The Things They Carried

By: Tim O'Brien

Narrated by: Bryan Cranston

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

This modern classic and New York Times best seller was a finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award and has become a staple of American classrooms. Hailed by The New York Times as "a marvel of storytelling", The Things They Carried’s portrayal of the boots-on-the-ground experience of soldiers in the Vietnam War is a landmark in war writing. Now, three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston, star of the hit TV series Breaking Bad, delivers an electrifying performance that walks the book’s hallucinatory line between reality and fiction and highlights the emotional power of the spoken word.

The soldiers in this collection of stories carried M-16 rifles, M-60 machine guns, and M-79 grenade launchers. They carried plastic explosives, hand grenades, flak jackets, and landmines. But they also carried letters from home, illustrated Bibles, and pictures of their loved ones. Some of them carried extra food or comic books or drugs. Every man carried what he needed to survive, and those who did carried their shattering stories away from the jungle and back to a nation that would never understand.

This audiobook also includes an exclusive recording “The Vietnam in Me,” a recount of the author’s trip back to Vietnam in 1994, revisiting his experience there as a soldier 25 years before, read by Tim O’Brien himself.

The Things They Carried was produced by Audible Studios in partnership with Playtone, the celebrated film and television production company founded by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and producer of the award-winning series Band of Brothers, John Adams, and The Pacific, as well as the HBO movie Game Change.

For more from Audible and Playtone, click here.

©1990 Tim O'Brien (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Cranston may be the most charismatic embodiment of moral ambiguity we currently possess. There was always something comforting as well as menacing in Walter White's voice, and Cranston attacks O'Brien's sober, sinewy prose with slightly scary authority.... [I]f you were a binge-watcher of Breaking Bad it will be no big deal to spend six hours in his company here." ( The New York Times Book Review)

"Structurally the novel gestures to William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, while Ryan's sensitive observations on Irish life seem responsive to the work of his compatriot Patrick McCabe. That Ryan does not look out of place in such literary company is a measure of his achievement." ( The Financial Times)

"The best of these stories--and none is written with less than the sharp edge of honed vision--are memory and prophecy. These tell us not where we were but where we are, and perhaps where we will be. . . . It is an ultimate, indelible image of war in our time, and in time to come." ( Los Angeles Times)

"O'Brien's haunting collection of connected stories about the Vietnam War is more alive than ever in this narration. Bryan Cranston's resonant, sometimes formal, performance often leaves the listener reeling. Cranston's voice is deep and patient, laying back to let the characters' collective pain take the fore. Memorable scenes include a man's receipt of his draft notice in "On the Rainy River," battle scenes in "The Man I Killed," and aspects of the war's aftermath in "Speaking of Courage." In all the works, Cranston offers a measured, compassionate voice. O'Brien's stories emphasize the importance of telling the truth of war stories, and Cranston's respect for his intent is clear and comforting. At times, his sonorous tone is hypnotic, but this is more an asset than a liability. All the better to make the listener feel." ( AudioFile)

loved it.

especially read by cranston, brought my favorite book to life. the bonus at the end was heart felt

Intense and Gripping

I appreciate the close very personal and raw perspective from the soldiers point of view. It is so descriptive and you feel like you are right on the front lines living right next to the characters.

Great book

I have loved this book since my sophomore year of high school. Bryan Cranston does a fantastic job as narrator. I will definitely listen to this again!

Stuff, Memories, Fear, and Guilt.

If you've not had the experience of that long-talk, with a Vietnam War infantry combat soldier, this story will linger with you, as particularly intimate human encounters often do.

Amazing, Shocking, Healing...

Tim O'Brien and Bryan Cranston are both amazing! An Audible must! I could not give a higher recommendation!

Compelling storytelling...

These are stories that heartbreaking, yes, but so well constructed that it is impossible to stop listening. O’Brien brings us into the experience of young men enduring an impossible war, but also provides a powerful commentary on the healing nature of story itself and how best those stories can be told. Cranston provides perfect narration.

Great book

Great book. Learned a lot about the Vietnam war. 100 % recommended.
Stories that we all need to know.
Stories we all need to share

Some great stories

Some very, very good stand alone chapters, Chapter 9 being a masterpiece. A little sentimentality and self indulgence here and there, Bryan Cranston is a fantastic narrator.

Intense

Intimate and intense look into the life of a grunt during the Vietnam War.

For the most part, the narration was incredible. The exception was with female characters, where the voice was a little off-putting.

Vietnam War memento: War is evil

I remember the Vietnam war years well, feared the draft for all men and knew the US involvement was wrong. President Carter once said that War is a necessary Evil...but it is evil. This war was an unnecessary evil.

I bought this book to hear Bryan Cranston. His narration was expert and when it ended, I stopped listening to the remainder of the book. What Johnson, Nixon, McNamara and the Military Complex did to the generation who fought this war was continues to plague my generation and our nation. I wish all Vietnam veterans could be miraculously healed and made whole again, but retelling the sins of war isn't the path.