The subtitle of Matthew Green’s absorbing study of post-traumatic stress disorder is “The Untold Story of Surviving Peace”. It’s a testament to Green’s even-handedness that his unsentimental but horribly affecting tales of soldiers’ lives destroyed by their experiences in combat never descends into war-is-hell cliches. In fact, most of his subjects loved their time in the army, and their engagements are described in prose thrilling enough for a bestselling novel. Yet it’s the depths of what awaits them afterwards that concerns Green, and mixing journalistic rigour with historical investigation, he goes in search of a solution for PTSD.

There can be no quick fixes for dealing with the damaged people he encounters, but Green examines sources of therapy and cutting-edge psychological treatment with compassion and nuance. Nonetheless, the feeling lingers that, for our armed forces, neither the physical nor mental battles they face show any sign of ceasing.

Aftershock is published by Portobello (£20). Click here to buy it for £16