From the author of The Perfect Storm, a gripping book about Sebastian Junger`s almost fatal year with the 2nd battalion of the American Army. For 15 months, Sebastian Junger accompanied a single platoon of thirty men from the celebrated 2nd battalion of the U.S. Army, as they fought their way through a remote valley in Eastern Afghanistan. Over the course of five trips, Junger was in more firefights than he could count, men he knew were killed or wounded, & he himself was almost killed. His relationship with these soldiers grew so close that they considered him part of the platoon, & he enjoyed an access & a candidness that few, if any, journalists ever attain. But this is more than just a book about Afghanistan or the ` War on Terror`; it is a book about the universal truth of all men, in all wars. Junger set out to answer what he thought of as the `hand grenade question`: why would a man throw himself on a hand grenade to save other men he has probably known for only a few months? The answer is elusive but profound, & goes to the heart of what it means not just to be a soldier, but to be human.` War` is a narrative about combat: the fear of dying, the trauma of killing & the love between platoon-mates who would rather die than let each other down. Gripping, honest, intense, it explores the neurological, psychological & social elements of combat, & the incredible bonds that form between these small groups of men.