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What It Is Like to Go to War
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
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Publisher's summary
From the author of the bestselling and award-winning Matterhorn comes a brilliant nonfiction book about war and the psychological and spiritual toll it takes on those who fight.
“I wrote this book primarily to come to terms with my own experience of combat. So far—reading, writing, thinking—that has taken over thirty years.”
In 1969, at the age of twenty-three, Karl Marlantes was dropped into the highland jungle of Vietnam, an inexperienced lieutenant in command of a platoon of forty marines who would live or die by his decisions. Marlantes survived, but like many of his brothers in arms, he has spent the last forty years dealing with his war experience. In his first work of nonfiction, Marlantes takes a deeply personal and candid look at what it is like to experience the ordeal of combat, critically examining how we might better prepare our soldiers for war.
Just as Matterhorn is already acclaimed a classic of war literature, What It Is Like to Go to War is set to become required reading for anyone—soldier or civilian—interested in this visceral and all-too-essential part of the human experience.
Karl Marlantes, a cum laude graduate of Yale University and Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, was a marine in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation Medals for valor, two Purple Hearts, and ten Air Medals. He has lived and traveled all over the world and now writes full time. He and his wife, Anne, have five children and live on a small lake in Washington.
Critic reviews
Featured Article: The 20 Best Military Audiobooks from History to Fiction and Beyond
The titles that fall under the designation of military audiobooks are more varied and diverse than you might think. From firsthand combat accounts to imaginative works of fiction, these listens cover a lot of ground on both domestic and international disputes, scientific and sociological analyses, male and female perspectives, lessons from victory and loss, and more. What they have in common, though, are themes of courage, loss, and determination.
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A remarkable memoir of small-unit leadership and the coming of age of a young soldier in combat in Vietnam.
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abridged? it was mutilated!
- By J. Padilla on 02-09-16
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The Odyssey of Echo Company
- The 1968 Tet Offensive and the Epic Battle to Survive the Vietnam War
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A powerful work of literary military history from the New York Times best-selling author of In Harm's Way and Horse Soldiers - the harrowing and redemptive account of an American army platoon fighting for survival during the Vietnam War.
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Great look into what a Nam solder endured.
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Service
- A Navy SEAL at War
- By: Marcus Luttrell
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
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Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell returned from his star-crossed mission in Afghanistan with his bones shattered and his heart broken. So many had given their lives to save him-and he would have readily done the same for them. As he recuperated, he wondered why he and others, from America's founding to today, had been willing to sacrifice everything-including themselves-for the sake of family, nation, and freedom.
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love this book ~ add it to your must read list!!
- By HYoung on 05-18-12
By: Marcus Luttrell
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Where Cowards Go to Die
- By: Benjamin Sledge
- Narrated by: Bradford Hastings
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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While serving a portion of his time under the Special Operations Command, Benjamin Sledge fought to keep his humanity amid the killing fields of Iraq and Afghanistan. But war never leaves its participants unscathed. In Where Cowards Go to Die, Sledge reveals an unflinchingly honest portrait of war that few dare to tell.
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Couldn't stop listening
- By Matthew Orlandi on 07-29-22
By: Benjamin Sledge
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Flags of Our Fathers
- By: James Bradley, Ron Powers
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In this unforgettable chronicle of perhaps the most famous moment in American military history, James Bradley has captured the glory, the triumph, the heartbreak, and the legacy of the six men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima. Here is the true story behind the immortal photograph that has come to symbolize the courage and indomitable will of America.
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awesome
- By Thomas on 11-29-06
By: James Bradley, and others
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War Letters
- Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars
- By: Andrew Carroll
- Narrated by: Joan Allen, Tom Brokaw
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Abridged
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War Letters presents historic, dramatic, personal accounts of both World Wars, the Civil War, Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War, Somalia and the Balkans, revealing in vivid detail what the servicemen and women of America have experienced and sacrificed on the front lines. Read by an all-star cast, including Joan Allen, Tom Brokaw, Rob Lowe, Noah Wyle, and more.
