The Citizen-Soldier: Moral risk and the modern military

Phil Klay

May 2016 · Brookings Institution Press

About this ebook

In this Brookings Essay titled “The Citizen-Soldier,” National Book Award winner, and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Phil Klay sheds light on the tension and relationship between veterans and society. Klay is an established author and has previously received noteworthy praise for his book, Redeployment. In his first non-fiction work with Brookings, Klay valiantly explores the moral dimensions of veterans, their purpose in war, and their reintegration into the civilian world.

The Brookings Essay: In the spirit of its commitment to high-quality, independent research, the Brookings Institution has commissioned works on major topics of public policy by distinguished authors, including Brookings scholars. The Brookings Essay is a multi-platform product aimed to engage readers in open dialogue and debate. The views expressed, however, are solely those of the author. Available in ebook only.

About the author

Phil Klay is a graduate of Dartmouth College and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in Iraq’s Anbar Province from January 2007 to February 2008 as a public affairs officer. After being discharged he received an MFA from Hunter College. In 2014 Klay’s short story collection Redeployment won the National Book Award for Fiction. Among his many other accolades, in 2015 he received the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s James Webb Award for fiction dealing with U.S. Marines or Marine Corps life. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Granta, Tin House, and elsewhere. He is currently a Hodder Fellow at Princeton University. Learn more at philklay.com.