War Games: Inside the World of Twentieth-Century War Reenactors

by Jenny Thompson

Book Overview

The first in-depth, insider's study of the strange and often shocking world of twentieth-century war re-enactors D-Day with beach umbrellas in the distance? Troops ordering ice cream? American and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1588341283
• ISBN13: 9781588341280
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books (DC)
• Length: 341 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Dead-on accurate!

Okay, I'm actually IN this book and one of the people who's names have been changed to protect the "innocent." I own reenactor.Net and am a WWI and WWII reenactor myself. In saying that, I think I have a pretty good handle on the book, the hobby and how it is. I know Jenny Thompson and she interviewed myself and a number of others when writing the book. Yes, it's brutally honest and does show some of the "puffy people" for what they are, but in doing so, Jenny gives a pretty accurate portrayal of the hobby... and YES, I did wince at some of the stuff, but it's TRUE. If you're interested in WWII (and WWI) reenacting, by all means, buy this book -- it will give you a pretty insight into the hobby. I read some of the other reviews and frankly, some are just "sour grapes" -- there were very few things in the book that I didn't agree with and got a big laugh to see myself quoted (a horrifyingly large amount of times)... Anyway, this is all my opinion, but since I've been in WWI since 1989 and WWII since 1991, I think I know of what I speak. If you're interested in the hobby, then buy this book!

Thompson Nails It

I have just finished reading Jenny Thompson's book "War Games". I know that a few of you attacked this book when it was first released, but now having read it, I do not think that any of those attacks were justified. The book is a deep look into our hobby. As I read it, it made me think more than a few times on why I have chosen this hobby, and why I continue to engage in it despite the frustrations and expense. I have found that it helped me clarify what it is that I do as a WWII re-enactor. The book is fair and even sided. Which means that it explains the value and purpose of our hobby as well as pointing out its problems. Unfortunately for Ms. Thompson the publisher decided to quote for the cover notes, the few university "Egg head" types that think what we do is silly because when they were kids, they never got invited to play army with the other kids on the block. Those liner notes DO NOT represent the work she has created. The book addresses many of the major topics of the hobby. Our fixation with authenticity and our compromises; How we "honor the vets" but get annoyed when they tell us we are doing it wrong; How wrapped up some of us get in the hobby, and how some of us do not take it serious enough. For me as a re-enactor the book was filled with descriptions that made me nod my head and smile. A few times I laughed outright. Jenny Thompson did it right. She became a reenactor and asked the tough questions. This book nails us to a tee. But in doing so, Jenny looked deep into herself as well. Reading the book, is at times, a look in the mirror, and it has made re-enacting clearer to me. I will never look at our hobby the same now that the details have been so perfectly pointed out. And now I am so aware of those moments when we say, "we're here. We're there. This is it" (read the book and you will know what I mean by this) I recommend this book to you all. Jonathan Krieger [..]

Honest appraisal of what the author saw in the hobby

Since I write about reenacting stuff for the MVPA (with an audience of 10,000 readers) I felt I needed to read the book. At times it made me cringe and other times it was brutally honest about the hobby, however I think she captured what she saw. I just completed the book two nights ago. Most troubling to me were the frequent firing squads and atrocities she observed at events, and how things such as racism and sexism were thinly veiled in preservation of authenticity. My 21 years in the hobby I have only seen 1 firing squad (done as a big joke for a friend of mine who accidently shot his squad leader during a battle back in 1983, my first year in the hobby), and I have never seen execution of prisoners except when people are doing stupid hollywood games during actions on the objective at public events. I do take exception with her history of WWII reenacting, because it does trace back to 1975 in the US and much earlier in Europe. I know of people that attended events in 1975 in the midwest, so her view of how it got started is very "east Coast" in my opinion. In fact, the entire book is written from events she attended on the east coast, to include many FIGs. I have not yet been to FIG, but I hear the horror stories after the fact, so perhaps this is not the best judge of character for the hobby. I have not been to east coast events however I think the hobby has different flavors in the different parts of the country, so perhaps her view is skewed by what she saw in her region. Also, I think the hobby has made several big strides in some areas she complains about. her book is a reflection of the hobby in the Mid-90s, and it seems to have moved forward in some areas. It can be a bit harsh to read, much like anything that challenges your day to day values and assumptions that you live your life, however I think despite the wincing I had reading it, it seems to be on target. It also shows several areas that the hobby needs cleaning up. If you don't want an honest appraisal of your hobby don't read it. If you aren't afraid to look deep into your soul of why you do this, then read it.