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One of the best...
- By Chris on 01-14-03
By: Andrew Carroll
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Shade it Black
- Death and After in Iraq
- By: Jessica Goodell, John Hearn
- Narrated by: Emily Durante
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Jess enlisted in the Marines immediately after graduating from high school in 2001, and in 2004 she volunteered to serve in the Marine Corps' first officially declared Mortuary Affairs unit in Iraq. Her platoon was tasked with recovering and processing the remains of fallen soldiers. With sensitivity and insight, Jess describes her job retrieving and examining the remains of fellow soldiers lost in combat in Iraq, and the psychological intricacy of coping with their fates, as well as her own.
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Credit-Worthy Slug to the Gut
- By Gillian on 03-25-14
By: Jessica Goodell, and others
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Violence of Action
- The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror
- By: Charles Faint, Marty Skovlund Jr., Leo Jenkins
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden, Paul Boehmer, Emily Durante
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
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Violence of Action is much more than the true, first-person accounts of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Global War on Terror. Within this audio are the heartfelt, firsthand accounts from and about the men who lived, fought, and died for their country, their regiment, and each other. Objective Rhino, Haditha Dam, recovering Jessica Lynch, the hunt for Zarqawi, the recovery of Extortion 17, and everything in between...
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Great Book
- By shane on 06-18-15
By: Charles Faint, and others
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Easy Company Soldier
- The Legendary Battles of a Sergeant from WW II's 'Band of Brothers'
- By: Don Malarkey, Bob Welch
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Sgt. Don Malarkey takes us not only into the battles fought from Normandy to Germany, but into the heart and mind of a soldier who beat the odds to become an elite paratrooper and lost his best friend during the nightmarish engagement at Bastogne. Drafted in 1942, Malarkey arrived at Toccoa Camp in Georgia and was one of six soldiers who earned their Eagle wings and went to England in 1943 to provide ground cover for the largest amphibious military attack in history: Operation Overlord.
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Solid American Greatness
- By David Ewing on 09-28-10
By: Don Malarkey, and others
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Lone Survivor
- The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
- By: Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Four US Navy SEALS departed one clear night in early July 2005 for the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border for a reconnaissance mission. Their task was to document the activity of an al Qaeda leader rumored to have a small army in a Taliban stronghold. Five days later, only one of those Navy SEALS made it out alive. This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing, SEAL team leader Marcus Luttrell, and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history.
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Enthralling and authentic story of valor in combat
- By Michael J Canning on 01-25-14
By: Marcus Luttrell, and others
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Touching the Dragon
- And Other Techniques for Surviving Life's Wars
- By: James Hatch, Christian D'Andrea
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith, James Hatch
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
James Hatch is a former special ops Navy SEAL senior chief, master naval parachutist, and expert military dog trainer and handler. His fateful final mission in Afghanistan went south, and Hatch was left with a shattered femur from an AK-47 round and the SEAL dog who fought alongside him was dead. As a result of his horrific leg wound, his 24-year military career came to an end - and with it the only life he’d ever known. In Touching the Dragon, we witness his long road to recovery.
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Rare Honesty - Raw and Well Written
- By Diana on 06-02-18
By: James Hatch, and others
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The Lion of Sabray
- The Afghani Warrior Who Defied the Taliban and Saved the Life of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell
- By: Patrick Robinson
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author Patrick Robinson helped Marcus Luttrell bring his harrowing story of survival in Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 to the page and the big screen. But the Afghani man who saved his life was always shrouded in mystery. Now, with The Lion of Sabray, Robinson reveals the amazing backstory of Mohammed Gulab.
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Riveting follow up to Lone Survivor
- By Mr Wright on 08-27-16
By: Patrick Robinson
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An brilliant personal Cold War perspective
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Vietnam: The Definitive History of the War
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Not since the Civil War had the American national consciousness been as strained as it was by the conflict in Southeast Asia. Indeed, the controversies that the Vietnam War spurred on the home front are more familiar to many Americans than the policies and motives that guided the conflict. The History of the Vietnam War fills that gap. From a distance of 50 years, you will reexamine the war and its lessons. Throughout, Prof. Brigham sheds light on the United States and its place in the world today.
