War

Description

War is a book written by Sebastian Junger that was published in 2010. It tells the psychological and physical experience of soldiers who are sent to war. A journalist as well as a filmmaker, Junger spent months embedded with an American U.S. Army platoon in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, during one of the deadliest combat zones during the war. This is the book of his experiences in the period from 2007 to 2008.

Instead of mulling over the politics or greater strategy of the Afghan War, War analyzes the everyday lives of those in the trenches. Junger writes about three primary areas:

Fear: The soldiers are perpetually at the risk of death and suffering. This results in a kind of psychological and emotional experience that Junger explains how combat fear impacts soldiers in their moments of firefights as well as quiet moments.

Brotherhood: A significant section of the book explores the bond that was created among comrades. Junger takes brotherhood of men in a platoon as something of a basis by which they survive. A bond of this nature, as mentioned earlier becomes a cardinal motivator, which often transcends abstract ideas or concepts such as patriotism or politics.

In this theme, killing refers to the undisguised reality of violence that combat perpetuates. Junger does not look away from describing the violence of war or the moral ambiguities that these soldiers face. He talks about how combat affects these soldiers’ views on killing, the psychological toll it takes on them.

Junger also explores how they handle the intensity of warfare while in combat and, on returning home, how to manage the intensity of war. War is not a commercialization of battle, but a brutal and truthful exploration of the multi-layers of human experience in war that opens up to their real reason to fight and other effects on their lives. The book is both intensely personal as well as deeply researched, bringing readers closer to understanding the realities of modern warfare.