Reenacting's First Ethnography

The majority of books about reenacting fall into either the category of photo collections of reenacting events or "how to" manuals. One of the few books that has gone deeper into the subject was Tony Horowitz' Conferates in the Attic. Horowitz used the story of a colorful hardcore reenactor to examine America's fascination with its Civil War. His approach was typical of the "New Journalist" style of writing. Although a participant and observor, Horowitz was ultimately a talented journalist in pursuit of a good story. Reenacting was the vehicle he used to tell his tale.Jenny Thompson was also a participant observor in search of an interesting story. She spent seven years going to reenacting events and joined several reenacting units. Thompson used her training as a scholar to produce Reenacting's first ethnography. As a social scientist, her objectives were much more amibitious than Tony Horowitz. Thompson wants to explain the hobby of reenacting and the motivations of the people who participate in the hobby.I would not recommend this book for anyone who is impatient with intellectuals and scholarly discourse. By its very nature, an ethnography is a set of generalizations that are used as a tool to find deeper meanings. I would suspect that many people in the reenacting community would find this book to be overly intellectual.What I found to be so interesting about this book is that it is the first time that I have ever come across a book that discusses the motivations of what must be a decent percentage of the American male population that is fascinated by the many facets of war. As one of these people, on an intellectual basis, I know that war is a tragedy and that I would never want to participate in a war. Nevertheless, I am fascinated by military history and war's material culture. Although, I am not a Twentieth Century reenactor, this book nevertheless still spoke to me. I saw a lot of myslef in the people Thompson writes about.

An honest account

Being a reenactor of both world wars, I am pretty used to people outside of "the hobby" putting it down. While reenactors span a remarkably wide demographic, from high school drop-outs to PhD.s, from right-wing Republicans to left-wing Democrats, from conscientious objectors to combat veterans, we are often painted by academics and the national media with the broad brush of all being gun-crazed proto-fascists in desperate need of love and shock therapy. It is with this in mind that I approached Thompson's War Games with a mixture of both anticipation and dread; anticipation because I was excited to see somebody actually trying to explore the unique hobby in which I participate, and dread because I was afraid that the book would simply reinforce the incorrect stereotypes without attempting any sort of in-depth analysis of why people reenact.Fortunately, my anticipation was richly rewarded by War Games. Thompson, having spent seven years attending reenactments and spending a considerable amount of time with reenactors, has successfully dug beneath the surface to get to the fundamental question of why people reenact. The situations and personalities that she describes are very familiar, and in my opinion, are accurately represented. She raises many of the existential questions of reenacting that I have asked myself, and the answers she provides offer a great deal of insight.While Thompson obviously has a great deal of affection, and dare I say respect, for reenactors, she does not sugar coat the hobby. The fundamental issues of what represents "authenticity" and what relationship reenactors maintain with veterans and the public are often bitterly divisive among reenactors. Thompson also does not ignore the moral implications of reenactors portraying soldiers in the armies of America's enemies. But she addresses all of these issues with fairness and balance.I would hope that everybody who reenacts, or is considering reenacting, 20th century wars reads this book. More than that, though, I would hope that those who question the propriety or sanity of reenacting will read this book with an open mind. I certainly don't expect everybody to accept the hobby. But I would hope that, through reading War Games, these people would at least develop a better understanding of why people reenact.