Un-American

A Soldier's Reckoning of Our Longest War

By: Erik Edstrom

Narrated by: Christopher Ragland

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents Un-American by Erik Edstrom, read by Christopher Ragland.

A manifesto about America’s unchallenged war machine, from an Afghanistan veteran and new kind of military hero.

Before engaging in war, Erik Edstrom asks us to imagine three rarely imagined scenarios: first, imagine your own death. Second, imagine war from 'the other side'. Third, imagine what might have been if the war had never been fought. Pursuing these realities through his own combat experience, Erik reaches the unavoidable conclusion about America at war. But that realization came too late - the damage had been done.

Erik Edstrom grew up in suburban Massachusetts with an idealistic desire to make an impact, ultimately leading him to the gates of West Point. Five years later, he was deployed to Afghanistan as an infantry Lieutenant. Throughout his military career, he confronted atrocities, buried his friends, wrestled with depression and struggled with an understanding that the war he fought in, and the youth he traded to prepare for it, was in contribution to a bitter truth: the War on Terror is not just a tragedy, but a crime. The deeper tragedy is that our country lacks the courage and conviction to say so.

Un-American is a hybrid of social commentary and memoir that exposes how blind support for war exacerbates the problems it’s intended to resolve, devastates the people allegedly being helped and diverts assets from far larger threats like climate change. Un-American is a revolutionary act, offering a blueprint for redressing America’s relationship with patriotism, the military and military spending.

©2020 Erik Edstrom (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"Exceptional.... Un-American is most extraordinary because even after the indoctrination of West Point, Edstrom dared to question some of the decisions and the presence of US military as invaders not saviors. For a real look at the marketing of and true cost of war, this is a must-read." (New York Journal of Books)

"A blistering indictment of the American militarist economy and its much-vaunted war on terror. But it isn't Edstrom's anger that gives Un-American its staggering power - although there's plenty of that - but rather the profound thoughtfulness and perception of his observations, earned at such awful cost. Every chickenhawk president, politician and pundit who has had a hand in blithely casting American soldiers into our futile wars should be made to read this book - and to then seek forgiveness." (Scott Anderson, author of Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East)

Unbelievable Must Read Book

When we first went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, I was stunned. Having grown up during the Vietnam War, I immediately saw the similarities. My gut feeling was this was not a war we would win. My reasons were as follows:
1) An army can not win a guerilla war. They are not trained to compete on that level.
2) We would not fight to win. We would fight to fight.
I was also saddened by the number of patriotic Americans signing up to go off to fight the war on terror. This wasn't like WWII where we would be entering a normally fought war. This was different. No one would know what to expect.
When a friend first told me about this book, and the premise of the book, I was intrigued. The interview I first read with Erik Edstrom sold me. Not being a veteran, not having first hard knowledge of the details, I finally found someone who believed as I did - and they had the details!!! This book is a required read/listen for anyone that considers themselves a true American.
Erik starts with his beliefs, then he tells you his story. You need to know his story before he can unload the facts upon you -and unload them he does. Now, the story is from his perspective, but it does not make it any less factual. He then goes on to provide you with insight on how our country can truly become great again. Truly become great again and not continue to help terrorize the rest of the world.
This book is not anti-anything. The story is intended to open your eyes and to get your to think on your own without following the national pied piper. And I believe it does this.
My father, two uncles, and cousin are all veterans. My uncles in WWII, my dad at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, my cousin as a Vice Admiral and commander of the George Washington Task Force in the WOT. I can tell you that my dad, who fought for veterans rights his entire life, would appreciate this book because he lived his own version of military incompetence.
This book may not be for you. But if accumulating knowledge and having your eyes opened to injustice is part of your nature, then it is for you.

Must read/listen by every US citizen.

This masterpiece is an honestly devastating description of our current wars and all their direct, indirect, and opportunity costs. The last chapter is the only recipe for the survival of our country and life on planet earth.

This Veteran supports many of the points in this book!

A great book regarding the wasteful global encounters the USA has been involved in for decades. A necessary read/listen for every American so as to reconsider how we need to change moving forward. You don’t have to agree with everything here, but at least consider there’s a different way to do things besides the republican and democrat way.

USA Infantry Officer tells his story. 2000s GWOT

An excellent memoir of a West Point graduate American infantry officer telling of his journey from naive teenager to jaded infantry officer in the Afghanistan war. Loaded to the gills with visceral personal reflections on the friends he made and lost the people he killed and who tried to kill him and the serious social capitol sacrificed by all Americans on the slab of freedom in pursuit of "political violence" in America's longest war. book could have also been called a series of bloody unforced errors.

Book is well read on audible but the reader does get a lot of the acronyms wrong typical of this type of military fare. EG. 5.56mm bullets being pronounced 5 hundred 56 mm bullets. if that bugs you it's noticeable otherwise not a problem.

Don't pass this book up the guys earned the right to say what he has to say. It's perfectly timed at the ending of the Afghan war. An excellent way to take stock of what the guy on the ground pays for our military adventurism.

A Must Read

I had the distinct honor of working with Erik Edstrom when I was a Private in the Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard. To this day, it is strange for me to address him by his first name because I knew him as Captain Edstrom or simply and respectfully as Sir. Erik Edstrom was my first Platoon Leader (PL) in the Army and he set a high bar for me to measure all subsequent PL's to. In my eyes, he was Captain America incarnate and that is what we lower enlisted Soldiers sometimes called him when he was out of earshot. I respected the Hell out of him and looked up to him as a role model. This is the idealized view of him that I have held for all these years and I still hold him in high esteem now that I have read his book.

Un-American: A Soldier's Reckoning of Our Longest War is a hard pill to swallow for anyone who serves, or who has served, in the Military, but it is a necessary pill for the health of our profession and the Nation. It strives valiantly to right the wrongs of so many decisions made by civilian and Military leaders over the past 20 plus years spanning four Presidencies. At the very least, the book's message pleads with us to be more aware and to question the legitimacy and morality of the conflicts we as warriors and responsible citizens are endorsing with our service and political consent. I encourage all of us honorable and dedicated citizens and service members to read this book with an open mind and a humble heart. I must warn you now that it won't be an easy task for some of you. I will admit that it was a struggle for me to put aside my personal biases and emotional reactions to get to the end. If I can do it, then anyone can.

I am a Sergeant First Class in the Army Infantry now; a far cry from the naive and impressionable Private I started out as. I have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and I have experienced firsthand the loss of my Soldiers dying. Reading Un-American definitely brought back a lot of hard memories and forced me to face them head on. As a seasoned Non-Commissioned Officer, I was initially defensive and critical of Edstrom's views at the outset of the book. It took me to the final section before a switch finally was flipped inside me, and I understood where he was coming from. He was not attacking my 11 years of faithful Military service; he was shedding a light on the shadows that haunt our country's past and plague our current foreign policy. He forces you to look head on in the mirror and ask yourself to reconcile your patriotism with your humanity. We all must conduct a moral and ethical compass check to determine if our collective azimuth is on course. This book has helped me re-zero my sights on what my duties are as a responsible leader in today's modern Army. It has inspired me to take the torch that Edstrom holds out to us all to light the way forward as citizens and responsible, servant leaders and lead in a way that honors all that have fallen in this war and protect the lives of those who are still alive with dignity and respect.

Some valid points-some not so valid points

The author clearly has an axe to grind. As vet myself I can relate to the points made about the GWOT. But the points about inequality, diversity and global warming read straight out of the DNC talking points on victim-ocracy as a political ploy to pit classes against each other. There are real issues in the growing disparities of economy in America. These issues are not explored with any intellectual depth or balance.