Enjoy fast, FREE delivery, exclusive deals and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery

List Price: $18.00 Details

Save: $3.61 (20%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Thursday, November 16 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Thursday, November 9. Order within 12 hrs 32 mins

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$14.39 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

Camalion Enterprises

Sold by

Camalion Enterprises

Returns

Returnable until Jan 31, 2024

Returns

Returnable until Jan 31, 2024

For the 2023 holiday season, eligible items purchased between November 1 and December 31, 2023 can be returned until January 31, 2024

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Wednesday, November 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Thursday, November 9. Order within 12 hrs 32 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by GREENWORLD BOOKS

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$10.11
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Omega Books and More Inc.

Added

Not added

$14.39
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Amazon.com

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Jonathan Shay

Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming Paperback – November 25, 2003

by Jonathan Shay (Author)

4.7 172 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$13.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$2.58

$24.98

$2.58

Paperback

"Please retry"

$14.39

$10.11

$1.81

Audio CD, CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$25.99

—

Kindle
$13.99 Read with our free app
Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your Audible trial
Hardcover
$2.58

5 Used from $2.58 3 New from $24.98 1 Collectible from $21.95
Paperback
$14.39

66 Used from $1.81 30 New from $10.11
Audio CD
$25.99

3 New from $25.99

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$14.39","priceAmount":14.39,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"14","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"39","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"%2FcVmiOvr22scgffpsYccb4SkcF98ivhfOIkEx0Cq8y5MRKtPtOyWGMRNXPJAh%2BUSHgGSnmwouWJ2XL1k5yLmrFHXVxDlP%2B3m4XnegVGLLYNJl%2BfEvf%2F1Al9PHxHMED8DvzQxPUDjZN6mzJKvhg7rxgBt0Cb9ae6wtF3zP%2FbeEsEO%2FQnrT%2BRiGh%2BN3dAp4L6T","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$9.37","priceAmount":9.37,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"37","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"%2FcVmiOvr22scgffpsYccb4SkcF98ivhf9Q9dGuE3bFw9Ex%2F%2B5CChfsU6DBv%2FKDCWeQR%2B%2FxzSEci9bP7z7Pm%2F1K5%2Fj4rWt8EKdRdE6ViINVs4lvzqV2THu8SbK4HMbNlyLzwn0XDgGYwLyMmA%2BiP0EmWt%2FspaSIh1MrO0fl6NhgCWCaYl8t%2BxeRN0%2BnC%2F%2FYgV","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

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.

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 25, 2003
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.88 x 8.44 inches
ISBN-10

9780743211574
ISBN-13

978-0743211574
See all details

Frequently bought together

Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming

$14.39

Get it as soon as Tuesday, Nov 14

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

$9.68

Get it as soon as Tuesday, Nov 14

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Choose items to buy together.

Claudia Rankine
3,214
Paperback
246 offers from $1.57
Tim O'Brien
13,969
Paperback
638 offers from $0.95
Chinua Achebe
12,702
Paperback
in African Literature
615 offers from $1.25
David Wood
152
Hardcover
73 offers from $1.77
Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
70,776
Paperback
in Anxiety Disorders
174 offers from $5.66
Homer
4,487
Paperback
in Epic Poetry
80 offers from $5.97

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[A] fresh take on a literary classic.”–Library Journal

“A brilliant successor to Shay's groundbreaking Achilles in Vietnam.”–Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Why They Kill and The Making of the Atomic Bomb

“Should be read by anyone interested in the effects of combat on troops, or in the meaning of Homer's works -- and by everyone who wants to better understand today's United States. Buy it, read it, and make your friends read it.” –Thomas E. Ricks, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Making the Corps

“Just as the Iliad and Odyssey complement each other perfectly, so also Odysseus in America is a most worthy companion to Achilles in Vietnam. Dr. Shay has given his readers a true American Odyssey.” –Gregory Nagy, Professor of Classical Greek Literature at Harvard University, and Director of Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.

