Achilles in Vietnam
Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character
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Narrated by:
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David Strathairn
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By:
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Jonathan Shay MD
About this listen
An original and groundbreaking audiobook 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 strikingly original and groundbreaking audiobook, 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. Although the Iliad was written 27 centuries ago, it has much to teach about combat trauma, as do the more recent, compelling voices and experiences of Vietnam vets.
©1994, 2010 Jonathan Shay, MD (P)2018 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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In fifteen short chapters, Chris Hedges astonishes us with his clear and cogent argument against war, not on philosophical grounds or through moral arguments, but in an irrefutable stream of personal encounters with the victims of war, from veterans and parents to gravely wounded American serviceman who served in the Iraq War, to survivors of the Holocaust, to soldiers in the Falklands War, among others. Hedges reported from Sarajevo, and was in the Balkans to witness the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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Another amazing title by an amazing journalist.
- By Zzzing on 12-28-22
By: Chris Hedges
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Soldaten
- On Fighting, Killing, and Dying
- By: Sonke Neitzel, Harald Welzer, Jefferson Chase - translator
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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On a visit to the British National Archive in 2001, Sonke Neitzel made a remarkable discovery: reams of meticulously transcribed conversations among German POWs that had been covertly recorded and recently declassified. Neitzel would later find another collection of transcriptions, twice as extensive, in the National Archive in Washington, D.C. These were discoveries that would provide a unique and profoundly important window into the true mentality of the soldiers in the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the German navy, and the military in general - almost all of whom had insisted on their own honorable behavior during the war.
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More accounts less analysis please!
- By Tony on 01-14-13
By: Sonke Neitzel, and others
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Nothing Ever Dies
- Vietnam and the Memory of War
- By: Viet Thanh Nguyen
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Nothing Ever Dies, Viet Thanh Nguyen writes. All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory. From the author of the best-selling novel The Sympathizer comes a searching exploration of a conflict that lives on in the collective memory of both the Americans and the Vietnamese.
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Good, probably should be read and not listened to via audible for the best experience.
- By Tanya on 10-24-16
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War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning
- By: Chris Hedges
- Narrated by: Chris Hedges
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on his own experience and on the literature of combat from Homer to Michael Herr, Hedges shows how war seduces not just those on the front lines but entire societies, corrupting politics, destroying culture, and perverting the most basic human desires. Mixing hard-nosed realism with profound moral and philosophical insight, War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning is a work of terrible power and redemptive clarity whose truths have never been more necessary.
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Powerful, perceptive, personal
- By Cx30 on 08-08-07
By: Chris Hedges
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Enduring Vietnam
- An American Generation and Its War
- By: James Wright
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The Vietnam War is largely recalled as a mistake, either in the decision to engage there or in the nature of the engagement. Or both. Veterans of the war remain largely anonymous figures, accomplices in the mistake. Critically recounting the steps that led to the war, this book does not excuse the mistakes, but it brings those who served out of the shadows. Enduring Vietnam recounts the experiences of the young Americans who fought in Vietnam and of families who grieved those who did not return.
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Great
- By Rebecca Delgado on 03-20-23
By: James Wright
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Stay
- A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It
- By: Jennifer Michael Hecht
- Narrated by: Jennifer Michael Hecht
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Worldwide, more people die by suicide than by murder, and many more are left behind to grieve. Despite distressing statistics that show suicide rates rising, the subject, long a taboo, is infrequently talked about. In this sweeping intellectual and cultural history, poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht channels her grief for two friends lost to suicide into a search for history’s most persuasive arguments against the irretrievable act, arguments she hopes to bring back into public consciousness.
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Informative but oddly dispassionate
- By Scott on 01-07-14
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This Republic of Suffering
- Death and the American Civil War
- By: Drew Gilpin Faust
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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During the Civil War, 620,000 soldiers lost their lives - equivalent to six million in today's population. This Republic of Suffering explores the impact of the enormous death toll from material, political, intellectual, and spiritual angles. Drew Gilpin Faust delineates the ways death changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation and describes how a deeply religious culture reconciled the slaughter with its belief in a benevolent God.
