H. Richard Hornberger
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H. Richard Hornberger (February 1, 1924 – November 4, 1997) was an American writer and surgeon, born in Trenton, New Jersey, who often wrote under the pseudonym Richard Hooker. His most famous work was M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, which served as the basis for a successful movie and television series. He had been a physician for the United States Army during the Korean War, and used his experience at the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as background for his work.
Hornberger based the character of Hawkeye Pierce on himself, although reportedly he did not like Alan Alda's portrayal in the TV series.
Hornberger wrote two sequels, M*A*S*H Mania and M*A*S*H Goes to Maine, neither of which were as commercially successful as the original. They are of high literary quality, nevertheless. In addition, there was an extensive series of books, not by Hornberger, in which the characters go to Moscow, New Orleans, San Francisco, Paris, etc. These are, though amusing in places, not anywhere near the literary level, nor significance, of Hornberger's work.
Even after the success of his book, he remained a surgeon in Waterville, Maine until his retirement in 1988.