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Outstanding!!!
- By Steve Velasquez on 01-24-19
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On Killing
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The revised and updated edition of Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's modern classic about the psychology of combat, hailed by the Washington Post as "an illuminating account of how soldiers learn to kill and how they live with the experiences of having killed". In World War II, only 15 to 20 percent of combat infantry were willing to fire their rifles. In Korea, about 50 percent. In Vietnam, the figure rose to more than 90 percent. The good news is that most soldiers are loath to kill.
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Adam G
- By Mattie on 05-20-10
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What Now, Lieutenant?
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Every now and then a work comes along that is so simple and refreshing in its originality that it immediately captures the spirit of American fighting men throughout the ages. Such is this work by Bob Babcock. What makes this work unique is that it is based upon his wartime writing as it occurred, without the softening of time and the refining of modern memory applied to past experience. In it you will find the thinking of a young officer as he struggles to take in all that he is responsible for while experiencing everything himself for the first time.
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Robo Cop Lullaby
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What listeners say about What It Is Like to Go to War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Lynn
- 09-05-11
Destined to become a Classic
Karl Marlantes [Matterhorn: A Novel of the Viet Nam War] returns with What It is Like to Go to War. His new book is a nonfiction, philosophical, historical, memoir and reflection on his days as a Marine in Viet Nam. Frankly, I have never read anything quite like this book and suggest that anyone who is concerned for the country or has a friend, son, daughter, brother, sister, or lover who has experienced battle (virtually or otherwise) will find it very helpful. This book is beautiful, gut wrenching, and deeply moving. Marlantes has done us all a great service and has shown great courage in revealing his personal story. He has rewarded us many times over for his thoughtful analysis and reflection on war and what it means to the human spirit. The sections on how to welcome the veteran home and to help one with post traumatic stress are worthy of group discussion. I hope that this book gains a wide readership immediately. It is, in my view, going to become a classic of the genre. Please make time for this book. Bronson Pinchot's narration is excellent.
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59 people found this helpful
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- Julie
- 12-31-12
A must read for anyone questioning his/her sanity
Would you consider the audio edition of What It Is Like to Go to War to be better than the print version?
Mr. Marlantes segues quite a bit in this book, and sometimes I had difficulty switching mental gears. I think I might have understood the change in thought if I'd seen a paragraph break or something. Overall, the listening was enjoyable, but I really could not tell the voice belonged to Bronson Pinchot!
What other book might you compare What It Is Like to Go to War to and why?
A Rumor of War by Phil Caputo. He wrote his book before PTSD became a diagnosis; however, his descriptions of the "blank stare" and the soul-crushing effects of war were right on the mark.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Oh holy cow, yes. PTSD is one of the things that one either associates with crazy vets strung out on drugs and alcohol, unable to keep a job or a home, or a label one hides behind to excuse poor behavior. NOTHING prepared me for Iraq or GTMO. In both deployments I was on a detainee health mission. I wasn't in combat (well, minus rockets fired at us). I didn't experience any of the raw trauma my fellow nurses did in the early years of the war and during the surge. My unit jokingly called what we were traumatized from was the Groundhog Day effect (referencing the Bill Murray movie). However, it was no joke. When I got home, I was lost. I sought help. I answered honestly the millions of questionnaires the Army had us fill out.... over and over and over. Yet, if I wasn't suicidal, which I wasn't, no one cared too much to figure out what was wrong with me. Overloaded behavioral health system, I guess, and I kept getting the, "You're a nurse, you'll seek out help if things get worse, right?" Mr. Marlantes hits the core of the problem of PTSD in that unless one is prepared physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, the effects of war will suck the life right out of you. It was a year and a half after I redeployed (means to go home for you non-military folk, not go back to theater) that I finally got the help I needed. It didn't take much- therapy, meds, and going to church- but I'm finally at peace with Iraq. As I prepare to head to Afghanistan this spring, I know more, but trust me, I WILL be talking about what I'm feeling and I WILL be attending church. This book is a must read for any person who has been to the Gulf during OEF or OIF. Even if you think you don't have PTSD and you're just crazy, you might feel differently after reading this book.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-22-12
Been there, done that...
