When I decided I wanted to examine M*A*S*H memorabilia here at MASH4077TV.com, my plan was first to put together a long list of memorabilia (toys, books, clothing, collectibles, etc.) and then occasionally examine individual items. Creating a complete list of M*A*S*H memorabilia is probably impossible. There are simply too many items to identify and document. As I scoured eBay and Amazon, I quickly realized a single list covering all M*A*S*H memorabilia would be too long. So, I decided to split the list into different categories, starting with books.
The following list includes more than two dozen books about M*A*S*H or written by a member of the cast and crew. It does not include Richard Hooker’s 1968 novel MASH or any of its many sequels.
Many of these books are long out-of-print but you can find usually used copies easily online. I’ve also seen several of these books for sale in used book stores. Please support MASH4077TV.com and use the links to Amazon if possible when buying any of these books. You can also check eBay and other websites.
I’ve reviewed a handful of these books over the years and you can find links to those reviews below.
Books About the TV Show
All About M*A*S*H – Peggy Herz (1974) [Buy]
M*A*S*H: The Exclusive, Inside Story of TV’s Most Popular Show – David S. Reiss (1980) [Buy
M*A*S*H: The Exclusive, Inside Story of TV’s Most Popular Show [Revised] – David S. Reiss (1983) [Buy]
The Last Days of MASH – Alan Alda & Arlene Alda (1984) [Buy]
The Complete Book of M*A*S*H – Suzy Kalter (1984) [Buy]
Watching M*A*S*H, Watching America – James H. Wittebols (1998) [Buy]
M*A*S*H (TV Milestones Series) – David Scott Diffrient (2008) [Buy]
TV’s M*A*S*H: The Ultimate Guide Book – Ed Solomonson & Mark O’Neill (2009) [Buy]
M*A*S*H FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Best Care Anywhere – Dale Sherman (2016) [Buy]
Other M*A*S*H-Related Books
M*A*S*H: The First Five Years, 1972-1977 – Jed Clauss (1977)* [Buy]
M*A*S*H Trivia: The Unofficial Quiz Book – George St. John (1983) [Buy]
M*A*S*H: The Official 4077 Quiz Manual – Paul Bertling (1984) [Buy]
*I’m sure what this is but I think it’s just an episode guide
Autobiographies/Memoirs
Jamie Farr – Just Farr Fun (1994) [Buy]
Larry Gelbart – Laughing Matters: On Writing M*A*S*H, Tootsie, Oh, God!, and a Few Other Funny Things (1998) [Buy]
Alan Alda – Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and Other Things I’ve Learned (2006) [Buy]
Alan Alda – Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself (2008) [Buy]
Mike Farrell – Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist (2008) [Buy]
Mike Farrell – Of Mule and Man (2009) [Buy]
Gary Burghoff – Gary Burghoff: To M*A*S*H and Back, My Life in Poems and Songs (That Nobody Wanted to Publish) (2009) [Buy]
Other Books by the Cast & Crew
Loretta Swit – A Needlepoint Scrapbook (1986) [Buy]
William Christopher and Barbara Christopher – Mixed Blessings (1989) [Buy]
Jeff Maxwell – The Secrets of the M*A*S*H Mess: The Lost Recipes of Private Igor (1997) [Buy]
Jamie & Joy Farr – Hababy’s Christmas Eve (2003) [Buy]
Loretta Swit – SwitHeart: The Watercolor Artistry & Animal Activism of Loretta Swit (2017) [Buy]
Alan Alda – If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating (2018) [Buy]
Have I missed any books about M*A*S*H? How many of these books are in your M*A*S*H library?
I’ve had a copy of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF M*A*S*H for many ages and moons, however I recently received a copy of the revised edition of M*A*S*H: THE EXCLUSIVE INSIDE STORY OF TV’S MOST POPULAR SHOW as a Christmas gift last year.
Both books are good reads, however the former is a better read for the overall development of the show, while the latter is a better read for each of the castmembers and three major producers.
Both books also include episode guides that have the episodes listed in production order, which is a tad confusing.
I have:
ALL ABOUT M*A*S*H by Peggy Herz
The revised version of the David S. Reiss book
The George St. John Unofficial Quiz Book
Jamie Farr’s autobiography
Larry Gelbart’s autobiography
Alan Alda’s first two autobiographies
(Plus, the three ‘real’ Richard Hooker novels, and a bunch of those fake – and terrible – William Butterworth sequels.)
I think that’s everything. That COMPLETE BOOK OF M*A*S*H by Suzy Kalter sure looks familiar, but I can’t really recall ever actually owning it. I’m guessing I’ve just seen it for sale online too many times.
When it comes to M*A*S*H books, I generally pick them up as I come upon them. The Hooker/Butterworth novels I specifically sought out online years ago, but as far as the TV-related works and autobiographies/memoirs go, they usually enter my collection as I stumble across them (or when a friend of mine finds one; he picks them up for me). I’d love to find that LAST DAYS OF M*A*S*H by the Aldas at some point.
I have ALL ABOUT M*A*S*H, bought from a used book store, and the David S. Reiss book. The latter I bought in 1980 as a new book, but I’m not sure if I eventually got the revised edition used. I’d have to dig through stuff to find it.
