Achilles in Vietnam

By Jonathan Shay,

Book cover of Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character

Book description

An original and groundbreaking book that examines the psychological devastation of war by comparing the soldiers of Homer’s Iliad with Vietnam veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

In this moving, dazzlingly creative book, Dr. Shay examines the psychological devastation of war by comparing the soldiers of Homer’s Iliad with Vietnam…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Achilles in Vietnam as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

In a world torn by wars, Jonathan Shay offers a stunning cross-fertilization of the Homeric universe of the Iliad with the experiences of today’s soldiers on the battlefield.

Shay, a psychiatrist with a long experience of treating Vietnam veterans and a profound knowledge of Homer, achieves a remarkable double feat; he shows how the Iliad’s accounts of the battlefield provide unique insights into the experiences of today’s warriors and also how these experiences offer a profound understanding of the metamorphosis of Achilles from noble and generous hero into a demented killing machine.

He identifies the betrayal of "What is Right"…

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Interested in the Iliad, Vietnam, and the Vietnam War?

The Iliad 39 books
Vietnam 170 books
The Vietnam War 245 books