Sebastian Junger, best known for The Perfect Storm and the documentary Restrepo, presents the reader with an odd little book in Freedom. For much of a year, Junger and three friends—a conflict photographer and two Afghanistan War veterans—walked the railroad lines of the east coast. It was a strange experiment in personal freedom. Dealing with railroad cops, sleeping under bridges, cooking over camp fires, and drinking from creeks and rivers, the four men forged a unique reliance on one another over time.
While doing all that walking for a year, Junger also pondered what freedom consisted of. How did the Apaches defeat the much stronger and numerous Spanish? How did small groups in history keep their freedom when confronted by more powerful forces?
Just glance down at the Table of Contents and you’ll see Junger’s answers. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
BOOK ONE: RUN — 1
BOOK TWO: FIGHT — 53
BOOK THREE: THINK — 95
SOURCES AND REFERENCES — 135
The Apaches defeated the Spanish?
Did I miss a meeting?
Dan, apparently Junger read a lot of military history and the Apaches had a lot of success resisting the Spanish forces for years. It was news to me, too.
It does sound somewhat interesting, though certainly not the way I would choose to spend a year. I liked his THE PERFECT STORM.
Jeff, FREEDOM is a very short book–147 pages–and a quick read.
It sounds interesting to me too.
Patti, I think Sebastian Junger is an underrated writer.
That’s just nuts, and what the heck is a “conflict photographer” and how is it different from any other photographer?
Rick, I think “conflict photographer” used to be called a “war (or combat) photographer.”
I’ve walked railroad tracks! No big deal, even if I only did it for an hour!
Bob, as a kid, I used to play near the train tracks. The trains passed a couple hundred yards from my old home. Very noisy at night!