Generation Kill

By: Evan Wright

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

They were called a generation without heroes. Then they were called upon to be heroes. Within hours of 9/11, America's war on terrorism fell to those like the 23 Marines of the First Recon Battalion, the first generation dispatched into open-ended combat since Vietnam.

They were a new breed of American warriors unrecognizable to their forebears - soldiers raised on hip-hop, Internet porn, Marilyn Manson, video games, and The Real World, a band of born-again Christians, dopers, Buddhists, and New Agers who gleaned their precepts from kung fu movies and Oprah Winfrey.

Cocky, brave, headstrong, wary, and mostly unprepared for the physical, emotional, and moral horrors ahead, the "First Suicide Battalion" would spearhead the blitzkrieg on Iraq and fight against the hardest resistance Saddam had to offer.

Generation Kill is the funny, frightening, and profane firsthand account of these remarkable men, of the personal toll of victory, and of the randomness, brutality, and camaraderie of a new American war.

©2008 Evan Wright (P)2008 Tantor

A soldier's eye view of war

I bought this book because I loved the HBO miniseries that's based on it, and I was not disappointed. Many of the same people and events are here, but because it's a book, not restrained by the pacing of a TV show, the author can spend time giving backstory and describing things in more detail than the show can, so if you like the miniseries you can get a much more fleshed out version of the same story here.

The narrator is good. He puts on different voices for all the characters, a couple of the voices might sound a bit silly (there were one of two where I felt like he was trying to make the person sound really dopey). Still, it's very helpful because there are quite a few characters and this style of narration helps to distinguish them.

Probably the biggest strength of this book is that the author seems to be more interested in getting inside the heads of the soldiers than making any kind of political statement about the war in Iraq or war in general. Depending on your point of view you may see the violence in the book as horrific and pointless, or the grim reality of a necessary and noble cause. The point is you can decide this for yourself, the author won't tell you what to think. He just shows it as it is without shoving any messages in your face. The soldiers aren't glorified or vilified, instead they're portrayed as believable human beings, and are much more relatable because of it.

Amazing book

One of my all time favorite books. Love everything about this book. Such a great read. If your into military history this is a must

Great book

if you love the TV show, you'll love this book. I personally finished it in two days, and enjoyed every second of it. great characters and great storytelling, good job.

A great supplement to the HBO show!

GK's HBO adaptation might be one of my favorite military focused shows of all time. The characters, writing and non glorified approach toward the armed forces is fantastic. It's not suppose to be a hollywood blockbuster or a "war is hell" hippie piece but the story of a unit of young men in the opening days of a flustercluck of a war. Warts and all. No spin.

The book [or audio book] is a great supplement to the show. "Scribe" 's observations, interviews and experiences in Iraq are expanded here much more than the show. The feeling of change within the various Rangers, the sense of "stupidity" in the chain of command, and just the sense of "civilian in the middle of combat" is captured much more here. Not surpassing the show but rather making things more intimate.

Narration was pretty good too. While not having the gut-busting delivery of some of the quotes from the show; he does a good job attempting to capture the various vocal quirks of people like "Encino Man", Thrombly [who isn't called Whopper Jr supplemented with chanting which kinda bums me out] and of course "Godfather".

If you love the show or want a more..."Realistic" showing of just how "smart" and "effective" our military can be. Generation Kill is a definite "Must see".

Extremely modern, excellent book!

Not full of the author continuously spouting his political opinion, like many other war books. Extremely real writing from a journalist embedded with the actual troops.

No better depiction of Marines deployed and in combat

Having served on active duty and completed 2 MEU deployments I know first hand what it is like to be with Marines overseas. This book hits it on the mark highlighting the good, bad and ugly of young Marines, SNCOs and their officers. A must read for anyone wondering what it is really like to be in a Marine Platoon, regardless of MOS or Battalion.

A fourth right telling of Force recon at war

This tells the whole story doesn't hold anything back it's very detailed and nature and a great read

Not Just A War Story...

This book, while set upon the backdrop of war, is much more than just an account of First Recon's run into Bagdad: It is the story of the soldiers in First Recon. Their thoughts, hopes and dreams for the future. You really feel like you come to know the individual marines.

Recommended as highly as possible!

Military Must-Read

What did you love best about Generation Kill?

I feel it was written with a lack of political bias either way. The book was neither for or against the Iraq war but rather account the events as they happened.

What other book might you compare Generation Kill to and why?

I don't know that I've ever read a military account as honest as Generation Kill

What does Patrick Lawlor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The reader did a great job.

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

It was a very honest account of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Marine Corps, and America's military in general.

Any additional comments?

The book was assembled and written very well. The story flowed and didn't get lost in "had to be there accounts of military movements" or politics.
I would strongly urge anyone considering military service to read Generation Kill.

Great companion to HBO Miniseries

It doesn’t matter if you read first or watch the miniseries first, they are obvious and excellent companion pieces. The author does a fantastic job of telling the story of the men as he experienced it firsthand. The narrator does a good job with appropriate pacing for the type of story and character voices as well.