Uncertain Ground

Citizenship in an Age of Endless, Invisible War

By: Phil Klay

Narrated by: Josh Casaubon

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

From the National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment and Missionaries, an astonishing fever graph of the effects of 20 years of war in a brutally divided America.

When Phil Klay left the marines a decade ago after serving as an officer in Iraq, he found himself a part of the community of veterans who have no choice but to grapple with the meaning of their wartime experiences—for themselves and for the country. American identity has always been bound up in war—from the revolutionary war of our founding, to the civil war that ended slavery, to the two world wars that launched America as a superpower. What did the current wars say about who we are as a country, and how should we respond as citizens?

Unlike in previous eras of war, relatively few Americans have had to do any real grappling with the endless, invisible conflicts of the post-9/11 world; in fact, increasingly few people are even aware they are still going on. It is as if these wars are a dark star with a strong gravitational force that draws a relatively small number of soldiers and their families into its orbit while remaining inconspicuous to most other Americans. In the meantime, the consequences of American military action abroad may be out of sight and out of mind, but they are very real indeed.

This chasm between the military and the civilian in American life, and the moral blind spot it has created, is one of the great themes of Uncertain Ground, Phil Klay’s powerful series of reckonings with some of our country’s thorniest concerns, written in essay form over the past 10 years. In the name of what do we ask young Americans to kill, and to die? In the name of what does this country hang together? As we see at every turn in this book, those two questions have a great deal to do with each another, and how we answer them will go a long way toward deciding where our troubled country goes from here.

©2022 Phil Klay (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Incisive collection . . . Enriched by the author’s military experiences and sharp turns of phrase (“We’re America. We’re good at violence”), this is an astute and often enraging survey of America’s forever wars.” - Publishers Weekly

“An introspective collection of essays . . . Klay’s reassuring voice offers truth, hope, and ways forward during a challenging, polarized period in America.” - Booklist

“Marine Corps veteran and acclaimed writer Klay delivers a closely observed set of essays on an age of endless war . . . Klay’s incisive, grunt’s-eye perspective is too little heard or heeded. His topics take on larger issues, but they almost always return to that central point of view - whether it be the monasticism of military life, the militarization of the culture, or citizens’ easy access to military-grade weapons. A compelling critique of civilian foibles by a skilled writer well versed in carrying out civilian wishes in the field.” - Kirkus

A compelling set of essays

With a fresh perspective on military service, and the demands of citizenship, Klay has crafted a book that really is a compelling read. With language artistry a kin to that of Tim O’Brien, and some stories that echo, O’Briens sentiments, Klay, nonetheless urges Americans to live up to their rights and responsibilities as citizens. This set of essays, especially a few special ones, will find their way into my classroom units on O’Briens *The Things They Carried* from now on.