Overview

Using war memoirs, war journalism, and the personal experiences of John Paul Wallis as a Marine with two tours of duty in Iraq, Wallis and Mechling analyze the folklore shared by male warriors in the combat zone to understand how the traditional everyday practices of these men in groups serve as a form of psychological first aid for relieving the symptoms associated with the stress of living, working, and fighting in the combat zone. The authors study how boys and men are socialized in American culture, the context for their examining the folk traditions, including pet-keeping, rough-and-tumble play fighting, video game play, masturbation, dark play, and deep play.

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9781793603890

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Reviews

John Paul Wallis and Jay Mechling are fluent in the vocabulary, premises, and current concerns of contemporary academic social critique, yet are still readable and reflective in tone—helpfully sharing their own multi-faceted personal connections to their topic. Some readers may wonder if it is more the erosion of traditional masculinity, rather than its perseverance, that is among America’s major ailments. Nevertheless, folklorists and military personnel alike will be enriched by reflecting on what the authors have drawn from both the mainstream and unusual backwaters of military experience—customs and practices that provide identity, order, and siblinghood in high-stress situations and, afterwards, help manage strong and persistent combat-related emotions. This may be the most compelling book to take seriously the potential therapeutic benefits of folk-psychological insight since David Hufford’s The Terror that Comes in the Night nearly forty years ago. It is a welcome push for the field to continue recognizing folkloric processes at work in unexpected forms and unexpected places. -- Eric A. Eliason, professor of folklore, Brigham Young University, co-editor of Warrior Ways: Explorations in Modern Military Folklore

John Paul Wallis and Jay Mechling are fluent in the vocabulary, premises, and current concerns of contemporary academic social critique, yet are still readable and reflective in tone-helpfully sharing their own multi-faceted personal connections to their topic. Some readers may wonder if it is more the erosion of traditional masculinity, rather than its perseverance, that is among America's major ailments. Nevertheless, folklorists and military personnel alike will be enriched by reflecting on what the authors have drawn from both the mainstream and unusual backwaters of military experience-customs and practices that provide identity, order, and siblinghood in high-stress situations and, afterwards, help manage strong and persistent combat-related emotions. This may be the most compelling book to take seriously the potential therapeutic benefits of folk-psychological insight since David Hufford's The Terror that Comes in the Night nearly forty years ago. It is a welcome push for the field to continue recognizing folkloric processes at work in unexpected forms and unexpected places. -- Eric A. Eliason, professor of folklore, Brigham Young University, co-editor of Warrior Ways: Explorations in Modern Military Folklore

Author Information

John Paul Wallis is operational efficiencies coordinator at the Veterans Health Administration in the VA North Texas Health Care System. Jay Mechling is professor emeritus of American studies at the University of California.

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