It is often said that war is hell. But for many of the people who experience war first hand - civilians and soldiers alike - it is an emotionally intense and even exhilarating experience. War is an intoxicating and addictive elixir. It gives us purpose, resolve, a cause. Chris Hedges, an award winning journalist for the 'New York Times', illustrates the complex dichotomy of war in the paperback reissue of the award-winning 'War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning'.One need look no further than America in the days following September 11, 2001 to see the effects of war: how heightened our senses were, how every event seemed momentous, and how full of meaning our lives became. Such feelings, Hedges points out, are characteristic of war in general - as soldiers and civilians come to see themselves as part of a grand cause or nation, their lives take on a new vividness and a new meaning. Sometimes this leads them to do great things; sometimes it leads themto commit crimes.

Based on the literature of combat and his own experiences in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central America, Hedges challenges us to take a look at the spiritual and emotional costs of war. 'War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning' is one of those rare books that transcends matter to offer profound insights into the human condition itself. Drawing on a lifetime's reading of literature and philosophy from Homer to Shakespeare to Erich Maria Remarque and Michael Herr, Hedges reflects on the impact of war on the ordinary individuals - a topic with a continued urgency for America today.