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WAR
- Narrated by: Sebastian Junger
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
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Editorial reviews
In listening to Sebastian Junger read War, the book he both experienced and wrote, you will periodically find yourself standing or sitting stock-still while the powerful narrative sinks in. Junger does not pull any punches in his writing, and his reading carries with it the anxiety and the pure fear he experienced embedded on five occasions with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. This six-mile long valley "the Afghanistan of Afghanistan”, according to Junger has sustained 70% of all U.S. bombing in Afghanistan. Junger’s respect for the soldiers of U.S. Army’s 2nd Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade can be heard as he contrasts the jocularity of the men (the platoon was all male) and periods of stultifying boredom with the split-second responses every soldier maintains to react to snipers, ambushes, and IED attacks.
Junger tells of the bravado and the extraordinary human connection to one another the soldiers display. Each soldier and even Junger knows that the next instant might bring death. That knowledge is ever-present as Junger describes surprise attacks by Taliban and on Taliban with vivid intensity.
Junger’s reading lets you join in on the soldiers’ humor that strengthens bonds and, for the moment, relieves the reality of life in one of the world’s most unforgiving terrains, even without a vicious enemy potentially lurking behind the next boulder. His tone captures the men’s loneliness and the existential angst inevitably affecting them all until the next firefight comes as most of them do, in an instant and seldom with warning.
Listeners will enjoy Junger’s description of the physically huge soldier, Vandenberg, who has his fellow soldiers in awe of his sheer bulk and strength. Vandenberg is a source of good-humored testing and honest admiration, and you can hear the catch in Junger’s voice as he tells of Vandenberg’s nearly fatal wound and the tenderness with which the soldier reached from the cot where he lay to grab the hand of his also severely wounded buddy, while both waited to be helicoptered away for more intensive medical care.
Junger describes the brutality of war experienced by young American soldiers and shares examples of bravery and camaraderie that occur on almost a daily basis amidst deprivations unimaginable to civilians which will make you want to stop every person in military uniform to thank them for their service. You’ll also want to thank Sebastian Junger for writing War and— most especially for reading it with honesty and compassion. Carole Chouinard
Publisher's summary
In his breakout best seller, The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger created "a wild ride that brilliantly captures the awesome power of the raging sea and the often futile attempts of humans to withstand it" (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Now, Junger turns his brilliant and empathetic eye to the reality of combat - the fear, the honor, and the trust among men in an extreme situation whose survival depends on their absolute commitment to one another.
His on-the-ground account follows a single platoon through a 15-month tour of duty in the most dangerous outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. Through the experiences of these young men at war, he shows what it means to fight, to serve, and to face down mortal danger on a daily basis.
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What listeners say about WAR
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 05-17-10
Great book
This is 1st book I have commented on in audible, what can I say, a must read!!
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- L.A. Jacob
- 07-31-18
What modern war means
Excellent reference for what modern war means, the brotherhood, the courage between men. He goes into what most civilians are afraid to talk about, love and war, and how, really, one helps deal with the other.
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- Walter
- 12-01-11
This book has given me closest thing toa flashback
I am a 6 year army infantry vet, i was in iraq for 14 months straight. I was in the triangle where i saw a lot of action. This book honestly has been like therapy for me. If you want to know what it feels like to go war or better understand someone that has. This is only book i recommend so far.
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- Eric A.
- 01-12-19
Review system , well.... sucks.
Hey Audible. Giving a review on the ‘Star’ system is just about impossible on an iPhone. Please have your tech persons improve the system. Thanks. My only bitch. Really love listening to your books!
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- Everett
- 05-25-13
Feels like you are there
What made the experience of listening to WAR the most enjoyable?
Getting enlightened about what it is really like to be there
What did you like best about this story?
That most of them got out alive
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- richard
- 03-06-19
Great listen
The author is knowledgeable and makes the audience feel as if they are there with Apache choppers chain guns sweeping the slopes and men living life on the edge
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- bruce
- 06-14-16
Fantastic
Insightful, forceful, thought provoking. I listened to it three times in rapid succession. And, in my taste, Junger is a stellar narrator. This a "must read" for those who liked Junger's "War."
I marveled at his take on our broken political system and our contempt for each other. I agree with his observation that each political side represents two sides of the necessary whole, but that we focus on differences rather than unity.
I guess I should go get a loin cloth.
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- Nelson Blasini
- 10-05-17
War brings out the best and worst of mans heart
One of my favorite books! And the author S.J. does such a good job narrating.
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- Christine Walker
- 06-19-16
Into the breach
Like the movie that accompanies it, the immediacy of this book is both profound and profoundly challenging. Going into it and coming out of it I craved some meaning and global, political, and existential context. While in the story I forgot that desire though, and just listened, rapt, to a very well written, meticulously examined, usually inaccessible, passionately performed story of one moment in time.
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- jackie rudolph
- 10-21-19
Excellent story, very detailed and heartfelt
Sebastian Junger is able to give a face to war in a way that I have never heard documented, definitely a must read!
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