Jonathan Shay is author of Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character

The Iliad of Homer occupies a very special place as a literary classic consecrated by centuries of devoted readership. It is also a first-rate war story replete with accurate psychological insight into the emotions of warriors under the stress of battle. Psychiatrist and author Jonathan Shay relates the text of The Iliad and the experiences of Achilles to the trauma of the veterans he works with, whose recurrent memories of Vietnam are haunting intrusions into their attempts at normal civilian life.