“Provocative thinking and clarity of style on the page are Jonathan Shay's consistent hallmarks. Even those who disagree with his conclusions will find his work of profound value. This is a moral, insightful, stimulating book.” –Ralph Peters, author of Beyond Terror and Fighting for the Future Vibrant

About the Author

Jonathan Shay is a Boston-area psychiatrist whose patients are Vietnam combat veterans with severe, chronic post-traumatic stress disorder in the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic. He is also on the faculty of Tufts Medical School. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 074321157X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner; Reprint edition (November 25, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780743211574
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0743211574
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.88 x 8.44 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #121,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #210 in Medical Psychology Pathologies
- #269 in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
- #456 in Popular Psychology Pathologies

Customer Reviews:
4.7 172 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Jonathan Shay

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

172 global ratings

2 star

0%

1 star

1%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

C. Macauley

Brilliant and fascinating...with one major flaw

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2014

Verified Purchase

Companion volume to Shay's 1993 "Achilles in Vietnam", these two books should best be published in a single edition, as they deal with the same themes. Shay's brilliant thesis is that the Iliad and the Odyssey represent the universal experiences of soldiers throughout the centuries. His careful and extremely insightful interpretations of the Homeric epics serve to describe a new theory of psychological trauma, its causes, treatment and prevention. The idea alone is genius, but Shay's lucid and elegant prose make the reading itself a sublime experience.

Using the Odyssey as a metaphor is not new. What is new is that Shay interprets each chapter in light of the experiences and behavior of returning veterans, based on Shay's many years of experience treating veterans of the Vietnam War. In the original tale, each adventure further stripped Odysseus of his men, his ships and his dignity; Shay argues that in fact Odysseus was at fault for much of this loss through poor judgement and egoism, stemming from his own history of trauma. Particularly poignant is the relationship of Odysseus (and every veteran) with the dead--comrades, enemies and innocents alike, and how Shay has worked with this by bringing veterans to the Memorial Wall in Washington DC.

Shay ends with a discussion of how combat trauma might be prevented if the US military were reorganized and certain protocols instituted. There is some indication that his advice is being followed, although progress is slow. Nonetheless, Shay's contribution to military mental health is significant and far-reaching.

I couldn't give this book 5 stars because of one error that stood out. Shay argues that military changes that exacerbated combat trauma began during WWII, and refers to "the poor combat performance of American troops against their German army adversaries," saying that "we lost so many of our battles against the Germans" as a result of poor leadership and lack of cohesion. Shay says that American officers "demanded blind obedience" while the Germans practiced "positive leadership" and displayed integrity and sensitivity to the needs of their subordinates. This is totally contrary to historical fact.

Shay is clearly an expert on the US military of the Vietnam era, but these bizarrely inaccurate statements about WWII show that he has much to learn about both the American and German armies of that period. I think he is not above distorting the facts to make a point.

All that aside, I enjoyed this book thoroughly and will refer back to it often in my work with trauma survivors.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

B.J. Turney

Reality few Understand

Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2021

Verified Purchase

I came across this book originally at DI (Desert Industries) and has been a key facet of my life. Its a parralel telling of the Odyssey with Vietnam veterans treatment upon returning home. Without a doubt this book saved my life, becuase of my own experiences that are harder to explain and even harder for others to understand. Its a real eye-opener for anyone unfamiliar with the military and veterans, revealing just how many injustices they deal with in addition to thier own traumas. If this book doesn't bring you to empathize with soldiers nothing will, as it doesn't surgar-coat anything they deal with. Its a reality too many are indebted to and far to0 few show enough respect for.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Michael J. Kerrigan

Odysseus the same Homecoming Many Thousands of years later

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2012

Verified Purchase

My research for publishing Courage in America: Warriors with Character consisted of studying over 150 books. Of that research, two standout among the scores of others: the one with the greatest influence on my research was Odysseus in America. Initially, it was like reading the cliff notes on the Odyssey. However, I was compared Dr Shay analysis of the 30 plus years of dealing with the most difficult cases of Viet Nam Veterans, I recognizes the many lesson learned for the tens of thousands of more recent veterans suffering from traumatic injuries both visible and invisible one's like TBI. Dr Shay takes the most difficult of subject and maintains the readers interest throughout the tome. Certainly, his book should be required reading in all classic and psychology courses in college as well as those high schools students who have an interest in volunteering for military careers.

The other book that stands head and shoulders of others in my research was... "What it is like to go to War," by Karl Marlantes. I wish to thank both authors works for enabling my better understanding of the challenges of our nation's wounded warriors.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

JeanLMPouteauMD

Odysseus in America,a critique of America's forgotten heroes.

