Minimal Damage : Stories of Veterans

Reno & Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 2007. INSCRIBED/SIGNED by the AUTHOR directly on the title page. Fine condition in a Near Fine dust jacket (only very lightly rubbed). NO chips. NO tears. NO fading. Sharp corners. NOT a remainder. Pages are fresh, crisp, clean and unmarked. Bound in the original black cloth, stamped in bright silver on the spine. From the dust jacket: "MINIMAL DAMAGE contains seven stories and a novella that depict veterans of several wars in search of dignity and purpose in a civilian life that has no need for men who were soldiers. Psychically scarred, in emotional crisis, pushed to the fringes of society, or in relentless battle with their memories, many of these men find themselves living 'like warts on America's ass.' The characters range from the enigmatic Mr K, who runs a brutally violent reality television show and once led an escape from a Korean POW camp, to the doomed Billy Debecki, who regains his dignity in the last minutes of his life by remembering that he once willingly risked his life to save an enemy soldier. In one story, a man who was never a soldier finds a path toward reconciliation with his brother, a former Marine. In another, a man recalls becoming a soldier by watching the humanity of a fellow recruit disintegrate in basic training. In the novella SNAKE BOY, a homeless Vietnam vet is kidnapped by a snake-handling evangelist. The depth of damage is never immediately apparent for these men, whether they are living proper, upstanding lives or lost, drifting ones. In war, chance, luck, and arbitrary timing conspire to determine a soldier's fate. In civilian life, the same uncontrollable forces influence who finds a place in society and who is doomed to keep searching. With emotion, humor, and clarity, Barnes creates characters who show us what it is to live with the trauma of having experienced combat. The fractured souls and twisted lives of these men remind us that war's ultimate damage extends far beyond the battlefield.". INSCRIBED/SIGNED by the AUTHOR. Hardcover. Fine condition/Near Fine dust jacket. xii, 184pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.