An Intimate History of Killing Face to Face Killing in Twentieth Century Warfare

by Bourke, Joanna

• ISBN13: 9780465007387
• ISBN10: 0465007384
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-11-27
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

The characteristic act of men at war is not dying, but killing. Politicians and military historians may gloss over human slaughter, emphasizing the defense of national honor, but for men in active service, warfare means being - or becoming - efficient killers. InAn Intimate History of Killing, historian Joanna Bourke asks: What are the social and psychological dynamics of becoming the best "citizen soldiers?" What kind of men become the best killers? How do they readjust to civilian life?These questions are answered in this groundbreaking new work that won, while still in manuscript, the Fraenkel Prize for Contemporary History. Excerpting from letters, diaries, memoirs, and reports of British, American, and Australian veterans of three wars (World War I, World War II, and Vietnam), Bourke concludes that the structure of war encourages pleasure in killing and that perfectly ordinary, gentle human beings can, and often do, become enthusiastic killers without being brutalized.This graphic, unromanticized look at men at war is sure to revise many long-held beliefs about the nature of violence.

Author Biography

Joanna Bourke is a professor of history at Birbeck College in London. Her previous books include Dismembering the Male: Men’s Bodies, Britain, and the Great War.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vii
Acknowledgements	ix
List of Abbreviations	xi
Introduction	xiii
The Pleasures of War	1	(31)
The Warrior Myth	32	(25)
Training Men to Kill	57	(34)
Anatomy of a Hero	91	(36)
Love and Hate	127	(32)
War Crimes	159	(44)
The Burden of Guilt	203	(27)
Medics and the Military	230	(26)
Priests and Padres	256	(38)
Women Go to War	294	(41)
Return to Civilian Life	335	(23)
Epilogue	358	(7)
Notes	365	(92)
Bibliography	457	(44)
Index	501