This book will take you inside (literally ) Switzerland's peaceful defense . Really, who knew? Loved this book.

Incredible piece of journalism here. It helps that the Swiss military is just inherently interesting.

1983 book in which McPhee "embeds" himself with the citizen soldiers that make up the Swiss army. Officially neutral since the sixteenth century, the Swiss rely on the terrain and a force of a half million reservists to protect themselves. At the time this book was written the Swiss took the idea of citizen participation in the military very seriously, although of course some more than others. McPhee travels about the Alps with a recon patrol of French speaking reservists who are somewhat handicapped by not understanding German. He examines class divides; bankers and executives are usually officers, indeed it is almost a job requirement. The self-employed can't afford to take time off from work and so stay in the lower ranks. The German cantons are more enthusiastic than the French and last the Italian. Rural dwellers support the military, city dwellers have doubts, as is usually the case anywhere. In 1983 the Soviets were the perceived threat. The Swiss mobilized during both World Wars. Between 1940 and 1945 the Swiss Army did help forestall a German invasion.
Two things: the Swiss reservists take their rifles and ammunition home with them, but the ammo is kept in sealed boxes. And in Switzerland vacation time is sacred. Companies pay employees for military training time separate from their regular three weeks vacation.

My favorite John McPhee book to date.

This is an odd little book. Over all, I liked it, but it’s limited in its scope and appeal. John McPhee has written a long profile (likely an extension of a long-form essay/reportage) on the Swiss Army. He begins with the same kinds of assumptions probably most non-Swiss people have about the Army, that there’s a kind of in born joke to the whole thing, but then goes from there.

The most important thing to say is that the Swiss, at least according to the book here, are very very serious about their army. It’s not just about the knives, even though it’s definitely also about the knives. Here we learn that the Swiss army is one of the most representative armies in the world, meaning that they represent a high proportion of the citizenry there and that their enlistment lasts for decades. It’s also an incredibly well-armed country. The interview subjects here show a real zeal for home defense, and while it doesn’t come up in the book, I imagine this comes with a lot of white Swiss nationalism these days. The interviews show that while the Swiss Army feels a little like a joke, there’s the implication in the book that regardless of who might have invaded them in WWII, they would have fought tooth and nail to defend their borders, whether it was France and Allies from the West or South, Germans from the North, or Russians from the East. Politics are a side issues to the stance of neutrality, which I guess is their politics.

Every Swiss citizen, from the lowliest street sweeper to the CEO of Credit Suisse - joins the Swiss Army at age 18 and participates in exercises until their 50th birthday.

I never gave much thought to Switzerland. I think of neutrality, skiing, watches, chocolate, and secret bank accounts. This book explores the country's armed forces, which account for 10% of the entire population and operate on The Porcupine Principal. On a small level, you conclude (as everybody in the last 300 years has concluded) that's it's probably not a good idea to invade Switzerland. On a larger level, it's about being Swiss, because the whole country's identity centers around the military service that every citizen shares.

this book is an intriguing exploration of the swiss character by studying its army and its soldiers. though many seem to be surprised to even hear of the existence of a swiss army, they are actually one of the most militarily prepared countries in the world. the country is set up like a fortress (thanks in good part to its geography, of course). the army is well trained, well prepared, and well connected in swiss society. it is also mandatory of course. mcphee is able to portray this intensely while at the same time showing the laid back swiss character and their attention to details when the finer things in life are concerned (look at the high alpine lunches of fine wines and cheeses). a very interesting book discussing some very interesting people who know how to do a few things right. you can always take some notes from the swiss, or from john mcphee for that matter.

This book changed my entire perspective of the Swiss. You don’t maintain a lifetime of neutrality by just eating chocolate and herding goats, after all.

La Place de la Concorde Suisse is about the Swiss army, but, as they say, when you talk about Switzerland, you talk about their defense. Because everyone in Switzerland is in the army, you are talking about their country. An incredibly rich country, and thus, an incredibly paranoid country. Although many people are now looking at the Swiss, and especially their banks, with new eyes following the revelations of Nazi war booty being hid within their anonymous, numbered accounts, McPhee put them in the spotlight a decade earlier here. While his light is not as bright as some of those today, he did discover some interesting bits which had been hid by shadows before, like their placement of explosives (or identification of where to place such) under each bridge into the country, a discussion of the surreptitious bombing they suffered under Allied planes in the war, and the old boys network that links the army and the industry. At the end, you don't necessarily emerge with a message, but rather a portrait of the country.

My first McPhee. I was a a little taken aback by his style. His perfect Journalism was a shock. Always keeping a notebook nearby to write down words I'd never encountered before I had to pick it up at least once a reading. I learned voluminously about the Swiss and nothing about the Author. It might be a perfect report.

Zed recently asked me how it's possible for a country like Switzerland to declare itself neutral and thereby avoid war. Why couldn't, e.g., Poland have done the same? This book gives the answer: Switzerland made itself too much trouble to invade. Belgium was neutral at the outbreak of WWI, but the Germans invaded anyway. Some of the Swiss interviewed in this book concede that they couldn't really resist a determined invasion by a powerful neighbor (Germany in WWII, or the Soviets when the book was written), but they just have to make it really really annoying.

McPhee is the master of long-form journalism, and aspiring writers and reporters would do well to read everything he has written -- nearly three dozen books and counting. In this case, he takes us along on patrol with various units of the Swiss army, which hasn't fought a war in centuries, but is among the best-prepared fighting forces in the world. In the process, he gives us a portrait of Switzerland and its people. In fact, we learn that the Swiss people and the Swiss army are the same thing.