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.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 303-312) and index.

Foreward / Max Cleland and John McCain -- Introduction -- PART I. UNHEALED WOUNDS: Odysseus among the rich civilians -- Pirate raid: staying in combat mode -- Lotus land: the flight from pain -- Cyclops: the flight from boredom -- Odysseus gets a leg up-and falls on his face: the workplace -- A peaceful harbor: no safe place -- Witches, goddesses, queens, wives-dangerous women -- Among the dead: memory and guilt -- What was the sirens' song?: truth as deadly addiction -- Scylla and Charybdis: dangers up, down, and sideways -- The sun god's beef: the blame game -- Above the whirlpool -- Calypso: Odysseus the sexaholic -- Odysseus at home -- PART II. RESTORATION: Introduction -- From the clinic to the wall -- Lew Puller ain't on the wall -- PART III. PREVENTION: Introduction -- Preventing psychological and moral injury in military service -- Odysseus as a military leader -- Conclusion -- Appendix I: a pocket guide to Homer's "Odyssey" -- Appendix II: information resources for Vietnam veterans and their families -- Appendix III: some proposals.