Working in a World of Hurt

Carol Acton is Associate Professor of English at St Jerome’s University at the University of WaterlooJane Potter is Reader in Arts at Oxford Brookes University

• Introduction1. ‘These frightful sights would work havoc with one’s brain’: First World War writings by medical personnel2. 'Over There': American confidence and the narrative of resilience in the Great War 3. ‘You damn well just got on with your job’: medical personnel and the invasion of Europe in the Second World War4. 'It was a tough life and I did all I could to lighten the men’s burden': British P.O.W. medics' memoirs of the Second World War 5. Claiming trauma: Women in the Vietnam War6. Crying silently: doctors and medics in the Vietnam War 7. Fatal InjuryConclusion BibliographyIndex

‘Acton and Potter have embarked upon a refreshing interdisciplinary approach to reading wartime narratives, by focusing on those whose history ‘lies concealed’, those who served as medical personnel in warzones (p. 2). It chronicles the writings and memories of medics, largely British and American, including nurses, field medics, ambulance drivers, doctors and surgeons. The chapter structure chronologically traces their experiences from the First World War, through the Second World War, the Vietnam War, and concludes with a nod to the memoirs of Iraq War veterans. The authors have adeptly communicated the ways in which medical narratives of ‘trauma’ and ‘resilience’ are distinct from those of combatants and directly related to the medical duties they performed. Despite identifying some universal characteristics in medics’ narratives, the authors have also firmly grounded their analysis in specific historical, cultural and medical contexts…Overall, the prose is fluid, sophisticated and confident throughout.’Nicole Cassie, University of Glasgow, War in History, Vol. 24, No. 3'[…] an excellent and necessary intervention into two important aspects of cultural history: those of medicine and warfare. In synthesizing an impressive range of primary sources with such confidence and coherence, Acton and Potter have written a book that must form essential reading for any scholar working on the histories of war, medicine, or trauma.'First World War Studies