Jonathan Shay

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 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. A classic of war literature that has as much relevance as ever in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is a “transcendent literary adventure” (The New York Times) and “clearly one of the most original and most important scholarly works to have emerged from the Vietnam War” (Tim O’Brien, author of The Things They Carried).

Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character

Achilles in Vietnam

The author of Achilles in Vietnam explores the problems faced by combat veterans when they re-enter American life, using Homer's Odyssey as an allegorical template and advocating changes in American military practice that could help prevent psychological and moral injury to military personnel. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.

Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming

Odysseus in America

Jim Lommasson

This compelling and timely collaboration between photographer/writer Jim Lommasson and American veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars presents Lommasson's portraits and interviews as well as soldiers' own photographs from the war zones. The stories expressed in words and in images are intimate, profound, and timeless. In their own words, 50 men and women speak their truth about these wars--what they saw and what they did. They talk about the wars' impact on themselves and on their loved ones at home as well as on the Iraqis and Afghanis caught in the crossfire. They talk about why they went to war and how the war came home with them. Our soldiers need to tell their stories, and we need to listen.

Soldiers' Stories--Life After Iraq and Afghanistan

Exit Wounds

In this ambitious follow-up to Achilles in Vietnam, Dr. Jonathan Shay uses the Odyssey, the story of a soldier's homecoming, to illuminate the pitfalls that trap many veterans on the road back to civilian life. Seamlessly combining important psychological work and brilliant literary interpretation with an impassioned plea to renovate American military institutions, Shay deepens our understanding of both the combat veteran's experience and one of the world's greatest classics.

Janet Burroway

The mother of a private contractor who carried out humanitarian work during the Iraq War traces the life of her son and the circumstances that led to his suicide in April 2004.

The Life and Death of an American Contractor in Iraq

Losing Tim

Chris Hedges

Chris Abani

Brian Turner

Rachel Bentham

Emily Warn

Sinon Antoon

John Stallworthy

Andrew Himes

The Voices in Wartime Anthology explores the experience of war through the literary arts from ancient times to the present. The anthology includes the voices of US veterans of the Iraq war; experts on war trauma and the history of war; and poets from around the world. It includes poetry, essays, and narratives based on interviews conducted for the feature-length documentary film Voices in Wartime. The book features active-duty soldiers, veterans, torture victims, war correspondents, the families of the disappeared and the dead, poets, peace activists--the compelling responses of unique, individual human beings to the experience of war. Their poetry springs from unrelenting honesty, personal grief and deep compassion, and is infused with an understanding of hardship and suffering.The Voices in Wartime Anthology explores the experience of war through the literary arts from ancient times to the present. The anthology features the voices of US veterans of the Iraq war; experts on war trauma and the history of war; and poets from around the world. It includes:Jose Diaz, US Army Reserve military policeman and father of two. He returned to the US in the fall of 2004 after serving a year's deployment in Iraq as a military police sergeant in the Army Reserves. Brian Turner, who earned an MFA in Creative Writing (poetry) from the University of Oregon, and then served in the US Army for seven years. He was an infantry team leader in Iraq for a year beginning November 2003, and served with the Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Lt. General William Lennox, superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on American war poetry. Paul Mysliwiec, US Army First Lieutenant who led his unit through the invasion of Baghdad in spring 2003 and then spent months searching for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Jonathan Shay, psychiatrist for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in Boston. Shay treats combat veterans with severe psychological injuries and is the author of the best-selling books "Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character," and "Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming." Emily Warn, a poet, teacher, and activist--and the author of "The Novice Insomniac" and three other collections of poetry. Chris Hedges, a former "New York Times" war correspondent with 15 years of experience in places such as El Salvador, Kosovo, and the Persian Gulf. He shared a 2002 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of global terrorism. Andrew Himes, Executive Producer of Voices in Wartime and director of Beyond Wartime. David Connolly, poet and veteran who served honorably in Vietnam with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Wilfred Owen, British soldier-poet during the First World War. Died in combat a week before the Armistice in 1918. Alix Wilber, novelist and Co-Executive Producer of Voices in Wartime. Jonathan Schell, author of Unconquerable World, and Fate of the Earth. Craig White, NBC cameraman, embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division, one of the first US Army units to enter Baghdad in April 2003. Sinan Antoon, Iraqi poet, filmmaker, and human rights activist. Chris Abani, Nigerian human rights activist and refugee. Nguyen Duy, widely considered the most important Vietnamese poet of his generation. Antonieta Villamil, Columbian poet, peace and human rights activist. Sheila Sebron, disabled, African-American Air Force veteran living with chronic PTSD and severe pain. John Henry Parker, veteran and founder of Veterans and Families. "If history and literature have taught us anything," said anthology editor and film producer Andrew Himes, "it is that in the midst of trauma, violence and death, it is the poets who help us make sense of the senseless. In a world turned upside down, listening attentively to the stories of others can open our hearts, our minds, and point the way to change."

Jonathan Shay

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