Tribe: On Belonging and Homecoming
Author(s): Sebastian Junger
From the author of THE PERFECT STORM and WAR comes a book about why men miss war, why Londoners missed the Blitz, and what we can all learn from American Indian captives who refused to go home. Tribe is a look at post-traumatic stress disorder and the challenges veterans face returning to society. Using his background in anthropology, Sebastian Junger argues that the problem lies not with vets or with the trauma they've suffered, but with the society to which they are trying to return. One of the most puzzling things about veterans who experience PTSD is that the majority never even saw combat-and yet they feel deeply alienated and out of place back home. The reason may lie in our natural inclination, as a species, to live in groups of thirty to fifty people who are entirely reliant on one another for safety, comfort and a sense of meaning: in short, the life of a soldier. It is one of the ironies of the modern age that as affluence rises in a society, so do rates of suicide, depression and of course PTSD. In a wealthy society people don't need to cooperate with one another, so they often lead much lonelier lives that lead to psychological distress. There is a way for modern society to reverse this trend, however, and studying how veterans react to coming home may provide a clue to how to do it. But it won't be easy.
Product Information
'An incredible work of frontline journalism' Independent, Books of the Year 'In his acute observations of soldiers both in battle and at rest, Junger paints a vivid and realistic portrait of the fighting in Afghanistan, often bitterly funny and desperately sad.' Patrick Hennessey, Literary Review 'The bloodiest and most compelling book you are ever likely to read on the enduring carnage in Afghanistan' The Times 'One of the best books about war you will ever read. Beautifully written in unshowy prose and thoughtful, honest and profound. A masterpiece of the genre.' Mail on Sunday 'An intense account...Junger uses his documentary skills to ask his comrades tough questions about killing, dying, loyalty and friendship. The result is a book not just about war, but about the limits of courage and, yes, love under pressure.' Guardian 'Absorbing and original...Junger has found a novel and interesting lens through which to view the conflict in Afghanistan, and he captures many things a lesser writer might miss.' New York Times 'It takes a very good book to carry off a title as portentous as 'War", and Sebastian Junger has written one...An outstanding war report: a precise and gripping account of some of the fiercest battles involving American soldiers in recent times.' The Economist
SEBASTIAN JUNGER is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Perfect Storm, A Death in Belmont, Fire, and War. He is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and has been awarded a National Magazine Award and an SAIS-Novartis Prize for journalism. He lives in New York City.
General Fields
- :
- : HarperCollins Publishers
- : Fourth Estate Ltd
- : 30 September 2015
- : United Kingdom
- : 01 November 2017
- : books
Special Fields
- : Sebastian Junger
- : Paperback
- : 1607
- : en
- : 128