J. Glenn Gray entered the army as a private in May 1941; having been drafted on the same day he was informed of his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University. He was discharged as a second lieutenant in October 1945; having been awarded a battlefield commission during fighting in France. Gray saw service in North Africa; Italy; France; and Germany in a counter-espionage unit. Fourteen years after his discharge; Gray began to reread his war journals and letters in an attempt to find some meaning in his wartime experiences. The result is The Warriors; a philosophical meditation on what warfare does to us and an examination of the reasons soldiers act as they do. Gray explains the attractions of battle—the adrenaline rush; the esprit de corps—and analyzes the many rationalizations made by combat troops to justify their actions. In the end; Gray notes; “War reveals dimensions of human nature both above and below the acceptable standards for humanity.â€
#5285389 in Books University of Nebraska Press 2003-04-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .88 x 5.98l; 1.39 #File Name: 0803247982323 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Two StarsBy Herren FloydVery well researched; but more for sociologists than the general public.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Full Disclosure to follow.By J. Reid WilliamsonI am not an anthropologist; but I do love history and Virginia. This book gives me a window on a world my ancestors were part of for a time; in a way that is clear and understandable; with thorough discussion of the important issues of the Powhatan world. Although I found the first chapter very challenging (it's more anthro; less history); once past it; the book read like a dream. As a non-anthropologist; I was mesmerized. But full disclosure requires that I admit to partisanship when I say this is the best book on Powhatan perhaps since Robert Beverley. I'm related to both of those authors; the more recent one being my sister.
