Customer Reviews

What Every Person Should Know About War

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I almost fell over in disbelief when I read the Publishers Weekly review (see above) for this book. Either the reviewer has an ax to grind against the book's author, or else he/she is just completely misguided, living in some strange academic tower somewhere.

In discussing casualties, wounds, and combat trauma, the reviewer says: "...such experiences have become less common in America's high-tech, casualty-averse military."

Sentences like this prove to me (a two-time war-zone US Army vet) how much this book IS needed.

Who does the reviewer think is on the battlefield? Robots?

No. Humans. Human soldiers and human civilians and when humans step on land mines or get shot they scream, they bleed, and they die.

Hedges has held true to his prologue: this book is skewed neither to the left or right politically; it just tells it like it is, almost always from direct quotes from US Army manuals and medical texts. This book is about the truth, the truth of warfare. It makes no commentary, but it also pulls no punches.

Again, I'm a veteran, and proud to be one. If I had to do it again, I would join the service again, even if it meant a return to war for me. I think it's important to say that, because people are criticising this book for being anti-American. Ridiculous. This book is about the truth, the truth of the war experience. Not the Hollywood airbrushed "Army of One" ads the Pentagon runs on TV.

The USA has an all-volunteer military, something we should be proud of. In my mind, every potential "volunteer" should read this book before they join. They may still join (like I said, I would have), but at least they'll be going with open eyes.

Highly recommended for all humans to read: soldiers and civilians alike.

Chris Hedges gives us a straight-forward book about what it is like to be a soldier. It is arranged like a FAQ, in a question-and-answer format. The beauty of this book is it's simplicity and it's objectivity. Hedges doesn't try to convince anyone to join the military nor does he protest against the military. He just provides facts, and the readers can chose to use the facts as they please. For example, will you rush to join the army infantry after finding out that you have a 1 in 5 chance of getting seriously injured if you go into combat? He also goes into psychological problems that soldiers may develop such as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. You'll also find out what will happen to you if you are wounded or killed. Some people may say that this information will just scare off recruits, but don't you think we should tell the men and women who defend our country the truth? Why should we lie to those we claim to honor? If you know someone who is thinking of enlisting, buy them a copy of this book before they do so that they will have more than a recruiter's promises to base their decision upon.

I'm beginning to get the feeling Chris Hedges' books are Confession, and Act of Contrition rolled into one; and I think he's doing a good thing. I gave a stellar review to his first book, "War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning," and sent it to a young man graduating from high school in the hope it would help counter the effects of the jingoism we've been inundated with since 9/11. This second book would make a great companion piece, but in my situation, and thank goodness, it's not necessary.

This is a book that should be required reading for any prospective service person. Mr. Hedges has gone way out of his way to be factual, and objective, and let the facts speak. Its purposefully under-heated style reminded me of nothing else but the Baltimore Catechism, albeit minus the dogma. If I had the wherewithal I'd supply every guidance counselor in the US with a few copies, and if I were the Secretary of any service branch I'd give a copy to every potential recruit; however, I neither have, nor am.

I do wonder as to the books potential efficacy in guiding someone away from the service - not Mr. Hedges' stated purpose by the way. Eighteen year olds are immortal - I was - as well as, "young, dumb, and full of cum" - I was. Weren't you? And certainly not prone to being guided by facts - especially when our recruiting efforts are so sexy. Anthony Swofford in "Jarhead," writes about Marine recruits watching war movies - even those considered to be "anti-war" movies - and tells us that our anti-war movies are just the opposite to the troops. I can just hear a couple of prospective recruits reading about death's unraveling - "Cool..."

I started flipping through this in a bookstore and was blown away. I took it home and read it cover to cover and was engaged the whole way through. Very little of it was information I had seen before, and almost all of it fell somewhere on the spectrum between interesting and shocking. I have been recommending it strongly to friends and am writing my first AMZN recommendation to do it here.

At first I thought the Q&A format would make it hard to get into, but it ended up making it easier. There's not an explicit narrative but the questions are broken up into chapters, and within the chapters they follow a simple logic. The next question is usually the next question you'd ask if you were having a conversation with someone who had all the answers.

I have to disagree with the official review from Publisher's Weekly, on two counts. One, the author's point is that while the Pentagon would have you believe that war has changed, the fact is that the soldier on the ground is still firing bullets at the enemy and having bullets fired at him. Believing that a high-tech war is fundamentally different or "easier" is demeaning to those who fight and win wars today the way they have always been fought and won: on the ground.

The second point is the suggestion that this is a book "for soldiers." This abrogates the responsibility of every American to understand what our government asks of these young men and women when it sends them off to fight. At the very least, anyone who votes or pays taxes in America is complicit in the decision to go to war, and everyone should understand what military men and women go through. To say to a soldier "this book is for you; I don't need to know this" is again to insult his or her experience.

In my book there was a slip mentioning a website, where the authors plan to list new questions submitted by readers. I know I can't give out that URL here. But I have my fingers crossed that everyday Americans will start thinking of questions they have about our growing military, and pursuing the answers.

Here we are in Fort America in 2008 with the Iraq War in it's seventh year, the War on Terra still in full swing (of course), and with both presidential candidates bending over backwards to ensure the powers that be and the masses that they are more than willing to solve problems with violence and war. The 'candidate of hope' has made clear he will in reality change little and plans to increase our military presence in Afghanistan. The other one frankly isn't worth commenting on. Who knows what new conflicts will emerge in the next few years?

Chris Hedges had a good idea with this book _What Every Person Should Know About War_. You don't at all have to share my utter contempt and hatred of war to appreciate and benefit from it.

