Suzy Kalter is perhaps the luckiest person I've heard of. She was given complete access to the people behind M*A*S*H and copies of all of the scripts of the episodes in order to compile a neat history of the most beloved show in television history. The book is loaded with pictures of the cast (and even some of the crew). Each and every episode is summarized based on the script and organized based on when it aired. My one problem is that there is no way to find an episode if you don't know the title or when it aired. The summaries are short (one to three paragraphs), so some of the subplots are left out. A complete list of awards is also provided in the book.
Perhaps my favorite feature of the book is the interviews with each of the main characters, including Alan Alda, Mike Farell, Larry Linville, Loretta Swit, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, Gary Burghoff, McLean Stevenson, Harry Morgan, and David Odgen Stiers. Each has one to two pages where they talk about their experiences on the show and in some cases, why they left. Quite interesting. Before each season, there is a page written by the executive producer from that year, explaining what they were trying to do that year. Some are more interesting than others.
The first ten or twenty pages explains the evolution of the show, from a war, to a book, to a movie, and finally the development and casting of the show.
Maybe more time could have been spent talking about the evolution of the characters or going into the actor's backgrounds, but over all, this is a very good book. Any M*A*S*H devotee would appreciate a copy of this coffee table book and with its availability on websites like Amazon.com, everyone should buy one.
Recommended:
