Koop: The Memoirs of America's Family Doctor

Former surgeon general Koop disingenuously portrays himself as a pawn who was ``caught in the middle'' of the abortion controversy, claiming that he didn't realize he was enlisted to push the Reagan administration's anti-abortion agenda until after he had accepted the job. He defends his stance against ``slaughter of the unborn'' and argues that pro-choicers should place more emphasis on adoption. As for AIDS, he writes frankly of the Reagan administration's antipathy toward homosexuals, but insists that the government did not ``drag its feet'' on research. He also discusses his vigorous anti-smoking campaign and defends his involvement in the 1982 Baby Doe case concerning an Indiana couple's refusal of medical treatment for their newborn who had Down's syndrome. This straightforward biography is most affecting when Koop recreates his 1920s Brooklyn boyhood, describes life as a pediatric surgeon or tells how, posing as a medical student at 14, he slipped into a Manhattan hospital and watched live surgery to his heart's content. Photos. Author tour. (Sept.)