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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
An interesting look at the lives of soldiers serving in Afghanistan. Sebastian Junger was embedded with the group periodically for 15 months and gives the reader an up close and personal look at the battles as well as the down time. I would love to see some sort of follow-up website or something where we could read about the soldiers lives since the time Junger was with them. I was fascinated by the concept that these soldiers actually "missed" the war when they weren't there- not because they loved the violence or anything, but because it was there that they felt they belonged, and they had a sense of structure, order and purpose.
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Strong stuff. I've been a fan of Junger's work since Perfect Storm and Fire, but this is my favorite so far. It's a tough read because of its raw, unblinking portrayal of time spent with US infantry in Afghanistan. Whether you consider the US presence a conflict, occupation, or war doesn't really matter. Junger takes no political side, and makes it clear the soldier's don't either; they're just trying to survive. The book is a powerful mix of respect, fear, and character study. I also recommend the documentary Junger helped produce, Restropo, that shows vividly what inspired this book, including footage captured inside an armored transport that ran over an IED.
Junger, a journalist and filmmaker, embedded with an American platoon for a 15-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. His subjects became friends. Many of them died. He almost died.
In the process, he wrote a minor masterpiece on a few different topics: How it feels to be surrounded by death, how it feels to be surrounded by people who would die for you, and how bonds develop as a result of both conditions.
There have been better books written about earlier wars, and there may be better books written about the early-21st-century American wars, but I’d find it hard to believe that many better books were written this close to the action. There’s something about being shot at regularly that leaves a mark on a writer’s prose, and Sebastian Junger puts that je ne sais quoi on almost every page.
I love books that are packed with real conversations and weird little details about things that don’t matter in a big-picture sense, and War is exactly that. Junger is perfectly willing to spend a couple of pages discussing which soldiers resemble which household appliances, or an incident where the Army accidentally barbecued someone’s cow — but on any page, at any moment, combat might start up again. In that sense, reading the book feels a little bit like war is supposed to feel. War attempts to get us closer to the mental state of the people we’ve asked to live inside that feeling.
(While the book isn’t political, or “solutions-oriented”, Junger never loses sight of the fact that much of what we did in Afghanistan was stupid and terrible. The plans of our enemies were also stupid and terrible. Sometimes, there aren’t any good solutions.)
In the process, he wrote a minor masterpiece on a few different topics: How it feels to be surrounded by death, how it feels to be surrounded by people who would die for you, and how bonds develop as a result of both conditions.
There have been better books written about earlier wars, and there may be better books written about the early-21st-century American wars, but I’d find it hard to believe that many better books were written this close to the action. There’s something about being shot at regularly that leaves a mark on a writer’s prose, and Sebastian Junger puts that je ne sais quoi on almost every page.
I love books that are packed with real conversations and weird little details about things that don’t matter in a big-picture sense, and War is exactly that. Junger is perfectly willing to spend a couple of pages discussing which soldiers resemble which household appliances, or an incident where the Army accidentally barbecued someone’s cow — but on any page, at any moment, combat might start up again. In that sense, reading the book feels a little bit like war is supposed to feel. War attempts to get us closer to the mental state of the people we’ve asked to live inside that feeling.
(While the book isn’t political, or “solutions-oriented”, Junger never loses sight of the fact that much of what we did in Afghanistan was stupid and terrible. The plans of our enemies were also stupid and terrible. Sometimes, there aren’t any good solutions.)
challenging
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
I read this after coming back from Afghanistan. This was one of the best, if not THE best writing on the "personal" aspect of the war at that time. Honestly I think this should be a must-read. It's not a story on killing and loss, though it indirectly deals in those subjects. It's more like the actual act of being there. It's a fact you have to deal with and understand, but not the real reason you're there. Very well written.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
This was an interesting book but I think this is a case of book and reader not seeing eye to eye. I didn’t love the topic and I don’t particularly love how the author glorified war. I can understand the connections that can be created in challenging times but I still found this book wasn’t my favorite.
I probably would have liked it more if I had read it instead of listened. The author/narrator was so monotone that there were several periods of listening when I realized that I had zoned out completely and had to rewind. Or didn't bother rewinding.
There were some very intense scenes and I got the point of the book and mostly enjoyed it. This is one of those audio books where the author shouldn't have done the reading.
There were some very intense scenes and I got the point of the book and mostly enjoyed it. This is one of those audio books where the author shouldn't have done the reading.