Born on the Fourth of July

By: Ron Kovic

Narrated by: Holter Graham, Bruce Springsteen - introduction

Kovic's powerful and moving New York Times best-selling book, now with a new introduction that sets this classic antiwar story in a contemporary context.

This New York Times best seller (more than one million copies sold) details the author's life story (portrayed by Tom Cruise in the Oliver Stone film version) - from a patriotic soldier in Vietnam, to his severe battlefield injury, to his role as the country's most outspoken anti-Vietnam War advocate, spreading his message from his wheelchair.

©1976, 2005, 2016 Ron Kovic (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Powerful book

This is a very powerful and moving book, and made even more so by the excellent narration. Ron Kovic has a wonderful way with words and the ability to bring you right into the situation so you can feel what he is feeling.

Emotional Upheaval

Any additional comments?

After reading the first chapter, I thought about returning this book. It seemed to be too depressing. I left it in my library and some months later, I decided to try again. This book was worth it. Ron was wounded in the war in Viet Nam and he was paralyzed from the chest down. His description of what he had to go through physically was very disturbing. Most of us just see such a paralyzed person cleaned up and sitting in a wheel chair. He gives us a vivid view of what goes on behind the public view. When he comes home, people see him differently and most become uncomfortable in his presence. He loses most of his friends. One evening, when he comes home drunk, his mother complains that her son has become a drinker. One day, when he is participating in a protest, he is thrown to the ground and handcuffed by an undercover policeman posing as a protestor. Back at the station when he is exposed and the policeman sees that he has a tube in his penis and a bag of urine attached to his chair, the policeman apologizes, but makes a hasty exit.The writing and the narration are both outstanding. Both make the story really come alive.We also get a view of what went on during battle. It is hard to tell the friend from the enemy. Ron shoots some of the wrong people and must face overwhelming feelings of guilt as well as his physical disabilities.
Ron can never get away from what has happened nor from his physical disabilities. He prays to have his body back and to be able to enjoy those things that most people take for granted. He has given us an extraordinary look into his reality and it is very disturbing. He does not take his situation very well, but neither would I.
This book is difficult to describe, but it is outstanding and well worth reading. It really made me think about a lot of things.

Survival and honor, making the most of life.

Gut wrenching & brutally honest! Proud to be a fellow Veteran, embodiment of perseverance, and to living another day and helping others.

narrator kinda goofy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, content very good. Brings back old memories if you grew up in these times.

What other book might you compare Born on the Fourth of July to and why?

None, stands alone.

How could the performance have been better?

Could have been read with some seriousness in some parts.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Brought back things I had tucked away in my mind, they needed to come out.

Any additional comments?

Very traumatic times in this country. Changed the direction of our thinking.

Gripping performance

The story bares Ron Kovic's soul and shines a light on his Vietnam experience. But what separates this audiobook is the great performance by Holter Graham. He breathes life into each character uniquely and dramatically.

Unflinching Look at Horror... and Courage

Trapped. In a war. In a VA hospital. In a body that ran and played as a child.
Liberation. To speaking out. To standing up in a body that barely moves. To having courage and an unceasing love of life.
Kovic's "Born on the Fourth of July" is one of the most moving memoirs, one of the grittiest tales of war and bloodshed, one of the most humane treatments of life with, seemingly, more x's than check marks, I have ever listened to.
Told in a very compelling narrative that weaves first and third person together, as though Kovic can't believe who he used to be/who he has become, this is one horrifying yet uplifting story of a courage I can only dream about. I used to watch "Captain Kangaroo" followed by news of the Vietnam war when I was a really little kid. It was horrifying then (being told by my mom that, no, those weren't supplies leaving Vietnam, but body bags, filled with young men... with boys, really), and this memoir makes it horrifying now.
No matter what your stance on war is, this book is sure to make you realize the suffering that goes with it, is sure to make you feel more than a little ashamed, more than a little grateful.
And through it all there are brave, brave men and women like Kovic, speaking out, writing with an intense fury, telling us all about what it's really like to live, to die, to live again...
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Powerful war memoir

This is a short and powerful memoir by Ron Kovic, a man who was paralyzed while fighting as a Marine in Vietnam. He eventually becomes a well known war protester. In this book, he tells about his youth, his Marine training, his time in Vietnam, and his postwar experience, when he turns his anger into war protest. The narrator is really good, making this book even engaging. The trauma can be hard to take at times, but I think it is an important book and worth listening to.

OIF Veteran

As a veteran of Iraq this book really hit home. Suffering from PTSD/TBI returning home was a real struggle. I was left wondering a lot "why was I even there?" I highly recommend this book to anyone wondering what it's like to serve in a combat arms role in the military and deal with it as a veteran.

From a Vietnamese War vet

I, like so many others, could not stop listening to this book and the powerful message. As a Viet vet I look at the actions in the Middle East and say, do we have to learn this lesson again?

I was a Marine Lt. in Nam in 70-71 and every week Prez Nixon said he would bring us home... but many more lives were lost after that.

I was lucky to come home in one piece but many of my OCS buddies didn't fare so well. Ron's portrail of the horror of war are accurate but I never realized what horrors awaited the wounded warriors in the VA hospitals.

This is a powerful story that should be required reading (or listening) for all high school seniors.

Time to Move On

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The bitterness is understandable. Anyone that experiences the horrors of war for no real purpose deserves to be bitter. Nothing should change about the story even though the times have changed and the importance has unfortunately dwindled.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I think the bitterness that can be felt in the narration starts to grind on you. Life is difficult enough without having your week dragged down by the unfairness of the Vietnam War.

Any additional comments?

I remember the 60s and was right there in that frame of mind, then but not now. Life goes on and you do the best you can and don't look back.