War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
Encyclopedia
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (ISBN 1586480499) is a 2002 nonfiction book by journalist Chris Hedges
. In the book, Hedges draws on classical literature and his experiences as a war correspondent
to argue that war seduces entire societies, creating fictions that the public believes and relies on to continue to support conflicts. He also describes how those who experience war may find it exhilarating and addictive. The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and a Los Angeles Times
Best Book of the Year, as well as a national bestseller.
The book is available as an unabridged audio book, read by the author.
The Hurt Locker
, an Academy Award-winning film, opens with a quotation from the book: "The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug." The full quote is found on page 3: "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug, one I ingested for many years."
Chris Hedges
Christopher Lynn Hedges is an American journalist, author, and war correspondent, specializing in American and Middle Eastern politics and societies...
. In the book, Hedges draws on classical literature and his experiences as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
to argue that war seduces entire societies, creating fictions that the public believes and relies on to continue to support conflicts. He also describes how those who experience war may find it exhilarating and addictive. The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and a Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Best Book of the Year, as well as a national bestseller.
The book is available as an unabridged audio book, read by the author.
The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker is a 2009 American war film about a three-man United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb...
, an Academy Award-winning film, opens with a quotation from the book: "The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug." The full quote is found on page 3: "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug, one I ingested for many years."