Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; 1 edition
(August 30, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802119921
ISBN-13: 978-0802119926
Genre :
History , Biographies &
Memoirs
“Wrenchingly
honest. . . Digging as deeply into his own life as he does into the larger
sociological and moral issues, Marlantes presents a riveting, powerfully
written account of how, after being taught to kill, he learned to deal with the
aftermath.”—Publishers
Weekly
Praises
“Karl Marlantes has
written a staggeringly beautiful book on combat—what it feels like, what the
consequences are and above all, what society must do to understand it. In my
eyes he has become the preeminent literary voice on war of our generation. He
is a natural storyteller and a deeply profound thinker who not only illuminates
war for civilians, but also offers a kind of spiritual guidance to veterans
themselves. As this generation of warriors comes home, they will be enormously
helped by what Marlantes has written—I’m sure he will literally save
lives.”—Sebastian Junger
“To say that this
book is brilliant is an understatement—Marlantes is the absolute master of
taking the psyche of the combat veteran and translating it into words that the
civilian or non-veteran can understand. I have read many, many books on war and
this is the first time that I've ever read exactly what the combat veteran
thinks and feels—nothing I have ever read before has hit home in my heart like
this book.”—Gunnery Sergeant Terence D’Alesandro, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines,
U.S. Marine Corps
“What It Is Like to Go to War can be read as
both a letter to young warriors and as a catalyzing call for change. But this
is not a book about politics; it is about humanity. Using his own experiences
to provide context, Marlantes advances, with startling openness, a
revolutionary strategy to preserve the humanity of those who fight for our
nation and to honor the humanity of those they kill.”—Rebecca Joines Schinsky, Shelf Awareness
“What It Is Like to Go to War is a courageous,
noble and intelligent grapple with myth, history, and spirituality that
beautifully elevates the cultural conversation on the role of the military in
today’s world. It is an emotional, honest, and affecting primer for all
Americans on war and the national psyche, and we ignore this book at our own
peril.”—Ed Conklin, Chaucer’s Books, Santa Barbara
Review
Into the mind of a warrior
By James
Korsmo (Moorhead, MN USA)
In this reflective
memoir, Karl Marlantes, writer of the widely acclaimed Vietnam War book
Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War, takes a probing look at his own
experiences of going to war, and of coming home again. Because it is more of a
series of reflections than a continuous narrative, I will review it in kind,
with some impressions and appreciations. First, Marlantes' book is honest,
sometimes brutally so. And I think this is one of the keys that makes it work.
The reader gets the distinct impression that he has carefully worked and
reworked his memories until they come out as honestly and completely as
possible. Even though at times this means recounting memories of his own
brutalities in war. But along with these sometimes tortured memories come
candid memories of his own emotions, impressions, and motivations that help
bring the experience of war to life. They also guarantee that war isn't
glorified, and neither is the warrior. Instead, we meet the brutality along
with the valor.
A second impression
one gets is that these are carefully analyzed reflections. He has quite
obviously held his own experiences, indeed his own person, under the light of
careful scrutiny. This means the narratives and accounts he relates are thick
descriptions of events, filled out with his own psychological analysis about
not only what he and those around him experienced but why. And this also means
he often extends his reflections beyond his own experiences, through an
analysis of why, to a discussion of what we might constructively draw from
them. One key example that comes up repeatedly in the book is the experience of
coming home. He recounts many of the difficulties of going from a life-or-death
struggle in the jungles of Vietnam, where you are dealing death in a god-like
fashion, to being rapidly transported via helicopter and airplane, back to your
family and friends in everyday society in a matter of hours. And that jarring
transition is made without reflection, significant preparation, or guidance. He
recommends greatly increasing the debriefing and processing time for returning
veterans, both before and after they come home. At one point he recommends
returning to the WWII practice of returning home by ship: "We should have
had time to talk with our buddies about what we had all shared" (150). And
he says so much more about this key issue of reintegration and the need for
acceptance, especially dealing with the challenges of returning from Vietnam to
a country that didn't appreciate his service or the battle he was sent to
fight. This important and timely issue alone makes the book a compelling and
worthwhile read, and has given me renewed respect and concern for our current
crop of returning vets.
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