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2016

Verified Purchase

A beautifully written account of the Vietnam combat veteran's struggle to resume his life after finishing his military service. Dr. Shay deserves a great deal of credit for his devotion to men who, after facing death, dismemberment and character damage, try to resume their lives. I have read the Odyssey several times but after reading his book about the trials of Odysseus, on rereading the Odyssey realized that previously I had been reading for entertainment. Now, I could see that Odysseus was a much damaged man. He was very successful as a warrior and military tactician, but was also distrustful, unable to delegate authority, constantly "on mission". This fits the profile of a psychologically damaged combat veteran. Dr. Shay's work with these veterans fills me with much admiration, especially since I have done similar work caring for many veterans and some Vietnamese refugees who also suffered in varying degree from PTSD.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

John Uhl

Great Insight and Resource!

Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2021

Verified Purchase

The author makes a compelling case that the Odyssey is really the story of coming home after a soldier experiences the trauma of combat and the undoing of character (as detailed in “Achilles in Vietnam”).

It helped me enormously in my work with vets and even those who did not experience the specific combat “flavor” of trauma.

Great resource.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Derek

This is Dr. Shay's second volume in which he ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is Dr. Shay's second volume in which he compares the experiences of Vietnam veterans to those of the men and women we read about in The Iliad and The Odyssey. This is astounding work. I have bought copies for friends, colleagues, and students. A most enlightening work that deserves a permanent place on your bookshelf. Too dense for a single read. You will bookmark it and return to it many times. It is for those us who wish to understand the horrors of war, what they do to the people who experience them and how to help those people heal themselves.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Silence Dogood

Say its Name...Outstanding Reflection on Warrior Reintegration

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

Outstanding book. Highly recommend it for combat vets who want to be able to identify what they are experiencing entering back into civilian life. Also recommend for anyone who may work with or encounter combat veterans in their work to include counselors, social workers, private security and law enforcement

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Jack Fordingley

Understanding makes it a little less difficult

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2012

Verified Purchase

I was born after Vietnam, and I am British, but this book is directly relevant to my experience in returning from Afghanistan, and it helps. I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand how they feel and how those close to them feel on return from that or any other war (even if we're not supposed to call it that- HiCOIN, or whatever they're calling it at the moment, is a ridiculous concept when you see the reality).

Both this and Achilles in Vietnam need to be read with care - go slowly and look after yourself, as Jonathan Shay (the actual author- John McCain only co-wrote the foreword) warns in Achilles in Vietnam. But this one is easier to read (and by that I mean it is not so overwhelming) and lets you understand more of what is going on in your head now as opposed to what caused it.

So read it if you've been to one of the dusty places. Read it if you've been somewhere else, or lots of places. Although it's very clearly Vietnam-centred, it is directly relevant to how you feel now. And note the bits that talk about how one of the characteristics of the effects of combat trauma is that we all think our own experience was less bad than the next man's. But when you think about it, when you talk to someone who's been in contact, they know what you mean, and when you talk to someone who hasn't they don't have a * clue. This book is about the way people who know what you mean feel when they get back (and years afterwards), and how to deal with what that means for you.

And if you are close to someone who lives with it, read it too. It will help you help them and help them come back to you.

So read it. And get your oppos/mates or whatever you call your friends to read it too. You never know, you could just help them come back, or at the very least admit that they need to.

6 people found this helpful

James Mckenzie

Great book

Reviewed in Germany on June 17, 2014

Verified Purchase

Arrived promptly and in excellent condition. Perfectly happy with the order. Will use the company again whenever I need to.

Axenus

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2015

Verified Purchase

thank you

One person found this helpful

See more reviews

Amazon Prime includes:

Buy new: $14.39$14.39 FREE delivery: Thursday, Nov 16 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon. Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Camalion Enterprises

Buy used: $9.37

Other Sellers on Amazon

Follow the author

Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming Paperback – November 25, 2003

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Similar items that may ship from close to you

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

Important information

About the author

Jonathan Shay

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$14.39

FREE delivery: Thursday, Nov 16 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Ships from: Amazon

Sold by: Camalion Enterprises

Buy used:

$9.37