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domkrolika's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
1.0
At its most simplified form, Junger's thesis can be boiled down to "community = good", which by itself is a fine premise. But his pro-war stance, absence of women, and lack of proper citation make this book dangerous. Junger thinks that we all need a dose of hardship in our lives and that men need to go to war (or if they can't do that, get in a bar fight defending a woman or go through some ritualistic firewalking to prove themselves or some other sh**). Never mind the trail of carnage and trauma soldiers leave behind in the form of dead innocent civilians- doesn't matter! As long as our boys in uniform have something to do and some manhood to prove or whatever.
Most alarmingly, he relies heavily on pseudoscience and conveniently doesn't cite his sources because it would "interrupt the flow of the book". Never in my life have I seen an author take such an unnecessarily bizarre stance on citations. So this man wants to be taken seriously, but for all I know he made up a bunch of bulls***. Again, there's no way of verifying because he doesn't cite his claims. It's a buckwild choice to make and I can't believe his editors greenlit it.
I lost it when he said that people living in poverty are poor yet happy, while rich people experience higher rates of depression and deteriorating mental health. This author really wants me to just ignore the fact that wealthier people often have access to mental health services that poorer people don't so OBVIOUSLY there aren't as many REPORTED instances of depression in poorer people. When would people living in poverty, struggling just to get by every day, find the time and MONEY to get diagnosed for anything, much less depression? Many people are trapped in poverty and I am willing to bet... not happy. And this isn't the only time Junger conflates REPORTED instances with ACTUAL instances. He does it repeatedly throughout the entire "book".
This books reads like a guy spouting off some crap at a bar after a couple of beers. In a face-to-face conversation I would have paid my tab and left for fear of hearing what backwards primitive crap he thinks about women and non-white, non-straight men.
Ultimately, when you read between the lines, Junger's real enemy isn't modernity so much as it is capitalism and growing sense of isolationism and lack of basic mental healthcare services (in the US). There is a mental health crisis, which if he had just said that outright, I could absolutely agree with. But he's too busy mentally jerking off to primitive gender roles and unsupported claims.
I don't know what else to say about Junger. He's just an idiot. He contradicts himself about halfway through the book and seems to forget his thesis. This was a half-baked waste of time. Took maybe a couple hours for me to read and I'm a slow reader. I can't believe what can get published these days.
Most alarmingly, he relies heavily on pseudoscience and conveniently doesn't cite his sources because it would "interrupt the flow of the book". Never in my life have I seen an author take such an unnecessarily bizarre stance on citations. So this man wants to be taken seriously, but for all I know he made up a bunch of bulls***. Again, there's no way of verifying because he doesn't cite his claims. It's a buckwild choice to make and I can't believe his editors greenlit it.
I lost it when he said that people living in poverty are poor yet happy, while rich people experience higher rates of depression and deteriorating mental health. This author really wants me to just ignore the fact that wealthier people often have access to mental health services that poorer people don't so OBVIOUSLY there aren't as many REPORTED instances of depression in poorer people. When would people living in poverty, struggling just to get by every day, find the time and MONEY to get diagnosed for anything, much less depression? Many people are trapped in poverty and I am willing to bet... not happy. And this isn't the only time Junger conflates REPORTED instances with ACTUAL instances. He does it repeatedly throughout the entire "book".
This books reads like a guy spouting off some crap at a bar after a couple of beers. In a face-to-face conversation I would have paid my tab and left for fear of hearing what backwards primitive crap he thinks about women and non-white, non-straight men.
Ultimately, when you read between the lines, Junger's real enemy isn't modernity so much as it is capitalism and growing sense of isolationism and lack of basic mental healthcare services (in the US). There is a mental health crisis, which if he had just said that outright, I could absolutely agree with. But he's too busy mentally jerking off to primitive gender roles and unsupported claims.
I don't know what else to say about Junger. He's just an idiot. He contradicts himself about halfway through the book and seems to forget his thesis. This was a half-baked waste of time. Took maybe a couple hours for me to read and I'm a slow reader. I can't believe what can get published these days.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
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