“How do you become an adult in a society that doesn’t ask for sacrifice? How do you become a man in a world that doesn’t require courage?” - Sebastian Junger

“Humans don’t mind hardship, in fact they thrive on it; what they mind is not feeling necessary. Modern society has perfected the art of making people not feel necessary. It's time for that to end.” - Sebastian Junger

“When people are actively engaged in a cause their lives have more purpose... with a resulting improvement in mental health” - Sebastian Junger

“The public is often accused of being disconnected from its military, but frankly it's disconnected from just about everything. Farming, mineral extraction, gas and oil production, bulk cargo transport, logging, fishing, infrastructure construction—all the industries that keep the nation going are mostly unacknowledged by the people who depend on them most.” - Sebastian Junger

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Book Summary Overview:

In this book, Sebastian Junger explores the meaning of tribe, its irreplaceable value in the attainment of the human experience, and its rarity in modern society. He asserts that, in its barest form, a tribe is a group of people with whom one feels compelled to share his or her last food. He discusses tribal societies to demonstrate how unity and belonging are essential to the achievement of meaning and happiness. Junger asserts that while modernity has brought a level of comfort that was unimaginable a thousand years ago, it has done so at the expense of community, freedom, and individual wellbeing.

The premise of this book is that human beings should embrace adversity because they thrive on it. Both natural and man-made disasters bring society together and foster the kind of unity that promotes well-being. People can tolerate wars, earthquakes, and other disasters. What they can’t stand is feeling inauthentic, unneeded, and unconnected to others. Junger takes a critical look at post-traumatic stress disorder and assesses how feelings of inadequacy exacerbate the disorder among veterans. He uses personal experiences and current research to make a compelling case for modern society to make people feel necessary lest it destroys itself.

In late October, 1986, Sebastian Junger set out to hitchhike across the northwestern United States. He was desperate to escape the predictability of life in the Boston suburb he had grown up in. He sought the kind of misadventure that would force his community to come together and offer an opportunity for him to prove his worth. Realizing that this kind of mishap was not going to happen in his quiet hometown, he set out on his journey.

Fresh out of college, Junger found himself outside Gillette, Wyoming, leaning against a guardrail. He had a backpack with some sleeping and cooking essentials, and just enough food to last him a week. A man with a greasy suit approached him and asked where he was headed and how much food he had. Junger, fearing the man wanted to rob him, said he had just a little cheese. The man remarked that cheese was not enough to get anyone to California, opened his lunch box, and gave Junger his lunch.

Junger confesses that he never forgot the man. Not because he was generous to him, but because he took responsibility over him. From the encounter, he reasoned that in its barest form, a tribe would a collection of people who feel compelled to share their last food with each other. The encounter prompted Junger to explore the rareness and importance of tribe in modern society.

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