by Will Kostas

What Every Person Should Know About War

by Chris Hedges

(Free Press) $11

I think war is a dangerous place. --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 7, 2003

Chris Hedges has seen war. He's been to Central America, Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans. He was in the West Bank during the first Palestinian uprising, and was even held prisoner by the Iraqi Republican Guard for a week following the 1991 Gulf War. All of this was not, however, as a soldier, but as a writer; an experience probably similar to hanging out on the set of M*A*S*H. (And yes, I know I have no room to talk, as I'm reduced to writing about the guy who writes about war. Moving on....) In his latest book, the acclaimed New York Times (Really? Still?) journalist offers a bland but insightful look at the realities of modern warfare.

While the book's title suggests it's for every person, in reality, the book speaks directly to the "Southern trailer park" demographic. War takes aims at informing the GED-clad, attention-span-challenged 17-year-old who is deciding whether to heed the call of Uncle Sam. To this end, the book is able to cover quite a bit of ground, as topics range from the basic (enlistment, weapons, wounds) to the surprising (mutiny, targeting mosques, torture by mock execution). Hedges' use of the Q&A format lends to short, dry responses and ultimately the book ends up reading like an R. Lee Ermey novel (Sgt. Hartman, from Full Metal Jacket). In fact, he might have actually stolen some of Ermey's lines from the movie.

The most interesting chapter is the final one, devoted to life "after the war," as Hedges touches on the long-term psychological effects of war and possible sexual dysfunction. The fix? Hedges suggests that ships returning home stop off in Thailand, for example, so that soldiers can "discuss what happened during the war," and "perform appropriate ceremonies or rituals"--just what the poor people of Thailand need, more drunken marines raping their women. Well done, Mr. Hedges.

In the end, the book proved to be informative enough to hold my interest, strayed just far enough from the party line to be believable, and was, quite frankly, plain (read: dumbed down) enough to have an actual impact on potential recruits.