Philosopher, ethicist, and psychoanalyst Nancy Sherman explores the psychological and moral burdens borne by soldiers. By illuminating the extent to which wars are fought internally as well as externally, this book expands the national discussion about war and the men and women who fight our nation’s battles. With close-up looks at servicemen and —women preparing for, experiencing, and returning home from war, Sherman probes the psyche of today’s soldiers—examining how they learn to kill and to leave the killing behind. Bringing to light the moral quandaries soldiers face—torture, the thin line between fighters and civilians, and the anguish of killing even in a just war—Sherman bares the souls of our soldiers and the emotional landscape of soldiering. At the heart of the book are interviews with soldiers, from the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also from Vietnam and World Wars I and II.

Post-traumatic stress disorder in our returning combat troops is one of the most catastrophic issues confronting our nation, with an increasing number of veterans suffering from PTSD-related symptoms such as depression, alcoholism and drug abuse. Tragically, many veterans end up committing suicide because they cannot get the help they need from a government that has been willfully neglectful of their plight. Moving A Nation to Care is a grassroots call to action designed to bring awareness of our government's shameful treatment of soldiers suffering with PTSD to the attention of the American public. In addition to presenting the heart-breaking personal stories of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, this book is the most comprehensive resource to date for concerned citizens who want to understand the complex political, social and health-related aspects of PTSD, with an eye toward "moving a nation to care." Book jacket.

Fear, and man's attempt to master it, is of eternal interest and just as significant today as when Moran, as a young medical officer, went to the trenches in 1914 to research the subject scientifically. He asked why a man can appear to be as brave as a lion one day and break the next and, crucially, "what can be done to delay or prevent the using up of courage?" First published in 1945, this early groundbreaking account of the psychological effects of war, recounted by means of vivid first-hand observation and anecdote, came at a time when shell-shock was equated with lack of moral fiber. In 1940, Moran became Churchill's doctor and his position as a one of history's most important war physicians was secured. His humane, considered observations, scientific analysis and proposed solutions constitute one of the great First World War sources. However, they are perhaps just as relevant to our own conflict-ridden times.

"In the early 1970s, Penny Coleman married Daniel O'Donnell, a young Vietnam veteran. It soon became clear to her that Daniel was deeply troubled. As their relationship began to unravel, Daniel tried to kill himself. Tragically, he was ultimately successful. Daniel was suffering from what we now call posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)." "Coleman then embarked on what became an extensive research project into combat-related PTSD and its relationship to veteran suicides. In Flashback, Coleman examines this tragic phenomenon and the ways in which American military government institutions both contributed to the veteran's trauma and failed to respond appropriately." "Interspersed between the chapters, Coleman includes narratives from other women - mothers, daughters, and wives - who lost loves one to PTSD-related suicide following the war in Vietnam. Each recorded experience gives a human face to the reality of living with a PTSD vet and the challenges of surviving his suicide."--BOOK JACKET.

The late Nadelson (formerly chair of psychiatric education at Boston U. School of Medicine and chief of psychiatric service at Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center) examines the psychology of the soldier from boyhood war play to post-conflict trauma. He incorporates observations from world literature and from the experiences of Vietnam veterans with whom has worked in order to address a gamut of issues, including the camaraderie of war, the psychological aspects of military training, the making of soldiers into "true killers," the experience of killing, sex and the soldier, and women's experiences in combat. Annotation #169;2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Opponents rarely go to war without thinking they can win--and clearly, one side must be wrong. This conundrum lies at the heart of the so-called "war puzzle": rational states should agree on their differences in power and thus not fight. But as Dominic Johnson argues in Overconfidence and War, states are no more rational than people, who are susceptible to exaggerated ideas of their own virtue, of their ability to control events, and of the future. By looking at this bias--called "positive illusions"--as it figures in evolutionary biology, psychology, and the politics of international conflict, this book offers compelling insights into why states wage war. Johnson traces the effects of positive illusions on four turning points in twentieth-century history: two that erupted into war (World War I and Vietnam); and two that did not (the Munich crisis and the Cuban missile crisis). Examining the two wars, he shows how positive illusions have filtered into politics, causing leaders to overestimate themselves and underestimate their adversaries--and to resort to violence to settle a conflict against unreasonable odds. In the Munich and Cuban missile crises, he shows how lessening positive illusions may allow leaders to pursue peaceful solutions. The human tendency toward overconfidence may have been favored by natural selection throughout our evolutionary history because of the advantages it conferred--heightening combat performance or improving one's ability to bluff an opponent. And yet, as this book suggests--and as the recent conflict in Iraq bears out--in the modern world the consequences of this evolutionary legacy are potentially deadly.

Beginning with the world of the chivalric Middle Ages and ending in this age of global terrorism and limited war, Braudy shows how the perceptions and images of masculinity have changed in relation to major wars and advances in war technology.