Would you consider the audio edition of What It Is Like to Go to War to be better than the print version?
Yes,it succeeds on an emotional level that you miss in print.
What was one of the most memorable moments of What It Is Like to Go to War?
Very thought provoking. The part on "NUMBNESS" is so true and insightful.
Which scene was your favorite?
The TOTALITY of thought about the oral experience will bring a curious person who has never "BEEN THERE" as close as they will ever come to the experience of being THERE.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Yes- made me face my experience and cried at the epiphany....
Any additional comments?
Everyone should read it. Especially those people thinking of joining the military.
I think it should be required reading for high school students.
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- Lake
- 09-20-11
More than I'd imagined
The author and I inhabit the same age cohort. His descriptions of the moral domain of combat, and the context in which the war in Viet Nam was fought, but particularly what it was like to come home, broke my heart. It is so important that others read this account so that we can begin, collectively, to understand the terrible forces unleashed in those of us who find ourselves pursuing this path as young people.
Aside from being a great story teller, Marlantes has taken a depth psychological view of the subjective domain of the Warrior. He writes about the "temple of Mars", in a way that enlivens the commentary on morality that is his central thesis.
I like to think that I was savvy enough to have seen the handwriting on the wall by the end of the summer of 1966, where I'd been closely exposed to the life of a Marine fire team during an exercise at Camp Pendleton. As a 20 year old midshipman, I knew deeply that the grunt who was leading our little patrol, though he was my age, was inhabiting a different universe than mine, but not that different than the guy in Texas who had just wiped out 20+ students firing as a sniper from the Texas Tower. I decided at that point, I wasn't looking to get a Marine commission. Didn't think I needed to be a hero, and realized I'd rather have a steel hull around me than a jungle. Consequently, I have no PTSD. As a result, my coming to terms with Viet Nam has taken a different shape. I became a family therapist and have spent well over thirty years grappling with the struggles that all of us, particularly men, have in reconciling the parts of ourselves that go to war. I am very thankful for this book in a way that is quite personal and yet hope that everyone can find some link to the personal stories about war that haunt American lives.
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- KAREN Y KOYANO
- 11-30-11
A must read for anyone going into active duty!
I have always wondered how a person deals with killing another person in the line of duty. This book gives me a glimpse of the mental torment that goes through the mind of a soldier during and after a battle. Karl Marlantes is a gifted writer who is able to put into words both the horror and exhilaration of war. Our armed services should heed Karl's advice to better prepare our soldiers for war on an emotional basis with the hopes of avoiding post tramatic syndrome. This is profoundly insightful book which draws on Karl's personal experiences as he graples with the social, moral, and spirtual tension of being a warrior and a human being.
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- Anonymous User
- 09-30-14
american bushido
i was only 17 years old when the vietnam draft ended
the guys, a year ahead of me, were the last to " get a number "
it was a ranking system based solely on your date of birth
? do you ever wonder what really makes warriors tick
? do you think you have the willful talents that combat requires
? does war's brutal majesty hold some fascination for you
karl marlantes has written a more than thoughtful book for you
it is a sequel to his excellent vietnam novel " matterhorn "
this book beautifully outlines for americans " the way of the warrior "
marlantes is obviously a troubled and more than talented man
from a blue collar childhood in oregon to rhodes scholar at yale
but then his almost visceral need for combat pulls him to vietnam
? how can i love a mean and evil thing so deeply, marlantes asks
? why does war make me feel alive, in a way, nothing else does
? how do i turn off my warrior self as i try to return to civilian life
marlantes' post-vietnam life has been spent answering those questions
in a way, the book is a deeply personal, philosophical wrestling match
if those same issues churn in your soul; this book is a great guide
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- Jim Diestel
- 06-11-12
How to recover your morals after war
What made the experience of listening to What It Is Like to Go to War the most enjoyable?
nuggets of insights throughout the book. This book has application to psudo-war situations like business and coaching.
