In Treating the Trauma of the Great War: Soldiers, Civilians, and Psychiatry in France, 1914–1940, Gregory Thomas explores the psychological effects of the Great War on French citizens and soldiers, showing how doctors’ understanding of illness produced deep, tangible, and often negative effects in the lives of the men and women who suffered. Thomas argues that in the quest to understand the psychological impact of war, doctors focused more on demonstrating the capabilities of their medical specialties and serving a state at war than on treating patients.

Drawing on the vast medical literature produced during the war as well as veterans’ journals, parliamentary debates, newspaper articles, and medical administrative reports, Thomas infuses his narrative with a vivid human element. Though psychiatrists ultimately failed to raise the status of their specialty, Thomas reveals how the war helped precipitate lasting changes in psychiatric practice.