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Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging Kindle Edition
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Decades before the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin lamented that English settlers were constantly fleeing over to the Indians-but Indians almost never did the same. Tribal society has been exerting an almost gravitational pull on Westerners for hundreds of years, and the reason lies deep in our evolutionary past as a communal species. The most recent example of that attraction is combat veterans who come home to find themselves missing the incredibly intimate bonds of platoon life. The loss of closeness that comes at the end of deployment may explain the high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by military veterans today.
Combining history, psychology, and anthropology, Tribe explores what we can learn from tribal societies about loyalty, belonging, and the eternal human quest for meaning. It explains the irony that-for many veterans as well as civilians-war feels better than peace, adversity can turn out to be a blessing, and disasters are sometimes remembered more fondly than weddings or tropical vacations. Tribe explains why we are stronger when we come together, and how that can be achieved even in today's divided world.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTwelve
- Publication dateMay 24, 2016
- File size2875 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"There are three excellent reasons to read Sebastian Junger's new book: the clarity of his thought, the elegance of his prose, and the provocativeness of his chosen subject. Within a compact space, the sheer range of his inquiry is astounding."―S. C. Gwynne, New York Times bestselling author of Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon
"Sebastian Junger has turned the multifaceted problem of returning veterans on its head. It's not so much about what's wrong with the veterans, but what's wrong with us. If we made the changes suggested in TRIBE, not only our returning veterans, but all of us, would be happier and healthier. Please read this book."―Karl Marlantes, New York Times bestselling author of Matterhorn and What It Is Like to Go to War
"Junger uses every word in this slim volume to make a passionate, compelling case for a more egalitarian society."―Booklist
"The author resists the temptation to glorify war as the solution to a nation's mental ills and warns against the tendency "to romanticize Indian life," but he does succeed in showing "the complicated blessings of 'civilization,' " while issuing warnings about divisiveness and selfishness that should resonate in an election year. The themes implicit in the author's bestsellers are explicit in this slim yet illuminating volume."―Kirkus Reviews
"Thought-provoking...a gem."―The Washington Post
"TRIBE is an important wake-up call. Let's hope we don't sleep through the alarm."―Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Compelling...Junger...offers a starting point for mending some of the toxic divisiveness rampant in our current political and cultural climate."―The Boston Globe
"Junger argues with candor and grace for the everlasting remedies of community and connectedness."―O Magazine
"TRIBE is a fascinating, eloquent and thought-provoking book..packed with ideas...It could help us to think more deeply about how to help men and women battered by war to find a new purpose in peace."―The Times of London
"This is a brilliant little book driven by a powerful idea and series of reflections by the bestselling author of the bestselling books The Perfect Storm and War, and the film documentary Restrepo, about fighting in Afghanistan...The strongest experience of companionship and community often comes with the extremes of war. Junger is particularly good on the stress and exhilaration experienced by reporters, aid workers, and soldiers in combat - and the difficulties they face on return...I would give this gem of an essay to anyone embarking on the understanding of human society and governance."―Evening Standard
"An electrifying tapestry of history, anthropology, psychology and memoir that punctures the stereotype of the veteran as a war-damaged victim in need of salvation. Rather than asking how we can save our returning servicemen and women, Junger challenges us to take a hard look in the mirror and ask whether we can save ourselves."―The Guardian
"Junger has identified one of the last cohesive tribes in America and, through an examination of its culture of self-subjugation grasps for a remedy that might reunite a fragmented civilian society."―Elliot Ackerman, Times Literary Supplement
TRIBE is an extended reflection on the need for inclusion and belonging...written by an impassioned war correspondent less concerned with the scars of battle than the psychological dislocation experienced by those returning home, who have experienced tribal inclusion, but now face a future without it.―Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
TRIBE is a fascinating look into why inspires ancient human virtues of honor, courage and commitment on the battlefield, and the difficulty that can arise when a combat tour is over. While the book may easily fit in a soldier's small cargo pocket, it packs immensely valuable insight that is sure to bring understanding to military and civilian readers alike.―San Antonio Express-News
I first read about this history several months ago in Sebastian Junger's excellent book, TRIBE. It has haunted me since. It raises the possibility that our culture is built on some fundamental error about what makes people happy and fulfilled.―David Brooks, The New York Times
From the Back Cover
Regaining our tribal connections may be the key to our psychological survival
Tribal society has been exerting an almost gravitational pull on Westerners for hundreds of years, and the reason lies deep in our evolutionary past as a communal species. The most recent example of that attraction is combat veterans who come home to find themselves missing the incredibly intimate bonds of platoon life. The loss of closeness that comes at the end of deployment may explain the high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by military veterans today. Sebastian Junger argues that the difficulties many veterans face upon returning home from war do not stem entirely from the trauma they’ve suffered, but also from the individualist societies they must reintegrate into.
