War Lessons (Paperback)

John Merson

ISBN 10: 1583942092 / ISBN 13: 9781583942093

Published by Frog Ltd, Berkeley, CA, 2008

About this Item

Paperback. Military memoirs abound, but few prove to be trustworthy accounts free of spin, bravura, or military glitter. John Merson's War Lessons takes a rare reflective approach to this pressing issue of our time. In vivid, unadorned prose, he interweaves his own experiences in war with thoughtful assessments of how to prevent it. He highlights the daily experience of combat from the perspective of both the foot soldier and the villager in whose home the war is being fought. When he leaves Vietnam, Merson begins an odyssey that brings him back eight times. The book limns this process as a poignant personal voyage and the author struggles to understand why young people are drawn to war, how it changes those who fight it, why its destructive effects persist on both sides, how former enemies reconcile, and how soldiers wanted to be treated and remembered by the citizens who send them to war. War Lessons also offers hope, suggesting strategies for young people to help the world reclaim its humanity through healing actions such as participating in UN peacekeeping programs, working to prosecute war crimes, and protecting refugees. Portrays the daily experience of war from the perspective of both the foot soldier doing the fighting and the villager in whose home the war is being fought. This book looks at war as an instrument of policy and examines how the actual effects of war can undermine the very purposes for which a war is being fought. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781583942093

Bibliographic Details

• Title: War Lessons (Paperback)
• Publisher: Frog Ltd, Berkeley, CA
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1583942092
• ISBN 13: 9781583942093
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Military memoirs abound, but few prove to be trustworthy accounts free of spin, bravura, or military glitter. John Merson’s War Lessons takes a rare reflective approach to this pressing issue of our time. In vivid, unadorned prose, he interweaves his own experiences in war with thoughtful assessments of how to prevent it. He highlights the daily experience of combat from the perspective of both the foot soldier and the villager in whose home the war is being fought. When he leaves Vietnam, Merson begins an odyssey that brings him back eight times. The book limns this process as a poignant personal voyage and the author struggles to understand why young people are drawn to war, how it changes those who fight it, why its destructive effects persist on both sides, how former enemies reconcile, and how soldiers wanted to be treated and remembered by the citizens who send them to war. War Lessons also offers hope, suggesting strategies for young people to help the world reclaim its humanity through healing actions such as participating in UN peacekeeping programs, working to prosecute war crimes, and protecting refugees.

About the Author

A member of the Military Order of the World Wars, Veterans for America, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, John Merson has an MBA from Harvard. Since 1997, Merson has run his own restoration project for historic homes on Nantucket Island, MA, where he lives.