When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat down and wrote 1,700 pages of sheer psychotherapy drivel. It was first person, and there would… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
'Matterhorn' is my metaphor of the Vietnam War - we built it, we abandoned it, we assaulted it, we lost, and then we abandoned it again. — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“Emotion constricted Hawke’s throat. He suddenly understood why the victims of concentration camps had walked quietly to the gas chambers. In the face of… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
I began writing 'Matterhorn' in 1975 and for more than 30 years I kept working on my novel in my spare time, unable to… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“We have an idea of what is right or wrong. And we can debate moral issues as ideas. But moral *standards* are not ideas;… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
It was all absurd, without reason or meaning. People who didn't know each other were going to kill each other over a hill none… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
Everything is touched by the holy when it is in the presence of death. — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
In the military I could exercise the power of being automatically respected because of the medals on my chest, not because I had done… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
Once we recognize our shadow's existence we must resist the enticing step of going with its flow. — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“Many will argue that there is nothing remotely spiritual in combat. Consider this. Mystical or religious experiences have four common components: constant awareness of one's own inevitable death, total focus on the present moment, the valuing of other people's lives above one's own, and being part of a larger religious community such as the Sangha, ummah, or church. All four… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share
When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share Image
“But just below the grim tranquility he had learned to display, he cursed with boiling intensity the ambitious men who used him and his troops to further their careers. He cursed the air wing for not trying to get any choppers in through the clouds. He cursed the diplomats arguing about round and square tables. He cursed the South Vietnamese… — Karl Marlantes Copy Share
