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Tribe

Written by: Sebastian Junger
Narrated by: Sebastian Junger
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Publisher's Summary

We have a strong instinct to belong to small groups defined by clear purpose and understanding - "tribes". This tribal connection has been largely lost in modern society, but regaining it may be the key to our psychological survival.

Decades before the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin lamented that English settlers were constantly fleeing over to the Indians - but Indians almost never did the same. Tribal society has been exerting an almost gravitational pull on Westerners for hundreds of years, and the reason lies deep in our evolutionary past as a communal species. The most recent example of that attraction is combat veterans who come home to find themselves missing the incredibly intimate bonds of platoon life. The loss of closeness that comes at the end of deployment may explain the high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by military veterans today.

Combining history, psychology, and anthropology, Tribe explores what we can learn from tribal societies about loyalty, belonging, and the eternal human quest for meaning. It explains the irony that - for many veterans as well as civilians - war feels better than peace, adversity can turn out to be a blessing, and disasters are sometimes remembered more fondly than weddings or tropical vacations. Tribe explains why we are stronger when we come together and how that can be achieved even in today's divided world.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2016 Sebastian Junger (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Tribe

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An antidote for alienation

Beautiful essay on unity and the restoration of community. Makes you want to go out and introduce yourself to all of your neighbours.

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Interesting story, but didn't like his conclusions

I listened to this in one go, and I really enjoyed parts of it, but I personally found a large component to be based around military tropes (even though I recognize this was the opposite of the authors intent). He attempts to address this, but I find it to be a poor job relative to the rest of his writing.

On to the good parts. I find the story pretty interesting, the anecdotes and historical components have substance. I see a lot of the points brought up, but I choose to draw different conclusions with the evidence he presents.

Worth a read if you want something to talk about in a group, that's for sure.

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  • RJ
  • 2023-09-28

Less to the point than I expected

Covers lots of stories of war scenarios, but doesn’t focus how tribes are formative to modern society as much as expected. Still, overall good, but not as I expected

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Enjoyable Listen; Thoughtful Ideas.

Short listen, enjoyed it.
The concepts were interesting.
Sebastian brought passion to the read, and I enjoyed it, but it didn’t hit as hard as other performances I’ve heard.

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Nice quick listen

I did not know what I was getting into, but it was a well written, narrative and argument.

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juste begin the book...

daaaamn I haven't even finish the intro ... and ive got goosebumps already ...
I'm kind of a preper guy and, call me a conspiracy theorists but, I do belive that we will experience a crisis in the years to come. time will be hard and we will definitely need to be part of a tribe ! read/listen to this even if your not interested in prepping or any survival stuff you must listen to it !

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Honesty & Passion, Modern Society Uncovered

This book really helps to understand why our country is broken. First step towards change.

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Great listen

Really enjoyed listening to this was very incitful and gave me a better understanding to what it means to be part of a tribe

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Cage Rattling

I don’t know how to explain it, I’ve just finished the book, but I feel as though something has come loose inside my head.

To be clear, I highly recommend this book.

However, I’m not sure what I feel about the book. I can say it’s very well written in it’s exploration of precedent events that support the opinion being expressed. At the very least, there is that.
Something else is in it though, something I’ve never been aware of maybe, and now I am.

I’m just not sure I totally understand it yet.

Perhaps another listen….

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inspirational

Sebastian has inspired me to live a better life by contributing to my tribe whatever that may be. workplace, home, film production, or traffic standstill. we are in it together. shifting that perspective is key. read this book to learn more.

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