In Search of the Warrior Spirit - Softcover

Heckler, Richard Strozzi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 155643054X ISBN 13: 9781556430541

Publisher: North Atlantic Books, 1990

Synopsis

The war in Iraq has heightened interest in the military mindset and raised questions about whether it’s possible to be a mindful, moral fighter at a time when impersonal, technology based warfare reigns. In Search of the Warrior Spirit confronts this thorny issue with Richard Strozzi-Heckler’s trademark personal, sympathetic style. In a top-secret U.S. military experiment, the author was asked to teach Eastern awareness disciplines ranging from aikido to meditation to a group of twenty-five Green Berets. This account chronicles his experiences in the training program and his attempts to revive traditional warriorship in a technological society. In Search of the Warrior Spirit explores the nature of war, the meaning of masculinity, and the need for moral values in the military. The book includes Heckler’s response to 9/11, his experiences with the Pentagon and U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and his poignant reflections on the movie Black Hawk Down, which depicts the deaths of two of his trainees. In this revised edition, the author talks movingly of his visits to Afghanistan with NATO and about the Trojan Warrior Project and Marine Warrior Project, relating the tragic events in a war zone and revelatory conversations with both ordinary soldiers and such leaders as the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe.

About this title

From the Publisher

The East Bay Express (March 26, 2003) interviewed Richard Strozzi-Heckler about the revised edition of his breakthrough experience teaching Aikido to the Green Berets. With the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Heckler knows that this book is more relevant than ever before:

"From the youngest infantryman to the most senior officers, I have yet to meet someone who was personally excited or eager about going to war," Strozzi-Heckler says. "At the leadership level, there are still a significant number of senior officers who were in Vietnam, and they are very careful about committing our armed forces to a conflict in which the country is divided. They work for their civilian bosses and do what our elected officials tell them to do -- after first arguing against the use of military operations. It has been clear to me and those who have interacted with leaders at this level that they are the last ones to want to implement their violent and destructive profession. Ever wonder why you've never seen the chiefs of staff of the services in front of CNN making the case for a war in Iraq? That's one of the reasons."

About the Author

Richard Strozzi-Heckler is President of the Strozzi Institute. He has a sixth-degree black belt in aikido and a doctorate in psychology. Dr. Strozzi-Heckler has taught the principles of embodied leadership and mastery to businesses, the government, the military, non-profits, health care professionals, and educators for the last thirty years. He is the author of The Anatomy of Change and the editor of Aikido and the New Warrior, Being Human at Work: Bringing Somatic Intelligence into Your Professional Life, and Holding the Center.

Edition details

• Publisher: North Atlantic Books
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 155643054X
• ISBN 13: 9781556430541
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 267