War Is A Force Which Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges.  Public Affairs: New York, 2002. Chris Hedges, a foreign correspondent for 15 years, many of them for the New York Times, has written a passionate, exciting and disturbing book in which he tries to understand the enduring attraction of war. Hedges, in his long career covering wars and conflicts from the Balkans to Central America to the Middle East, has directly witnessed war at its worst. His reflections make for absorbing and disquieting reading. This book cuts through much posturing and folly and goes directly to the heart. An extraordinary writer, Hedges weaves in the stories of people and events he personally witnessed in conflicts he reported on and he mixes these with quotes from the Odyssey and the Illiad and from Shakespeare.

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Seattle, this very nice city in the beautiful scenic Northwest, is still reeling from a rampage murder last weekend, when a 28 year old man killed 6 young people relaxing after attending a rave party the night before. No one knew the man. He seemed innocuous, although some mentioned he had a bad vibe. He was a big man, a quiet man. He attended the rave, was invited to the house party, came, smoked some dope, drank a bit, and then at 7 o’clock in the morning on this quiet, residential street went out to his truck, got an arsenal of weapons and came back into the house and started shooting. He was reported to have a smile of his face and to have said, “There’s plenty for everyone,” before killing himself as a police officer arrived on the scene.The aftermath of this senseless killing has left people groping for something to make the insanity of it go away.

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