Jarhead

A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles

By: Anthony Swofford

Narrated by: Anthony Swofford

Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

In his New York Times best-selling chronicle of military life, Anthony Swofford weaves his experiences in war with vivid accounts of boot camp, reflections on the mythos of the marines, and remembrances of battles with lovers and family.

When the U.S. Marines, or "jarheads", were sent to Saudi Arabia in 1990 for the first Gulf War, Anthony Swofford was there. He lived in sand for six months; he was punished by boredom and fear; he considered suicide, pulled a gun on a fellow marine, and was targeted by both enemy and friendly fire. As engagement with the Iraqis drew near, he was forced to consider what it means to be an American, a soldier, a son of a soldier, and a man.

©2003 Anthony Swofford (P)2003 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division.

Critic reviews

"A searing contribution to the literature of combat." (The New York Times)
"This book offers...the casual reader, an unflinching portrayal of the loneliness and brutality of modern warfare and sophisticated analyses of, and visceral reactions to, its politics." (Publishers Weekly)

The Past, The Present, and the Future...

I still have my ticket stub from when I saw the feature film in November 2005, and I still have the paperback copy that I partially read during my deployment from 2007-08, so one could say that the writing style of the author had inspired my own, and I went on to earn a degree in News Writing. So in some ways, his past had foreshadowed my future because I felt many of the same things that he felt, such as sadness, boredom, loneliness, and violent frustration, but thankfully my deployment was not as fruitless and my living conditions were way better. I was surprised that the author refered to himself once as a soldier when he would know that the title of Soldier is branch-specific; hence, The Soldier's Creed that we had to recite in Basic Training. Moreover, he really talked down on the Army not to mention Ranger School. I never became a Marine, but I tried to become a Marine Officer after college but found out that I, and at no fault of my own, might never even though my DD-214 reads "Re-entry Code: 1." Maybe it's for the better because I can't stand people, and most people in my life have been dead weight. Unlike the book, the plotline in the film was chronological and had some changes that were subjectively improvements and matters of poetic license, but it stayed remarkably true to the original, and I now appreciate Jake Gyllenhaal's performance all the more.

The movie is better than the book

You rarely hear about the film adaptation of a book being better than the book, but this is one of them. The problem with the book is that it is discombobulated being that he jumps from one story/area of his life to another without any respectable transition. It’s not boring, but it’s not a good book either.

Great

Great book. Better than the movie. Definitely with the listen. I’ll have to listen into his other books.

Off to see the Wizard...

The author displays some serious mental instabilities and comes across like a poster child for deviant behavior. He compares killing to eroticism, something a serial killer might do. He fantasizes about raping and stealing.
Don't get the wrong idea about Marines from this book-the average Marine, me included, respect our Corps, country, and family. That being said: I am very disappointed in the attention this book has received; it is nauseating. Save your time and money.

Less than expected.

This book dragged. If you are looking for excitement keep looking. If you have been in the "Suck" you'll find a few moment where your personal reflections and experiences will make you laugh out loud. Other than that you'll listen to one man's view of his down time leading up to the war. The narrator is good for putting you to sleep that?s the best I can say.

Story

It is a book wanting to provide a "flavor" you may not hear. But like the first reviewer said, I've been there, done that. All I heard was a big sucking sound.
Instead, I recommend getting the book Shooter, from Jack Coughlin, Casey Kuhlman, and Donald A. Davis. Not so much whining and plenty of Leatherneck attitude.

the Seinfeld of military stories

This book is a story about nothing really. I suppose it's an Everyman story about 99% of our fighting force. Most of us serve and nothing remarkable happens to us. I suppose that's a good thing, anything remarkable would involve death and destruction, or, worse, a career in politics. This guy just happened to put pen to paper and write a story about how he served a tour and did nothing but the same things every other 18-24 year old does. It's funny to see that deployments to Kuwait haven't really changed in over 30 years.

Not bad

This was a good book. Not great, but good. I have not seen the movie, and I am glad I waited to read the book first. From the ads alone, I see major differences. It is an interesting account of a young man facing the event that he had prepared for, but secretly hoped he would never see.

Psycho

Written as a Phych ward rehab project. I've been there and done that and this guy was over the edge before he ever walked into Basic.

His Gunny would have had him our on a "General Discharge for the Good of the Corps" before he'd been in 6 months.

It even sounds fake to me.

Skip this one

I almost gave up on this book--it sure makes the average American soldier look like a total jerk off. I like war novels, but this is a nasty, unpleasent business.