This is a history of military psychiatry in the twentieth century. Both absorbing historical narrative and intellectual detective story, it weaves literary, medical, and military lore to give us a fascinating history of war neuroses and their treatment, from the World Wars through Vietnam and up to the Gulf War.

War has always been a dangerous business, bringing injury, wounds, and death, and--until recently--often disease. What has changed over time, most dramatically in the last 150 or so years, is the care these casualties receive and who provides it. This book looks at the history of how humanity has cared for its war casualties and veterans, from ancient times through the aftermath of World War II.

The contradictory behaviour of the German Army in the east resulted from its adherence to the concept of military necessity.

The Second World War in Yugoslavia is notorious for the brutal struggle between the armed forces of the Third Reich and the communist-led Partisans. Less known is the fact that the two sides negotiated prisoner exchanges throughout the war. Under extraordinary circumstances, these early communications evolved into a formal exchange agreement centered on the creation of a neutral zone—quite possibly the only such area in occupied Europe—where prisoners were regularly exchanged until late April 1945, saving thousands of lives. The leadership on both sides used these points of contact to hold secret political talks, for which they were nearly branded as traitors by their superiors in Berlin and Moscow. Parleying with the Devil is the first comprehensive analysis of prisoner exchanges and the attendant contacts between the German occupation authorities and the Yugoslav Partisans. Trifković argues that prisoner exchange had a decisive influence on prisoner of war policies on both sides and helped reduce the levels of violence for which this theater of war became infamous. Parleying with the Devil reveals that these points of contact, contrary to some claims, did not lead to collusion between these two parties against other Yugoslav factions or the Western Allies.