WAR
by Sebastian Junger
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sebastian JungerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-05-11
ISBN: 0446556246
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Twelve
Product features:
- Condition: Used - Very Good
Book Reviews of WAR
Book Review: "If I never get shot at again, I won't mind. But if I do...I...won't...mind!"
Summary: 4 Stars
In contrast to certain frauds and betrayers *cough*Micah Wright*cough*Kevin Sites*cough*, this is an altogether excellent piece of embed reportage. Sebastian Junger gained the confidence of a squad of American soldiers, stationed far up in the wild valleys of Afghanistan. The portrayals of these warriors is honest and unsentimental but also quite respectful--seemingly a miracle in this age of Wikileaks journalism.
The prose is hypertrophied, almost too punchy at times, but still there's an insight on almost every page. For instance, this fair-use excerpt of collective punishment for a breach of discipline:
"There was carelessness and then there were real mistakes, and once it
crossed that line, discipline came down from above and was
relentless. Once I woke up in the middle of the night to grunts and
shouting and went outside to find Staff Sergeant Alcantara smoking his
entire squad. Whoever was on guard duty had let the batteries run
down on a thermal sight called a PAS-13 that allowed them to scan the
hillsides at night. On a dark night the PAS-13 was the only way they
could see if the enemy was creeping close for a surprise attack, and
dead batteries could literally put the base at risk of getting
overrun. The best way to ensure that no one @#!*% up was to inflict
collective punishment on the entire squad, because that meant everyone
would be watching everyone else. Al had them out there in stress
positions lifting sandbags and essentially eating dirt for so long
that I finally just went back inside and went to sleep. The next
morning I asked him if the punishment had wiped the slate clean--or
was there some residual stigma that would take longer to erase?
"There are no hard feelings after everyone gets smoked," he said.
"They're more @#!*% that they all let each other down. Once it's
over it's over."
The only real drawback to me is the cover photo, which looks like nothing so much as Jan Vermeer's Girl With A Pearl Earring to me. But it is made up for with the back photo, showing the young soldiers rough housing on their base. It's a surprisingly sweet image, affectionate even. Affection which seeps through in the book's pages, the year's best on this subject.
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