While babysitting for Erin's cousin last night I idly filipped through a copy of Odysseus in America by Johnathan Shay. By the time the wife and kids finished watching Toy Story I was 100 pages in and obvlivious to the world around me.
It's about dealing with PTSD in the context of the Vietnam veterans the author works with through the VA and how it complicates the lives of returning combat troops. But the topic is timeless and he ties the difficult homecoming of combat troops from various eras of conflict to the long delayed homecoming of Odysseus in The Odyssey.
The guy knows his topic inside out, he knows the Odyssey inside out, and he writes like a dream.
Recommended to all, and I'll be picking up a copy of his previous book (Achilles in Vietnam) ASAP.
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