What It is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes

He is a natural storyteller and a deeply profound thinker who not only illuminates war for civilians, but also offers a kind of spiritual guidance to veterans themselves. In my eyes he has become the preeminent literary voice on war of our generation. 'Karl Marlantes has written a staggeringly beautiful book on combat-what it feels like, what the consequences are and above all, what society must do to understand it. Just as Matterhorn is already being acclaimed as acclaimed as a classic of war literature, What It Is Like to Go to War is set to become required reading for anyone-soldier or civilian-interested in this visceral and all too essential part of the human experience.

He makes it clear just how poorly prepared our nineteen-year-old warriors are for the psychological and spiritual aspects of the journey. Marlantes weaves riveting accounts of his combat experiences with thoughtful analysis, self-examination, and his readings-from Homer to The Mahabharata to Jung. In What It Is Like to Go to War, Marlantes takes a deeply personal and candid look at what it is like to experience the ordeal of combat, critically examining how we might better prepare our soldiers for war. Marlantes survived, but like many of his brothers in arms, he has spent the last forty years dealing with his war experience. He also underscores the need for returning veterans to be counseled properly.īook Synopsis From the author of the award-winning, best-selling novel Matterhorn, comes a brilliant nonfiction book about war In 1968, at the age of twenty-three, Karl Marlantes was dropped into the highland jungle of Vietnam, an inexperienced lieutenant in command of a platoon of forty Marines who would live or die by his decisions. About the Book Marlantes relates his combat experiences in Vietnam and discusses the daily contradictions warriors face in the grind of war, where each battle requires them to take life or spare life.

What It is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes