Up to 1.5 million Vietnam veterans returned home suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This book relates the psychological problems of Vietnam veterans to the mental and readjustment problems experienced by veterans of the Civil War, exploring the political and cultural differences.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [237]-310) and index.

ch. 1."Unwelcome heroes": the agony of Vietnam -- ch. 2. "Every man has his breaking point": war and psychiatry -- ch. 3. "Dangled over Hell": the trauma of the Civil War -- ch. 4. "Gizzard full of sand": reactions to violence -- ch. 5. "For God's sake please help me": post-traumatic stress -- ch. 6. "Dying of nostalgia": official diagnoses -- ch. 7. "This must end sometime": the fate of the Civil War veteran -- ch. 8. "Tramping by night and day": Indiana veterans -- ch. 9. "I am glad I served my country": Vietnam reconsidered.