Drawing from history, psychology, and anthropology, Tribe illustrates the irony that—for many veterans as well as civilians—war feels better than peace, adversity can turn out to be a blessing, and disasters are sometimes remembered more fondly than weddings or tropical vacations. Junger explains why we are stronger when we come together, and how that can be achieved even in today’s divided world.
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B01BCJDSNI
- Publisher : Twelve; 1st edition (May 24, 2016)
- Publication date : May 24, 2016
- Language : English
- File size : 2875 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 181 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 1455540838
- Best Sellers Rank: #71,073 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #4 in Afghan War History
- #10 in Clinical Psychology (Kindle Store)
- #33 in History of Anthropology
- Customer Reviews:
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Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
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About the author
Sebastian Junger is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of War, The Perfect Storm, Fire, and A Death in Belmont. Together with Tim Hetherington, he directed the Academy Award-nominated film Restrepo, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. 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.
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In our modern world when someone uses the word "tribal" it's typically used as a derogatory term accusing individuals or small groups of people of only thinking about themselves and refusing to be a part of the grander society as a whole. Sebastian Junger reminds us however, that being "tribal" may not only be a good thing but could be what helps us survive the modern era.
Is it healthy that we are becoming a more individualistic society? Today a person could go an entire day, week or even years mostly encountering complete strangers. This is a far cry from what it used to mean to be human, and because of this, there comes with it a deeply disturbing cost. As we lose our need for others, we also lose what keeps us alive in battle, what gives our sacrifices meaning, and what gives us our morality -- group pressure and community.
Today we live in a post-Emersonian, Nietzschean, cowboy society where the individual has come out on top. We love the man who can be his own individual, and stand up to the crowd -- but that doesn't mean we don't need the crowd, that we don't need to relate with one another. In fact one could argue, and Sabastian does, that we need now community more than ever. Our tribal past is calling to us and if we ignore it we ignore it at our own peril.
As Sebastian says: "We are not good to each other. Our tribalism is to an extremely narrow group of people: our children, our spouse, maybe our parents. Our society is alienating, technical, cold, and mystifying. Our fundamental desire, as human beings, is to be close to others, and our society does not allow for that."
But for Sebastian it's more than just rudeness, higher rates of depression, rising suicide rates, etc. It's also about what happens when we find ourselves in a society where we can take advantage of each other with no visible cost. When a group of people can cost American society several trillion dollars in losses -- roughly one-quarter of that years GDP - and not be tried for high crimes? When you can carelessly throw trash on the ground because you don't feel connected enough to the group around you, to the shared ethos of protecting something valuable?
These might seem like minor things, and we may be glad we live in a society that can withstand these kinds of blows... but blows they are. They are blows against our relatedness, our sense of sacrifice, and what we need to really survive and thrive -- to be human.
I could go on, but you should really just read the book yourself. It's a fantastic reminder of not only the importance of community but that it's a biologically fundamental need that we cannot ignore. "Belonging to a society requires sacrifice, and that sacrifice gives back way more than it costs. That sense of solidarity is at the core of what it means to be human and undoubtedly helped deliver us to this extraordinary moment in our history. It may also be the only thing that allows us to survive it."
Please note I am of Seneca ancestry. People may consider me biased, but I do not believe I am. I am not a tribal member due to matrilineal tribal laws and that is ok for I respect Seneca tribal laws.
Essentially, Junger argues, people are missing a sense of belonging, of being an important part of a larger whole, of feeling important to their community - their tribe. I get this; this sense of belonging and trust and altruism is among the things I miss the most from my time in the military (and combat.) Junger provides a lot of evidence to support this from primatology to early American history to the struggles and issues returning warriors experience today.
There is much that Junger writes about that I agree with: that in spite of the modern conveniences and comforts we have, the modern wold also alienates us from one another. That the contempt we have for other Americans who politically disagree with us is toxic; that the conservative outrage at social service cheats is absolutely right - but so is the liberal inclination to provide social services to the needy. That the platitudes of "thank you for your service", yellow ribbons and military discounts are hollow in a society that does nothing to share, recognize or even authentically hear the voices of veterans.
Yet I can't help but feel Junger missed an opportunity. He does a remarkable job of describing the problem, of quantifying it, even of showing what works in terms of "belonging" in other parts of the world - but he is not detailed enough nor forceful enough to propose a solution for Americans here and now. He alludes to what is necessary: a sense of solidarity that transcends wealth, social class, race and gender -but does little to point the way to how that can be created in a modern, industrialized society. Perhaps it can't be. But I suspect it could be.
Top reviews from other countries
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2023
This book raises these questions, analizes them and offers new views. What this book thankfully does not do: It does not offer an easy solution - because there probably isn't one.
After reading trough this book in a day and a half I understood more about my society, about my own behavior and about the human race as a whole. The book itself is - as usual with Sebastian Junger - very well written, very easy to digest while at the same time not being superficial. It is a must read for everyone who is interested in society, in the human kind, in conflict and in how one works.