WAR

Sebastian Junger

May 2010 · Sold by Twelve

About this ebook

In his breakout bestseller, The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger created "a wild ride that brilliantly captures the awesome power of the raging sea and the often futile attempts of humans to withstand it" (Los Angeles Times Book Review).

Now, Junger turns his brilliant and empathetic eye to the reality of combat--the fear, the honor, and the trust among men in an extreme situation whose survival depends on their absolute commitment to one another. His on-the-ground account follows a single platoon through a 15-month tour of duty in the most dangerous outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. Through the experiences of these young men at war, he shows what it means to fight, to serve, and to face down mortal danger on a daily basis.

Ratings and reviews

In trying to develop an approach to review this book, the process plagued me with the problem I often discover in reviewing non-fiction books: many times they are structured in a non-linear fashion. Absent that narrative aspect to the story, I struggle over where I should begin so as to communicate what the book does say. The interest I carry in this book is obvious – or, at least, it should be. Despite my lack of service in the military, and despite a rather spotty athletic record during my youthful high school years, being born male in gender I still retain that uniquely male characteristic of being drawn toward the exhibition of power. It is the challenge of overcoming a physical barrier, a physical threat to one’s safety, physical intimidation from an adversary: the raw power required draws males on all levels. It breathes within our makeup; it pulls us closer to help realize our potential. That inbred natural hunger drives us firmly towards fellowship with other men, bonding us into units, where we discover and learn just how great a mountain our combined strength can level to the ground. Thus, ‘War’ caught my attention – a very ‘guy’ thing. Yet with that much said, my beginning into this book ran horribly counter to such a hope. I saw undisciplined young men (more teenage boys dragged from the football practice fields than any examples of disciplined fighting warriors) who seemed more interested in presenting their bodies as living canvas for any tattoo artist in the neighborhood, more foul in their language than the clichéd ‘cussed like a drunken sailor’ mantra, and more lacking in any real focus as to why they were, where they were, and what they were meant to achieve. This began to smell like the typical liberal journalist rant against the war. “Bring the troops home!” “Unjust war.” Blah, blah, blah… Because of that faulty impression early on, I nearly chose to abandon this book – something I never do – caring not to hear another secularist diatribe against war and the “imperialism” of the American military blowing up civilians – women and children especially. However, fortunately, I continued my read; and as I delved further into the story, my perception gradually changed. So much so, I now, happily, repudiate all prior comments, judging this book on erroneous standards. I permitted my prior knowledge of journalists and Hollywood types alike, who universally abandoned all pretense of objectivity, spouting instead their ideologically driven political bent, to govern my own objectivity when it comes to assessing a new work. Sebastian Junger avoids this trap. He writes his story absent any political ideology. He assesses his experiences without any agenda in mind. In my view, he walked into being imbedded with the military unit as a clean slate – completely open-minded – listening to and hearing all opinions and beliefs. Such a position reigns as far more valuable to the people desiring to understand this new warfare, hoping to comprehend the world of the soldier, looking to develop some level of simpatico with the Afghani people than anything where one political ideology attempts to destroy another. The men Junger writes about, I saw them as a team of Wild West gunslingers, sent into the quiet village of humble farmers, fighting to rid them of a the raiding band of thieves stealing their crops. Indeed, much of this story can be viewed in the styles of classic westerns like ‘The Magnificent Seven’. Some of the men could fill the shoes of Clint Eastwood’s ‘the Man with No Name’ character. This book could be detailing a scenario overseas highly reminiscent of our own era between the close of the Civil War and the beginning of the industrial revolution. The expansion west opened vast stretches of land where lawlessness was the norm. Is our own past that much different than the current present of the Afghani people? Naturally, every scenario is different – different people, different time, different places on the globe

From begining to end, the author holds your attention as he follows Chance and Battle company through a 15 month deployment in what seems to be the deadliest location in Afghanistan during the deployment. This book is not for the feint of heart.

I don't know what to say. It's a beautiful use of language about a really important and complex part of being human.

About the author

Sebastian Junger is the New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and A Death in Belmont. He is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, and has been awarded a National Magazine Award and an SAIS Novartis Prize for journalism. He lives in New York City.