Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character

Authored by a Veteran Affairs psychiatrist, Achilles in Vietnam is Dr Jonathan Shay’s compassionate and moving effort to foster understanding and empathy for the effects of war on those who fight it. Treating Vietnam combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD, Shay repeatedly encountered devastating stories of men’s lives torn apart by the psychological devastation of war and how soldiers returning from combat in Vietnam became unable to function in society. Achilles in Vietnam draws parallels between these veterans and the soldiers of Homer’s Iliad to illustrate the ongoing effects of combat trauma. War damages the mind and spirit – the timelessness of this fact makes Shay’s work persistently relevant for the military leaders and commanders of today.