Synopses & Reviews
Although the shell-shocked British soldier of World War I has been a favored subject in both fiction and nonfiction, focus has been on the stories of officers, and the history of the rank-and-file servicemen who were psychiatric casualties has never been told. This profoundly moving book recounts the poignant, sometimes ribald histories of this neglected group for the first time.
Peter Barham draws on reports from the front lines, case histories, personal letters, and war pensions files to trace the lives and fortunes of a large cast of ex-servicemen who suffered mental breakdowns. He describes their confinements to asylums, the reactions of families to their relativesand#8217; plight, the turmoil of the soldiers when they returned homeand#151;and the uphill struggle they faced trying to secure justice from the bureaucratic labyrinth that was the Ministry of Pensions. His book gives a new perspective to the impact of the Great War and to current controversies about disputed postwar maladies.
Review
and#8220;Like many successful histories, this is a study that allows the past to speak for itself without the historian getting in the way.and#8221;and#8212;Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, The Telegraph
Review
and#8220;Barham charts the saga(s) of bureaucratic indifference, callous ignorance and class prejudice with commendable restraint.and#8221;and#8212;Sian Busby, The Times (London)
About the Author
“Like many successful histories, this is a study that allows the past to speak for itself without the historian getting in the way.”—Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, The Telegraph
“Barham charts the saga(s) of bureaucratic indifference, callous ignorance and class prejudice with commendable restraint.”—Sian Busby, The Times (London)