I would consider giving this book to a young man in my family or that perhaps you are a mentor to. I think it is especially important for those that are more likely than the rest of us to enter the military and find themselves in combat to have as good of an idea as they can of what hell may be in store for them. War isn't like a movie or video game and while we all kind of know that, including most young people, truth is nothing brings home the point like being faced page after page with cold hard facts.

The book, What Every Person Should Know About War, is an interesting one. This book is not read like any other novel, it is read as a series of questions. Everything that a person thinks about when he thinks about war is covered in this book. It is a great tool to use in order to get a better understanding and to further your knowledge about war.

Many of us think we know everything about war, but we don't. This book truly opened my eyes to so many issues regarding war that i was dumbfounded. There was so much information brought to my attention that forced you to continue reading through this book. It gave me such a clear depiction for what war is really like and showed me the atmosphere in which are soldiers deal with on a daily bases while at war. Especially with the status of our world today and the crime we are fighting all over the world, it helps give an understanding that people think they have, but truly have no idea.

This book is great for many different purposes. It can be used in the classroom for students, or can be used for personal reasons. It will not take you more than two hours to read the book cover to cover, but there is more information than you can imagine. It will ask questions that everyone asks either alloud or to themselves. And it will give responses that are detailed, valuable, and understandable. This book is an eye-opener and will shock many with its factual and statistical information. It will also make you think, and at time will break your heart when you read about certain issues.

This book i highly recommend to anyone debating entering the service, for classroom use, or personal curiosity. It will enlighten you and answer questions you've always had but have never had anyone to ask them to. It will give you a better understanding of war and even a greater appreciation for what our previous war verterans have endured throughout their lives. If you debate buying this book, you should. If your not sure if its worth the money, it is. It was truly beneficial to me and my peers and I promise it will benefit you in some way.

In 2002, Chris Hedges wrote the highly acclaimed WIAFTGUM, a beautifully written book that explored the powerful pull of aggression on the body politic. A subtle work that deftly combined psychology, philosophy, history, and political science, WIAFTGUM was a critical success and, I suspect, a decent seller for a first-time author. (I know that CH is an accomplished reporter, but a first book is a first book -- Bob Woodward he isn't, yet.)

One good book deserves another, so CH has returned with a marketable sophomore effort, WEPSKAW. Its Q-and-A format allows for quick absorption of surprising information -- I never would have imagined how many military pregnancies end in abortion, nor that the Army designed its RMEs to keep soldiers constipated. (You're welcome.) Sadly, most of the data is liable to be forgotten as quickly as a college freshman forgets the details from History 101. (Pop quiz, hot shot: How much did the Korean War cost in 2003 dollars? Do you remember? Well do ya, punk??) You might even get as much of a `Huh -- I never knew that' reaction reading the book the second time around.

More of a drawback is that, long about the third chapter or so, you start to feel like you're reading the longest `Harper's Index' known to man. (Amount requested for rebuilding Iraq: $87 billion. Amount requested for Head Start: Twenty-five cents. Yeah, I get it.) You respect the hours of research put into the project, but you were already sold on page 40; the rest is overkill. The deadpan delivery, initially effective, gradually becomes facile. You can almost see the staffers at Adbusters overlaying the sober paragraphs about land mines onto photos of bloody Afghans. Once again, I think I get what you're saying -- now put down the sledgehammer.

I'm surprised to see reviewers taking CH to task for `lying' about the book's not having any agenda. I don't think CH ever claimed not to have an agenda in writing the book; he only said that he would make his case calmly, clearly, and constantly supported by the facts. That "subversive" agenda, by the way, is simply to note that war is a serious business, and should not be entered into lightly. You'd think that would go without saying... until you remember that the Oval Office has been manned by two draft-dodgers in a row now, with the current occupant blithely telling senators to "F**k Saddam -- we're taking him out." A sober counterweight and a sense of perspective? Bring `em on!

The Publishers Weekly review should be reviewed--and deleted for inaccuracy:
"He fails to note that depictions of gore, mayhem, psychological trauma and flashbacks have become staples of Hollywood's treatment of war even as such experiences have become less common in America's high-tech, casualty-averse military. Americans, soldiers and civilians both, could use a clear-eyed analysis of modern warfare, but this limited treatment doesn't yet provide one."
"Casualty-averse military??" This is simply false as well as disrespectful to the thousands of war dead and injured. The reviewer does a great disservice to Hedges book in making such a moronic claim. As the first reviewer mentions, Hedges tells the truth about war without glossing over or glorifying the effects of war on human beings.
Amazon, please do something about the PW review!

After all of the controversy that has dogged him since his previous book, "War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning", war journalist Chris Hedges simply and cleverly lets the statistics speak for themselves. You be the judge. This should be required reading for anyone considering a career in the military. At the very least, you will know exactly what you are getting yourself into.

What an interesting format given the subject matter. I was expecting something along the lines of Gwynne Dyer's War but found it to be a cross between a manual and questions savvy recruits would ask before joining up. It is so factual and detached that it often borders on the surreal. What makes it work is its directness and the author's credible background as a wartime correspondent.

Hedges states, "We ennoble war. We turn it into entertainment. And in all this we forget what war is about, what it does to those who wage it and those who suffer from it." So his quest is to remove our desensitization through blunt prose. I was amazed to find out that "of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history" and "108 million people were killed in wars in the twentieth century. Estimates for the total number killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to 1 billion."

The format covers a broad range of topics with such questions as what is the most painful way to get wounded?; will I be afraid?; and what does it feel like to kill somebody? Hedges' answers include George Orwell's account of being shot and are rife with facts (some needing updating based on latest conflicts). The book made me uncomfortable and removed many illusions about the glory of war so Hedges accomplished his mission.