Book description
From the author of The Perfect Storm, a gripping book about Sebastian
Junger's almost-fatal year with the 2nd battalion of the American Army.
They were known as "The Rock." For one year, in 2007-2008,
Sebastian Junger accompanied a single platoon of thirty men from the
storied 2nd battalion of the U. S. Army, as they fought their way
through a remote valley in Eastern Afghanistan. Over the course of five
trips, Junger was in more firefights than he can count, men he knew were
killed or wounded, and he himself was almost killed. His relationship
with these soldiers grew so close that they considered him part of the
platoon, and he enjoyed an access and a candidness that few, if any,
journalists ever attain.
War is a narrative about combat: the fear of dying, the trauma of
killing and the love between platoon-mates who would rather die than let
each other down.
Gripping, honest, intense, War explores the neurological, psychological
and social elements of combat, and the incredible bonds that form
between these small groups of men. This is not a book about Afghanistan
or the 'War on Terror'; it is a book about the universal truth of all
men, in all wars. Junger set out to answer what he thought of as the
'hand grenade question': why would a man throw himself on a hand grenade
to save other men he has probably known for only a few months? The
answer elusive but profound, and goes to the heart of what it means not
just to be a soldier, but to be human. Praise for 'Fire':
'This is frontline reporting of the highest order from the dangerous,
blade-sharp edge of things.' The Times
'His language, as powerful as the most abrasive undercurrent, describes
an exceptional tug of war with the elements.' Alex O'Connell, The Times
'He writes like a poet who has been to meteorology school.' Ruth
Rendell, Daily Telegraph
'Detail blazes through these chapters like the fiercest fire storm, yet
the writing is invariably controlled, never breathless…Junger is an
excellent story teller.' Sunday Telegraph Sebastian Junger is the
bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and A Death in Belmont. He is a
contributing editor to Vanity Fair, and has been awarded a National
Magazine Award and an SAIS Novartis Prize for journalism. He lives in
New York
