Thinking of the soldier.

Examines changing attitudes to post-traumatic stress disorder, once known as shellshock, from the First World War up to the 1991 Gulf War, in Britain, the U.S.A., Iraq and Israel. The causes, symptoms and later effects of PTSD are described by a psychologist and by servicemen and it is shown how conditions of modern warfare, with protective clothing against chemical attack and swift transitions to and from the battlefield can worsen the symptoms. The psychological preparation of soldiers for battle and the subsequent treatment for PTSD is found to be inadequate or even non-existant except in Israel, which treats the condition as a medical priority.