War...what IS it good for?

Right now in my house there's more than 1500 pages of information and history about war waiting to be read, spread out over four different titles. I am not going to have the time to get all of those pages read, nor am I going to have the stomach for it, so I will have to pick and choose.

The first book is titled Why America Fights: Patriotism and War Propaganda from the Philippines to Iraq, by Susan A. Brewer. This book looks interesting, and I have always been interested in the uses and effects of propaganda (it's the former Communication Arts major in me), but it's a more scholarly book and I'm just not up for it right now. I did read the introduction last night, and must say I lost interest after this sentence: "As we will see, propaganda can promote a legitimate war such as World War II or a flawed conflict such as Vietnam." (p. 7.) Now, "legitimate" is a better word than "good" or "valid," but I still think it itself constitutes propaganda, and, if thought about, only continues to stigmatize veterans of later, more "flawed" conflicts. People think I'm nuts when I say things like this: but can any war really be called "legitimate"? I just don't know.

The second book is a monster titled Stripping Bare the Body: Politics, Violence, War, by Mark Danner, and it looks really fascinating. In fact, because I would probably never get through this one in the four weeks allotted me by the library, I have been thinking about buying it, just to have it around and to support Mark Danner, who has written several interesting books based on his reporting career. In this book his journalistic pieces from a number of the world's hot spot--Haiti, Sarajevo, Iraq, Afghanistan--were chosen to reflect what the book jacket promises: "it tells the grim and compelling tale of the true final years of the American Century, as the United States passed from the violent certainties of the late Cold War, to the ideological confusions of the post-Cold War world, to the pumped up and ruthless evangelism of the War on Terror and the Iraq War, and the ruins they have left behind." Please note this book's cover, which I find scary as hell.

No judgment yet on David Finkel's book The Good Soldiers, as I have been waiting for it on hold for a long, long time, and still hope to get it read before it has to go back to the library.

But will I be in the mood for that one when I'm done with Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death, by Jim Frederick? I don't know. I only started it yesterday, but it's pretty chilling. In this one, reporter Frederick describes the activities of one specific platoon of soldiers--the 1st Battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment the 101st Airborne Division--who were deployed in late 2005 to try and maintain order in the violent triangle between the Iraq cities of Mahmudiyah, Lutufiyah, and Yusufiyah (just south of Baghdad). Under ridiculous amounts of threats and stress, some of the soldiers in this unit engaged in war crimes that I really don't even want to describe, but which involve the murder of an Iraqi family. Atrocities were also perpetrated against them; this is the same unit from which several servicemen were taken, killed, and their bodies mutilated.

I may be ready for some lighter reading when I'm done with any of the above books.

Comments

[Tripp]

Good Soldiers is so super good (and so super readable and short) that I would say to jump on it.

Regarding the legitimacy of wars, have you read Michael Walzer's Just and Unjust Wars?

[Citizen Reader]

Tripp,
I have a whole basement full (that's where my "reference collection" is) of books about war, history of war, and debates on just and unjust wars. But when you see how even a "legitimate" war just perpetuates everything (I truly believe that the "legitimate" WWII set us up for at least half a century, and counting, of poor military decision making, all based on that war's mythos, so how much world misery has that led to?). But I don't think I've heard of the Walzer book. Would you recommend it?

"Good Soldiers" had a lot of good word of mouth, and good reviews, and it is short, so I am still hoping to get it read.

[Tripp]

The Walzer book is a classic, yes I do recommend it. I would agree though on the notion of legitimacy as whether one is or isn't it has little bearing on whether the war will be started or not.

[Nan]

I'm a new reader of this (totally awesome) blog so forgive me if you've addressed this before, but do you have a preference or opinion on reading current affairs books once years have passed since the years described? I'm thinking specifically of Ghost Wars by Steve Coll and The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright -- I own a copy of Ghost Wars and the Wright book has been on my TBR list since it came out. But I just haven't gotten around to either of them and now have started to wonder if it's worth the investment of time. I imagine they're both great reads and would be of excellent educational value. But I have this nagging feeling like I've missed the boat when I don't read books like this within a year or so of publication.

[Citizen Reader]

Nan,
Thanks for the kind words. We're always happy to meet new readers!

You know, I've never been particularly bothered by reading "Current" Affairs books a few years out of their currency (although I do think it's a horrible category name--I prefer to call them "investigative" books). For one thing, I very rarely read to keep up with the times. The most talking I do with nonfiction readers, sadly (or happily?) mainly comes through this blog, as most people I know read fiction or won't talk politics--so reading books through word of mouth or to keep current in conversation is not really my thing.

If anything, I sometimes like reading such books out of their context, both for their unintentional takes on history (any book written in 2006, say, will retain a political flavor of 2006, I would say) and for good background. A good book is always a good book, even if some information changes or what we know changes. But then again I don't really think of nonfiction as gospel truth the way many people do--I recognize that all writers put their spins on topics, and even with extensive reporting, will miss or get some of the story wrong.

Both Ghost Wars and The Looming Tower were great solid reporting books, and you're certainly not going to be any dumber after reading them. Don't be in a hurry. You'll notice we're still in big worldwide messes due to war, so the more things change, the more they stay the same. Along the same lines, I would highly recommend George Packer's "The Assassin's Gate," about Iraq and its history and our involvement there--it's a few years old too but it was really a book that stuck with me.

Sorry if this comment was long and ranty. Hope I haven't turned you off of the blog already! :)

[Tripp]

I second the vote on both Ghost Wars and The Looming Tower. There is some overlap between them, but they are great reads. I give Ghost Wars the edge though.

[nan]

Thanks for the counsel and I'm definitely not turned off. You're right not to take nonfiction as gospel truth and I speak as a recovering journalist. Journalists/nonfiction writers are human beings which means they're individual, fallible, subjective and well, human.

[Citizen Reader]

Tripp,
Thanks for the back-up on these two titles. I'll admit I didn't make it all the way through Ghost Wars, but that wasn't because it wasn't a good book.

Nan,
Always glad to have a "recovering journalist" around. :) (I'm a journalism grad myself, but never had the skills or derring-do to work in the industry.) That's one of the things I find most frustrating about how some people approach nonfiction--they accept that it's all true. To a certain level you can expect accuracy and a desire to tell the truth--but the fact remains that if five people witness the same simple event, you're still going to hear five different stories. That's partly what I love about nonfiction, actually, but it can surprise some readers who are expecting nothing by the facts, ma'am.

[rick]

The question about currency of books is interesting. When I am weeding, I often am dismayed by how all of the checkouts were within the first six months to a year of issue. Our society pushes new too much at the expense of still valid, and it effects how people borrow books. That's why I think we need more good readers advisory, bringing books out of the stacks.

Alternately, I like that some political trash-talk books fade pretty quickly. We need to get them to open up some space.

[Rachael]

If I'm not too late to post (gone two weeks for conferences and vacation)...

Always nice to have books to add to my list. (The last two, not the first two. It's nice to be done with college. I can read the "easier" scholarly books and save the dense and chewy ones for later! Although I do have Stripping Bare the Body on my list... Grr, drowning in books!)

I'm already waiting for Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War, which sounds outstanding. If, that is, I can trust the WSJ review and the first few pages from Amazon.com.

The one bad thing about books about war is that they leave me in a gray fog for days, sometimes weeks. Then I have to fight the temptation to break out the Iliad and wallow.