War
Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
by
Chris Hedges
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Book
Description
As
a veteran war correspondent, Chris Hedges has
survived ambushes in Central America, imprisonment
in Sudan, and a beating by Saudi military police.
He has seen children murdered for sport in Gaza
and petty thugs elevated into war heroes in
the Balkans. Hedges, who is also a former divinity
student, has seen war at its worst and knows
too well that to those who pass through it,
war can be exhilarating and even addictive:
“It gives us purpose, meaning, a reason
for living.”
Drawing
on his own experience and on the literature
of combat from Homer to Michael Herr, Hedges
shows how war seduces not just those on the
front lines but entire societies, corrupting
politics, destroying culture, and perverting
the most basic human desires. Mixing hard-nosed
realism with profound moral and philosophical
insight, War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
is a work of terrible power and redemptive clarity
whose truths have never been more necessary.
From
the Back Cover
“A brilliant, thoughtful, timely and unsettling
book. . . . Abounds with Hedges’ harrowing
and terribly moving eyewitness accounts . .
. Powerful and informative.” – The
New York Times Book Review
“The
best kind of war journalism: It is bitterly
poetic and ruthlessly philosophical. It sends
out a powerful message to people contemplating
the escalation of the ‘war against terrorism.’”
–Los Angeles Times
“Chris
Hedges has written a powerful book, one which
bears sad witness to what veterans have long
understood . . . [A] somber and timely warning
to those – in any society – who
would evoke the emotions of war for the pursuit
of political gain.” —General Wesley
K. Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe,
and author of Waging Modern War
“[A]
powerful chronicle of modern war . . . .A persuasive
call for humility and realism in the pursuit
of national goals by force of arms . . . .a
potent and eloquent warning.” --The New
York Times
“No
one is in a better position than Hedges to pronounce
on the revolting things war does to everyone
caught up in it. . . . A confession of rare
and frightening honesty.” –Slate.com
About
the Author
Chris
Hedges has been a foreign correspondent for
fifteen years. Currently on staff at The New
York Times, he has previously worked for The
Dallas Morning News, The Christian Science Monitor,
and National Public Radio. He holds a master
of divinity from Harvard University. He lives
in New York City. |
| Editorial
Reviews
From
Publishers Weekly
"The communal march against an enemy
generates a warm, unfamiliar bond with
our neighbors, our community, our nation,
wiping out unsettling undercurrents of
alienation and dislocation," writes
Chris Hedges, a foreign correspondent
for the New York Times. In War Is a Force
That Gives Us Meaning, Hedges draws on
his experiences covering conflicts in
Bosnia, El Salvador and Israel as well
as works of literature from the Iliad
to Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism
to look at what makes war so intoxicating
for soldiers, politicians and ordinary
citizens. He discusses outbreaks of nationalism,
the wartime silencing of intellectuals
and artists, the ways in which even a
supposedly skeptical press glorifies the
battlefield and other universal features
of war, arguing not for pacifism but for
responsibility and humility on the part
of those who wage war.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information,
Inc.
From
Library Journal
This moving book examines the continuing
appeal of war to the human psyche. Veteran
New York Times correspondent Hedges argues
that, to many people, war provides a purpose
for living; it seems to allow the individual
to rise above regular life and perhaps
participate in a noble cause. Having identified
this myth, Hedges then explodes it by
showing the brutality of modern war, using
examples taken from his own experiences
as a war correspondent in Latin America,
the Middle East, and the Balkans. These
examples highlight the devastating effects
of war on life, community, and culture
and its corruption of business and government.
Hedges is not a pacifist, acknowledging
that people need to battle evil, but he
thoughtfully cautions us against accepting
the accompanying myths of war. This should
be required reading in this post-9/11
world as we debate the possibility of
war with Iraq. For all libraries.
Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Lib.,
Parkersburg
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information,
Inc.
Slate.com,
September 11, 2002.
"Hedges' account of the horrors of
war follows a confession of rare and frightening
honesty."
New
York Times Book Review, September 29,
2002
"A brilliant, thoughtful, timely
and unsettling book...it will rattle jingoists,
pacifists, moralists, nihilists, politicians
and professional soldiers equally..."
Los
Angeles Times, October 13, 2002
"the best kind of war journalism:...bitterly
poetic and ruthlessly philosophical...
a powerful message to people contemplating
the[war on terror].'"
Salon.com,
November 25, 2002.
"As the 'war on terror' continues
on its...potentially catastrophic course,
America would do well to heed Hedges'...warning."
Molly
Ivins, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November
22, 2002.
"I highly recommend Chris Hedges'
splendid little book...His understanding
is profound and was earned on the ground."
Jonathan
Power, Toronto Star, December 27, 2003.
"If...I thought Bush and Blair would
give it time I would happily send them
a copy to read."
Reviewer's
Choice, Dallas Morning News, February
13, 2003
[Hedges] doesn't tell us that war is hell.
He escorts us through the streets made
slick with the blood...of innocents."
Foreign
Affairs, March/April 2003
a compelling read and a valuable counterweight
to the more antiseptic discussions common
among strategic analysts."
Liz
Smith, syndicated columnist, February
16, 2003
"small but readable...[Hedges] is
a brilliant reporter... It's the book
to read now."
Willamette
Week, March 14, 2003.
"Rarely is a book so timely as Hedges'
latest,...a refreshing jolt of cerebral
and emotional clarity to war's all-encompassing
destruction..."
Book
Info
He tackles the ugly truths about humanity's
love affair with war, offering a sophisticated,
nuanced, intelligent meditation on the
subject that is also gritty, powerful,
and unforgettable. |
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