1. International Military Autobiographies
Power, Space & Politics research group
30 April 2013
Lt-col Esmeralda Kleinreesink MSc (RNLAF)

2. Cause
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3. Disillusionment
It is often said tha the majority of stories written by war veterans in the 20th century are disillusionment plots. The romantic image of war is substituted during the twentieth century by an image of war as hell and soldiers are no longer heroes but are seen as victims. It is described by Herzog as a typical reaction of soldiers who:
… enter war with this sense of adventure and innocence shaped by cultural myths, an older generation’s war stories, and society’s beliefs about war as a rite of passage and a test of character and courage.(Herzog 1992: 4)
Or as Harari puts it:
Therefore many junior-rank memoirists set themselves a utopian mission of replacing the fictional image of war with a true image, hoping thereby to prevent future generations from going to war (Harari 2004: 91-92).
Is this still visible, the dominant discourse in the twenty-first century?
Photo:
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4. Warrior Nation

5. Scope 2001-2010 Three languages: Dutch, German, English
Main Dutch partners
Belgium and Australia are omitted due to lack of books
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6. Country # Books The Netherlands 7 Germany United States 22
United Kingdom 15
Canada 3
Total 54
Belgie en Australie geen boeken onder definitie.
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7. Three main questions
Who
What
When
Where
Why

8. Variables Specific General Three main answers Country specific
Warrior nations
General
All countries

9. WHO
Every estimated soldiers in theatre will result in 3 books, independent of country (military specific)

10. WHO
Publishers market is a country dependent variable

11. WHO Warrior nations Kinetic (or topical) Co-authored
Doesn’t improve UK sales!

12. WHO
Medal is only really distinguishing variable that will increase sales in the UK.

13. WHO Representative Not representative Country dependent Sex
Branch of service
Not representative
Rank (officers)
Age (40+)
Country dependent
Status (reservist vs professionals)

14. WHO Reservist Fringe writer: Simmel: the Stranger
Victor Turner: writing as liminal activity
Either reservists or Individually deployed

15. Military Civilian WHO Reservist Fringe writer: Simmel: the Stranger
Victor Turner: writing as liminal activity
Either reservists or Individually deployed

16. Deploy-ment Own Unit WHO Individually deployed
23 out of 49 soldier-authors (47%) were individually deployed (five authors didn’t specify in their text whether they were individually deployed or with their own unit). Only if 34% or more of all military personnel deployed to Afghanistan were individually deployed, would this not be significantly higher than expected (X2 (1, N = 49) = 3.66, p ≈ .05), and 34% is an unrealistically high percentage (Verweij, 2013). Therefore we can conclude that there is a fringe writer effect visible in Afghanistan autobiographies as individually deployed authors are more likely to write about their experiences than authors deployed with their own unit.
There are two main factors that influence whether someone is individually deployed or not: their military specialty during their deployment (Table 26), X2* (6, N = 49) = 26.05, p =.000 and whether they are a reservist or not, X2Fisher (1, N = 49) = 7.51, p = .013.
Most people who work in Training are ETT/OMLTs. They are individually employed as they are embedded in the ANA or ANP together with only a handful of other soldiers from their own country.
Also, some military occupations are inherently more individualistic, such as health professionals, legal and CIMIC professionals and journalists (who fall under Intelligence). Operations, on the other hand, is a speciality that is almost by definition performed in teams that have trained intensely together: that is what military teamwork is all about.

17. WHO

18. WHAT

19. Friedman
Disillusionment: a sympathetic protagonist starts out in the full bloom of faith in a certain set of ideals and, after being subjected to some kind of loss, threat or trail, loses that faith entirely. (Friedman p 252)
A deep change of worldview from the positive to the negative (McKee p 81)
Why Friedman:
Friedman’s system at the basis of the twenty-five categories that screenwriters currently use to distinguish film genres(McKee p 80-86) Disadvantage of that system is that it is vague and overlapping
Also in standard work on literature (el texto narrativo)
very concrete, analytical system, not vague, no overlaps (flow charts)
specifically aimed at disillusionment plots (disillusionment & degeneration)
Based on: Friedman (1955) Forms of the Plot, p
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20. WHAT
Country dependent.

21. WHAT

22. WHAT
Germany as pacific country has a completely other strategic narrative as warrior nation UK.
To get published in Germany, you need a degeneration or disillusionment story; in the UK you need a combat medal and a kinetic background.

23. WHY
Main motives
Change
Recognition
Therapy only 15%

24. WHY Danger Close: Change:
[Accuse] Undermanned and suffering form critical equipment shortages, the intensity of the conflict stretched resources to breaking point (p xiii)
[Accuse] Facing a poorly structured and under-resourced welfare system, 3 PARA set up its own charity called the Afghan Trust… The focus of the trust was to raise money to help look after the long-term wounded and the next of kin of those who lost their lies fighting in Helmand. (p 300)
[Accuse] Having to set up the Afghan Trust said much about the existence of a strange dichotomy that exists in the way this nation [UK] treats and regards its armed forces. … the remarkable outpouring of support contrasted starkly with a of sheer ignorance and prejudice. (p 301)
[Educate] I have attempted to capture the essence of the fighting at the sharp end: the sights, sounds and smell of combat through a variety of different landscapes. I have also tried to provide an insight into the bigger picture issues and the difficult life-and-death decisions that were made.
Recognition:
[Honor] The award of over thirty decorations for gallantry, including a posthumous Victoria Cross and George Cross, bears testimony to
(p xiv) the intensity of the combat and the selfless bravery of an extraordinary band of brothers. However, as in all wars, there was a price to pay. Fifteen members of the Battle Group were killed in action and another forty-six were wounded in battle. This is their story,

25. WHY An Ordinary Soldier:
[Therapy] (p 296) A friend once told me that he found the easiest way of getting things off his chest was to write them down, and in doing so he also managed to make others aware of his fears and foibles. With time on my hands and no sign of another way out of the grinding memories I tried it for myself.

26. Conclusion Warrior Nations write other books in some respects
Which get published
What the ideal writer is like (a kinetic soldier in a warrior nation).
Disillusionment is country specific.

27. Presentation available at