Achilles in Vietnam : combat trauma and the undoing of character / Jonathan Shay, M.D., Ph.D.
- Shay, Jonathan
- Date:
- 2003
- Books
About this work
Description
From the publisher: In this strikingly original and groundbreaking book, Dr. Shay examines the psychological devastation of war by comparing the soldiers of Homer's Iliad with Vietnam veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Although the Iliad was written twenty-seven centuries ago it has much to teach about combat trauma, as do the more recent, compelling voices and experiences of Vietnam vets.
Publication/Creation
New York : Scribner, 2003.
Physical description
xxiii, 246 pages ; 22 cm
Contributors
Edition
1st Scribner trade pbk. ed.
Contents
PART I: Betrayal of "What's right" -- Shrinkage of the social and moral horizon -- Grief at the death of a special comrade -- Guilt and wrongful substitution -- Berserk -- PART II: Dishonoring the enemy -- What Homer left out -- Soldiers' luck and God's will -- Reclaiming the Iliad's gods as a metaphor of social power -- PART III: The breaking points of moral existence: what breaks? -- Healing and tragedy -- Conclusion.
Bibliographic information
Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-236) and index.
Languages
Where to find it
Location Status History of MedicineLG.PX.6Open shelves
Permanent link
Identifiers
ISBN
- 0684813211
- 9780684813219
- 0689121822
- 9780689121821