American Veterans on War: Personal Stories from WWII to Afghanistan

The United States is embroiled in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan - wars that seem as far from our understanding as they are distant from our shores. With American Veterans on War, Elise Forbes Tripp brings our current wars and their predecessors home in the words of 55 veterans aged 20 to 90. The veterans raise questions about when wars are worth fighting, what missions can and can't be won, and the costs and benefits of US intervention, both around the world and domestically. Recent veterans tell wrenching stories of coping with hostile forces without uniforms, of not knowing who is friend or foe, and of the lasting traces of combat once they've returned home. American Veterans on War provides a sweeping overview of three-quarters of a century of American wars, properly grounding that history in the words of the men and women whose bodies were on the line. Elise Forbes Tripp is a graduate of Harvard University and received her Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (S.A.I.S.) in International Relations and US Foreign Policy. She is the author of Surviving Iraq: Soldiers' Stories. Haunted and haunting, the voices of Elise Tripp's collection of interviews with the military who have served in recent and not so recent battles reminds us anew how easily wars begin and how difficult it is for them to end. American Veterans on War is not only readable but honorable in a variety of ways including as journalism, as history, and as an act of public service. - Nicholas Katzenbach, WW II B-25 bomber pilot and POW, Distinguished Flying Cross with 51 missions over Italy, Deputy Attorney General under President Kennedy and Attorney General under President Johnson See more