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a unique civil war perspective
- By D. Littman on 04-21-08
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Un-American
- A Soldier's Reckoning of Our Longest War
- By: Erik Edstrom
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Un-American is a hybrid of social commentary and memoir that exposes how blind support for war exacerbates the problems it’s intended to resolve, devastates the people allegedly being helped and diverts assets from far larger threats like climate change. Un-American is a revolutionary act, offering a blueprint for redressing America’s relationship with patriotism, the military and military spending.
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This Veteran supports many of the points in this book!
- By Kevin H. on 06-26-22
By: Erik Edstrom
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The Sunflower
- On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness
- By: Simon Wiesenthal
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Laural Merlington
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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While imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, Simon Wiesenthal was taken one day from his work detail to the bedside of a dying member of the SS. Haunted by the crimes in which he had participated, the soldier wanted to confess to - and obtain absolution from - a Jew. Faced with the choice between compassion and justice, silence and truth, Wiesenthal said nothing.
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What Would You Do?
- By Simone on 08-31-16
By: Simon Wiesenthal
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Worth Dying For
- A Navy Seal's Call to a Nation
- By: Ellis Henican, Rorke Denver
- Narrated by: Rorke Denver
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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In a fast-paced and action-packed narrative, Navy SEAL commander Rorke Denver tackles the questions that have emerged about America's past decade at war - from what makes a hero to why we fight and what it does to us. Heroes are not always the guys who jump on grenades. Sometimes, they are the snipers who decide to hold their fire, the wounded operators who find fresh ways to contribute, or the wives who keep the families together back home.
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An Analysis of Recent History
- By Jean on 06-19-16
By: Ellis Henican, and others
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What listeners say about Achilles in Vietnam
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- tim
- 02-09-24
Must read for any veteran. Yeah you
This book was one of the first ones that I ever left to review for. It’s amazing the messages powerful it resonates, and anyone that listens to this book will be able to take something away from it.
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- Kimberly
- 05-28-23
This was an excellent read.
I can’t believe I never heard of this book. More folks in our military and mental health communities should learn from this!
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- Kindle Customer
- 02-05-23
ANAZING
Enough said. This is a must and the reading is phenomenal. The ONLY reason it’s five stars is because I can’t give it more. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME.
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1 person found this helpful
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- ktramazon
- 02-17-19
Very interesting
A good book. Not to minimize, but I think it has use for other traumatic situations. A must read for anyone with a soldier with P TSD in his family. Could have done without the author's gratuitous attack on Christianity based on a fundamental misunderstanding.
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4 people found this helpful
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- jeremy Morse
- 01-29-20
Great
This is a fantastic primer to PTSD and understanding how it affects people. the book shows its age, but i believe that the lessons in it are still just a valuable today, as when it was written.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Huy Nguyen
- 01-07-24
Truly breathtaking
I loved David Straithairn’s performance. The contents are important to understanding that war is ugly and those who must endure it must be taken care of.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Watercat
- 01-18-19
"If you fail to feel the pain of others...
You do not deserve the name of man." ~Saadi Shirazi
This is the closest I've ever been able to get in trying to understand the agony my dad experienced during the war and upon coming home. Thank you for the emotional reading of the personal testimonies. He never broke down in front of me, he hid his pain behind a wall of indifference. This book is my ladder so I can climb it.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Henri
- 12-21-18
A phenomenal narration of a PTSD classic.
The great character actor, David Strathairn, performs the gravelly voices of combat veterans, including that of Achilles. Who knew that Homer could be so gripping and relevant?
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6 people found this helpful
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- kenny freeman
- 12-14-21
excellent
110 percent recommended. straight and to the point. this analysis is both fascinating and gripping. buy and listen.
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- Fred271
- 03-04-19
Admirable book, admirably read
Empathetic and incisive. David Straithairn waived his fee for narrating the book, for reasons that are easily apparent.
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5 people found this helpful