Broken Bodies, Shattered Minds

April 18, 2011
Each war has its signature wound, and in America's latest wars, it carries the prefix "poly," writes Glasser (Another War, Another Peace), a former U.S. Army Medical Corp major . In this deftly written and researched account, he explains that because so many more soldiers survive their wounds today than did in Vietnam, they often suffer from multiple injuries requiring "poly-trauma units." Glasser describes how improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan and Iraq blow off limbs, wreak havoc on internal organs, and cause devastating concussive brain damageâthe signature injuries of our new wars. Glasser points out that today's wars with new weapons, new injuries, and new treatments all add up to "new suffering" for soldiers. He also focuses on the "Band of Sisters" in the new wars whose major cause of PTSD once was sexual harassment and now is combat. The weight of Glasser's research is compelling. But his powerful telling of these wounded warriors' stories is more than enough reason for a nation to read and react.

Starred review from June 1, 2011

Pediatrician Glasser, whose best-selling 1971 memoir, 365 Days, recounts his experiences as an U.S. Army physician during the Vietnam era, updates his earlier observations with this disturbing exploration of the medical aspects of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, where explosives are the enemies' weapons of choice. Survivors of these improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and suicide bombs may suffer massive injuries, amputations, and brain damage, requiring years, if not lifetimes, of expensive treatment. Other explosive injuries to the brain are subtle and difficult to detect without advanced imaging equipment. Glasser argues convincingly that the effects of surviving repeated shock waves contribute to soldiers' and veterans' high rates of prescription drug addiction, suicide, and debilitating post-traumatic stress syndrome. The tragic human cost of such injuries is paralleled by our mounting financial obligation to provide lifelong care for ever-growing numbers of returning soldiers. VERDICT Glasser writes with a passion that challenges those who might wish to avoid confronting the harsh medical and social costs of current warfare. General readers will be engrossed in his accounts of the spirit, creativity, and heroism of our soldiers and the medics, nurses, and physicians who care for them.--Kathy Arsenault, St. Petersburg, FL

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