What it's like to go to war by Karl Marlantes.
Wow. The author has also written the novel Matterhorn, about a Marine lieutenant in Vietnam. This is his book on dealing with his own life, before during and after having been a Marine LT in Vietnam. He delves into myth, religion, psychology, spirituality, philosophy and more.
The main thrust is how screwed up he was after he got back (he actually did get spit on while in uniform), how he's come to terms with that, and what America and western society ought to do to accommodate warriors among them. It's stuff to head off or alleviate PTSD before and after battle, and to come to grips with it in the long term. It's also something that he wants policymakers to understand before making life & death decisions.
It's heady stuff, and I plan on reading it again someday.
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My Twilight claim to fame: I ran "Allegheny Uprising" at Allegheny College, spring of 1988.
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