To stretch the limits of M*A*S*H books to books about TV shows that include M*A*S*H, I have these (probably out of print):
CLASSIC SITCOMS – A CELEBRATION OF THE BEST IN PRIME-TIME COMEDY, by Vince Waldron.
Featuring episode guides from 10 sitcoms including M*A*S*H.
THE COMPLETE DIRECTORY TO PRIME TIME NETWORK TV SHOWS 1946-PRESENT (Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh) Fourth edition (1988)
I got this one from a friend not too long ago. All main TV series, including (aw, you know).
HARRY AND WALLY’S FAVORITE TV SHOWS – A FACT-FILLED OPINIONATED GUIDE TO THE BEST AND WORST ON TV – Harry Castleman & Walter J. Podrazik (1988)
(Guess which was considered one of the best)
Similar to the DIRECTORY book, but more of a fun read by two TV critics. I found it in 1989, first-run. The M*A*S*H section is one of the longer sections in this collection, the equivalent of 2 full pages (over 3 actual pages), in a book covering over 2,100 shows and miniseries within its 630 pages (softcover).
I have a lot of these books…
Books About the TV Show
M*A*S*H: The Exclusive, Inside Story of TV’s Most Popular Show [Revised] – David S. Reiss (1983)
The Last Days of MASH – Alan Alda & Arlene Alda (1984) – signed by both Alan & Arlene
The Complete Book of M*A*S*H – Suzy Kalter (1984)
Watching M*A*S*H, Watching America – James H. Wittebols (1998)
TV’s M*A*S*H: The Ultimate Guide Book – Ed Solomonson & Mark O’Neill (2009)
M*A*S*H FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Best Care Anywhere – Dale Sherman (2016)
Other M*A*S*H-Related Books
M*A*S*H Trivia: The Unofficial Quiz Book – George St. John (1983) [Buy]
Autobiographies/Memoirs
Jamie Farr – Just Farr Fun (1994) – signed
Larry Gelbart – Laughing Matters: On Writing M*A*S*H, Tootsie, Oh, God!, and a Few Other Funny Things (1998) – signed (multiple copies)
Alan Alda – Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and Other Things I’ve Learned (2006) – signed
Alan Alda – Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself (2008) – signed
Jeff Maxwell – The Secrets of the M*A*S*H Mess: The Lost Recipes of Private Igor (1997)
Alan Alda – If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating (2018) – signed
I also have most, but not all, of the M*A*S*H Books…
I have M*A*S*H, M*A*S*H Goes to Maine, M*A*S*H Mania (those 3 were written by Hornberger, the rest were written by Butterworth)… London, Las Vegas, Morocco, New Orleans, Paris, Texas, Moscow, Montreal. I have two copies of the M*A*S*H novel – 1 signed by H.R. Hornberger and 1 signed by Elliott Gould..
I have The Complete Book of Mash and Mixed Blessings by William Christopher and Barbara Christopher. The last book is a amazing tribute to the love of two parents who never gave up on their autistic son when all the doctors told them to! Tear-inducing and a real insight into Bill Christopher as a family man!
I’ve got all of the main books that have been written about the series (except for that more recent unofficial “MASH FAQ” book — I’ve not really been a fan of those “FAQ” books, since they don’t reveal anything I didn’t already know from other books), plus both the “Unofficial” and the authorized M*A*S*H Trivia Quiz Books that came out around the time the show ended. Plus about half one the ones written by the cast members. Maybe I’ll even get around to reading those latter ones at some point…!
(FYI: Gary Burghoff express high praise for the Reiss book when I met him several years ago. Burghoff said Reiss was “a friend of the show” — someone who had been there during the production — and therefore knew what he was writing about.)
And yet, I’ve never felt we’ve had a truly great definitive book about “M*A*S*H.” I’ve long felt this series (going back to the original film plus, of course — since I’m the one writing this comment — “AfterMASH”) have long deserved a fully investigative history and well-detailed history, one with full episode guides that reveal behind-the-scenes production information about each episode. Yes, I’m saying “M*A*S*H” deserves a book similar to the many great ones that have been done about “Star Trek.” (Maybe -not- as detailed as the s-u-p-e-r-b “These Are The Voyages” volumes, but something that really fully covers everything that fans would like to know about the “M*A*S*H” saga.)
I have “MASH FAQ” and “The Complete Book of MASH” which is loaded with half-truths and inaccuracies galore. For example, in “Father’s Day”, Margaret’s father doesn’t get out of the jeep as he’s leaving when he tells Margaret he’s proud of her.
With the exception of the autobiographies. I have all of the above referenced books about M*A*S*H. All of them are good but most are mainly episode guides but two of my favorites that had a lot of information not only about the show but it’s effect on society and the country at the time were MASH(TV Milestone Series) and Watching MASH, Watching America. These two are different than the rest of the books and very informative about the show, great books. I had never read them so currently i am reading the three Richard Hooker novels MASH, Mash Goes To Maine, and Mash Mania which are very good but I had no idea they were so different than the show.