From the author of The Perfect Storm, a gripping book about Sebastian Junger's a
lmost fatal year with the 2nd battalion of the American Army. For 15 months, Seb
astian Junger accompanied a single platoon of thirty men from the celebrated 2nd
battalion of the U.S. Army, as they fought their way through a remote valley in
Eastern Afghanistan.
Over the course of five trips, Junger was in more firef
ights than he could count, men he knew were killed or wounded, and he himself wa
s almost killed. His relationship with these soldiers grew so close that they co
nsidered him part of the platoon, and he enjoyed an access and a candidness that
few, if any, journalists ever attain. But this is more than just a book about A
fghanistan or the 'War on Terror'; it is a book about the universal truth of all
men, in all wars.
Junger set out to answer what he thought of as the 'hand g
renade question': why would a man throw himself on a hand grenade to save other
men he has probably known for only a few months? The answer is elusive but profo
und, and goes to the heart of what it means not just to be a soldier, but to be
human. 'War' is a narrative about combat: the fear of dying, the trauma of killi
ng and the love between platoon-mates who would rather die than let each other d
own. Gripping, honest, intense, it explores the neurological, psychological and
social elements of combat, and the incredible bonds that form between these smal
l groups of men.
