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A review by rossbm
War by Sebastian Junger
4.0
(Listend to audio book)
I really enjoyed this book. Not too long (about 8 hours listen) and give you an idea of what it is like to be a young man in the US army in Afghanistan. Junger follows a single platoon over a 15 month deployment in a small isolated output in Afghanistan. He brings characters and events to life. You the sense of how boring things can be, how combat can be less stressful than waiting for something to happen. Junger explores what motivates young men to fight and sacrifice.
My most memorable takeaway from this book was when Junger was describing how the sheer one sidedness of firepower of the US military could be reassuring but also absurd.
“Each Javelin round costs $80,000, and the idea that it's fired by a guy who doesn't make that in a year at a guy who doesn't make that in a lifetime is somehow so outrageous it almost makes the war seem winnable.”
I really enjoyed this book. Not too long (about 8 hours listen) and give you an idea of what it is like to be a young man in the US army in Afghanistan. Junger follows a single platoon over a 15 month deployment in a small isolated output in Afghanistan. He brings characters and events to life. You the sense of how boring things can be, how combat can be less stressful than waiting for something to happen. Junger explores what motivates young men to fight and sacrifice.
My most memorable takeaway from this book was when Junger was describing how the sheer one sidedness of firepower of the US military could be reassuring but also absurd.
“Each Javelin round costs $80,000, and the idea that it's fired by a guy who doesn't make that in a year at a guy who doesn't make that in a lifetime is somehow so outrageous it almost makes the war seem winnable.”