Tribe by Sebastian Junger

Tribe by Sebastian Junger

10 MinutesIn Book Reviews

Time to Read: A few hours – I read it on a plane journey. Readable and engaging. The Audiobook is 2 hours 59 minutes.

£12.99 from Waterstones

Why

This is ideal for anyone wanting to get a better understanding of group psychology and approaches, especially in crisis situations. This book is also good for those interested in the rise of mental health challenges in the western world today, looking for understanding and causes. As ever, as applicable to business as everyday life.

What

Written over four chapters, with a postscript, this book is rich with stories and data from around the world.

The first chapter discusses why mental health challenges are at unseen levels in the West, at a time when living standards have never been higher. There are numerous examples of how mental health issues do not arise when people feel competent, authentic and connected to others, and also showing that wealth can lead to disconnectedness which Junger hypothesises is the cause of mental ill health.

Junger gives plenty of data around suicide rates in the second chapter, and provides evidence that numbers of psychological breakdowns fell dramatically during wars. He posits the idea that back in ‘tribal times’ those in the banks responsible for the 2009 fiscal meltdown would have been shot.

There are interesting theories in chapter two about how ‘male’ and ‘female’ leadership is critical in catastrophes. Male leadership is defined as showing a lack of empathy and concern with the opinion of others, as well as prioritising the physical over verbal. In contrast, Junger defines female leadership as being highly sensitive, intellectualised, providing reassurance and working to be accepted. However, Junger notes that both sexes are able to play both roles in the absence of the other gender. Witness the interesting fact the US Carnegie Hero Awards have largely been given to women in situations where no men have been present.

Chapters three and four talk about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the reintegration into mainstream society of those who have been in war zones, or involved with killing, such as drone pilots, for example. The research points to the idea that to best integrate it is necessary not to be seen as a victim and not to be seen as separate from others. For this reason, for example, Junger is dismissive of the custom of military personnel boarding flights first. Most of all, Junger notes the vital importance of veterans needing a job on return from a war zone.

Finally, and bearing in mind this was written before Trump’s presidential election, the postscript talks to the divided world of left and right, liberals and conservatives, suggesting that the best way to destroy America might be to leave the country to tear itself apart and that having an external enemy is the only thing likely to bring the country together.

How

Sebastian Junger is an American journalist, author and filmmaker. His works include the best-seller The Perfect Storm, later made into a film of the same name starring George Clooney. Junger has conducted extensive personal field research in Afghanistan to provide the source material for a series of books about the war and its effects on those involved. He graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in cultural anthropology, with this discipline guiding much of his inspiration.

Random Fiction Recommendation:

‘The Bad Girl’ by Mario Vargas Llosa. Set in the 1950s, and telling the story of heartbreak and obstinacy, old age and passion. Llosa won the Nobel Prize in Literature. A great story with some good writing and a straightforward medium-level read.

Time to Read: A few hours – I read it on a plane journey. Readable and engaging. The Audiobook is 2 hours 59 minutes.

£12.99 from Waterstones

Why

This is ideal for anyone wanting to get a better understanding of group psychology and approaches, especially in crisis situations. This book is also good for those interested in the rise of mental health challenges in the western world today, looking for understanding and causes. As ever, as applicable to business as everyday life.

What

Written over four chapters, with a postscript, this book is rich with stories and data from around the world.

The first chapter discusses why mental health challenges are at unseen levels in the West, at a time when living standards have never been higher. There are numerous examples of how mental health issues do not arise when people feel competent, authentic and connected to others, and also showing that wealth can lead to disconnectedness which Junger hypothesises is the cause of mental ill health.

Junger gives plenty of data around suicide rates in the second chapter, and provides evidence that numbers of psychological breakdowns fell dramatically during wars. He posits the idea that back in ‘tribal times’ those in the banks responsible for the 2009 fiscal meltdown would have been shot.

There are interesting theories in chapter two about how ‘male’ and ‘female’ leadership is critical in catastrophes. Male leadership is defined as showing a lack of empathy and concern with the opinion of others, as well as prioritising the physical over verbal. In contrast, Junger defines female leadership as being highly sensitive, intellectualised, providing reassurance and working to be accepted. However, Junger notes that both sexes are able to play both roles in the absence of the other gender. Witness the interesting fact the US Carnegie Hero Awards have largely been given to women in situations where no men have been present.

Chapters three and four talk about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the reintegration into mainstream society of those who have been in war zones, or involved with killing, such as drone pilots, for example. The research points to the idea that to best integrate it is necessary not to be seen as a victim and not to be seen as separate from others. For this reason, for example, Junger is dismissive of the custom of military personnel boarding flights first. Most of all, Junger notes the vital importance of veterans needing a job on return from a war zone.

Finally, and bearing in mind this was written before Trump’s presidential election, the postscript talks to the divided world of left and right, liberals and conservatives, suggesting that the best way to destroy America might be to leave the country to tear itself apart and that having an external enemy is the only thing likely to bring the country together.

How

Sebastian Junger is an American journalist, author and filmmaker. His works include the best-seller The Perfect Storm, later made into a film of the same name starring George Clooney. Junger has conducted extensive personal field research in Afghanistan to provide the source material for a series of books about the war and its effects on those involved. He graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in cultural anthropology, with this discipline guiding much of his inspiration.

Random Fiction Recommendation:

‘The Bad Girl’ by Mario Vargas Llosa. Set in the 1950s, and telling the story of heartbreak and obstinacy, old age and passion. Llosa won the Nobel Prize in Literature. A great story with some good writing and a straightforward medium-level read.

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