What did you like best about this story?
The deep thought and crisp articulation.
What about Bronson Pinchot???s performance did you like?
clear and emotionally delivered; the author couldn't have read it any better.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I would listen to a passage and then have to spend an hour in thought; extemely impactful.
Any additional comments?
Every returning soldier should read plus every politician who votes to send troops into harms way. But it should also be read by business executives as it has as much bearing in this less extreme world.
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- Douglas
- 09-09-11
Powerful
Very powerful biographical story of a Vietnam War Marine officer. Should be required reading for all Americans, especially those who make war decisions. Like Sebastian Junger's book "War," this is an unabashed look from the inside of the experience of being in a front line unit.
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- gc
- 11-30-11
A Wonderful Perspective Into a Philospher Warrior
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Mr Marlantes provides a rare glimpse into the mind of a Rhodes scholar who has experienced the extremes of war, and whose intellect allows him to share a deeper understanding of humanity and war. I cannot do his vision justice in this brief review, and recommend you give it a listen.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Bronson's performance matches that of the Matterhorn, with its collection of entertaining voices, but here his voice talent shines in the many quotes from ancient foreign books and myths.
Any additional comments?
Previous reviews noted a wish for more gripping war stories per Mattehorn, but I was pleasantly surprised at the way he explained Matterhorn events as real life horrors for him - which made the book even more meaningful for me.
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- Darwin8u
- 02-25-18
Touching Souls
"Warriors must touch their souls because their job involves killing people. Warriors deal with eternity."
- Karl Marlantes, What it is Like to Go to War
An exploration of war. Part memoir of a Marine (Vietnam War), part Joseph Campbell/Jungian exploration of the warrior, part critique of policy. The book is also written directly to those men/boys (and yes, women I guess too) preparing for war. Having suffered PTSD from Vietnam, Marlantes uses this book to instruct younger warriors, while at the same time using the writing as therapy approach to understand his own perspectives about his past.
I actually really appreciated this book. If you include my brother-in-law, all of my brothers have seen combat. My little brother and my brother-in-law both struggle with PTSD. My brother-in-law served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a LT. My little brother dropped out of UVA and joined 10th Mountain Division, served 15 months in Afghanistan and came home broken (alcholism, addiction, suicide-attempts, fights, jail, homlessness). My older brother served 2 tours in Afghanistan and 2 tours in Iraq before dying in a helicopter crash in Germany. So, as Marlantes relates his perspectives on war, killing, and coming home, I GET it. Not from the perspective of a soldier or warrior, but from the perspective of family who sees their loved one return broken.
My only critique of the book, and it is a personal critique, is Marlantes does tend to get a little pie in the sky in his policy recommendations. His recommendations reminded me of the prescriptive parts of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century, where he talks about a global tax on capital. I knew he was right, in a perfectly rational and sane world, but also knew it was politically just a Ivory Tower wet dream to imagine a world that would be able to coordinate politically in such a way to reform global taxes to prevent future instability. Marlantes falls into the prescription trap. I agree with a lot of his recommendatiosn for ritual, burial of enemies, space between fighting and returning, etc., but also recognize Congress hasn't passed a 2-year budget in years AND the current President lacks a basic ability to feel empathy, so hoping our policy makers would empathize with those fighting our nation's battle, in the way Marlantes recommends, just seems to be closer to a dream castle than a war room.
But, HELL, if writing this book, and thinking about these best case options for reintegrating soldiers, helps future warriors, or inspires and moves the needle a bit for future policy makers (OR if it just helped Karl Marlantes move a little further from the War and closer to his home), it was all worth it.
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