth alone. The sequel novels added many additional characters, mostly satiric
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
s of public figures from the 1970s: for instance, operatic tenor
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
is parodied in the form of a singer named "Korsky-Rimsakov", and news anchor
Dan Rather becomes the egotistical "Don Rhotten". The tone of the Butterworth novels is also markedly different from Hooker's original books, being much more broadly comical, less darkly satirical, and unrealistic.
After the conclusion of the "Butterworth" series with ''M*A*S*H Goes to Montreal'' (1977), a final "Hooker" novel was published, ''M*A*S*H Mania'', which ignored the events and inconsistencies of the intervening novels and picked up where ''M*A*S*H Goes to Maine'' left off, depicting the original characters in middle age.
Series
by Richard Hooker
*''
MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' (1968)
*''
M*A*S*H Goes to Maine'' (1972)
*''
M*A*S*H Mania'' (1977)
by Richard Hooker and William E. Butterworth
*''M*A*S*H Goes to New Orleans'' (1974)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to Paris'' (1974)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to London'' (1975)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to Vienna'' (1976)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to San Francisco'' (1976)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to Morocco'' (1976)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to Miami'' (1976)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to Las Vegas'' (1976)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to Hollywood'' (1976)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to Texas'' (1977)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to Moscow'' (1977)
*''M*A*S*H Goes to Montreal'' (1977)
M*A*S*H
Black comedy books
Military humor
Novels set during the Korean War
Book series introduced in 1968
{{Korea-War-novel-stub