Introduction to Achilles in Vietnam

"I see you coming down the street, but don't see me, because you're in your own world not looking for ambush. How come you're like that? I envy you."

This book explores another aspect of the Vietnam War: something we've not really discussed till now. What happens to the soldiers AFTER the war is over or after they return to their homes? Their lives are changed forever, they're different people altogether. The introduction of this book sets the stage for the rest of the book that is to come. It doesn't mention Homer or Achilles or anything else, yet. It just gives an account of a war veteran and how his daily life has been affected by the war. The first-person account really makes the situation relatable, and just more..real. We've have various discussions about the importance of fiction v. non-fiction. But truly, knowing that this whole account is real and non-fiction tends to make a MUCH stronger impact on me because these are experiences that real people have gone through. Shay begins the book with the basics...no fancy analogies, no hard-to-understand analysis. He just gives an honest, word-to-word account of a war veteran's dilemma in dealing with daily life. I think this really helps the reader understand the overall situation of post-war trauma before the book goes into depth and into the technicalities of this condition.