War: A Force that Gives Us Meaning

[gator28]

War: A Force that Gives Us Meaning

This book is written by a war correspondent. I believe he earned his masters in theology or religion from Harvard. He really delves into the sensory aspect of war. He relates his experiences in war-torn areas. He was captured while covering Gulf War I. The author does an amazing job of relaying experiences without coming across as pro or anti-war. I forget the name of the author or else I would have listed it. It was published very recently so it includes post Sept. 11th discussion. Short and to the point.

[Soot]

War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
by Chris Hedges

From the Publisher
Drawing on the literature of combat, from Homer and Shakespeare to Erich Maria Remarque and Michael Herr, Hedges shows how human beings are conditioned to embrace what he calls "the myth of war" - the idea that combat is noble, selfless, and glorious. And yet if human history is any guide, nations and imperiums have stumbled and even fallen when they believed the myths peddled about war and about themselves. The reality of war, which Hedges knows first-hand, is about the destruction of culture, the perversion of human desire, and the embrace, ultimately, of death over life.


Synopsis
Hedges, a long-time foreign correspondent for The New York Times, draws on his own experiences in Latin America, Bosnia, and elsewhere; treatments of war in literature; and historical events to examine the way human beings experience war and to suggest that war gives rise to dangerous myths of the nobility of the cause. He argues that there are very few people who are not susceptible to the allure of war, but that, in the end, war becomes a contest between eros and thanatos, in which thanatos comes out on top all too often. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


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