War Wounds: Medicine and the trauma of conflict

The history of warfare and the history of medicine are closely intertwined. The major wars of the last hundred years - from the First World War to more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan - have driven advances in treatments for wounds and pain management, the use of antibacterial agents and more effective prevention and control of disease and infection, as well as the development of radical new approaches to evacuating, treating and healing the injured.

In this riveting book, for the first time, historians, medical practitioners and researchers, military medical officers, surgeons, nurses and veterans explore the impact of war, wounds and trauma through the historical record, reported narratives and personal experiences.

WAR WOUNDS includes chapters on shell shock, self-inflicted wounds and reconstructive surgery in the First World War, medical experiments and disease in the Nazi death camps of the Second World War, and the effects of Agent Orange, antipersonnel mines and sexually transmitted diseases in the Vietnam War. The book also includes the first-hand experiences of medical professionals in the Korean War, Vietnam and the current conflict in Afghanistan, as well as several moving personal stories recounting veterans’ experiences of injury, treatment on the battlefield and eventual recovery.

WAR WOUNDS is a unique book, offering considerable insights into an aspect of war that is often mentioned but seldom examined as it is here. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in warfare or medicine, whether casual or professional.

CONTRIBUTORS: First World War: Jay Winter; Ashley Ekins; Kerry Neale; Marina Larsson. Second World War: Paul Weindling; Debbie Lackerstein. Korean War: Simon Gandevia. Vietnam War: David Bradford; Elizabeth Stewart; Graham Walker; Peter Edwards. Personal Stories: Tony White; Sharon Cooper; Graham Edwards.

Ashley Ekins is Head of the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. A graduate of the University of Adelaide, he specialises in the history of the First World War and the Vietnam War. He is the co-author (with the late Ian McNeill) of two volumes of 'The Official History of Australian Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948-1975' dealing with Australian army operations in the Vietnam War: 'On the Offensive' (2003), and 'Fighting to the Finish' (forthcoming 2011). He has published widely on the role of Australian soldiers in the First World War and contributed chapters to several books, including the volume he compiled and edited, '1918 Year of Victory: The end of the Great War and the shaping of history' (Exisle 2010).

Elizabeth Stewart is a historian in the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial. She worked for several years as a research officer on the 'Official History of Australia’s Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975' and from 2004–2008 was content leader for the Vietnam section of the Memorial’s 'Conflicts 1945 to toda'y galleries. She is the co-author (with Gary McKay) of two books: 'Viet Nam Shots: A photographic account of Australians at War' (2001), and 'With Healing Hands: the untold story of the Australian civilian surgical teams in Vietnam' (2009).