Overview

WHEN EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD RON KOVIC enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in the fall of 1964, he couldn't foresee that he would return from Vietnam paralyzed and in a wheelchair for life. His best-selling 1976 memoir Born on the Fourth of July is an antiwar classic and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Tom Cruise as Kovic. His follow-up, Hurricane Street, chronicled his advocacy for Vietnam veterans' rights, including a seventeen-day hunger strike in the office of the late California senator Alan Cranston. A Dangerous Country: An American Elegy completes Kovic's Vietnam Trilogy, delving deep into his long and often agonizing journey home from war - his physical, sexual, and psychological struggles; his bitterness, loss of faith in God and country, and eventual healing, forgiveness, and spiritual redemption. The book opens with Kovic's never-before-revealed Vietnam diary (July 7, 1967-July 26, 1968). Deeply troubled by the growing antiwar movement in 1967, Kovic decided to set his own example of patriotism by returning to Vietnam for a second tour of duty. His entries from this period portray a patriotic young soldier with a strong moral and religious conscience, unburdened by the foreknowledge of the terrible events to come. The diary ends in Kovic's bedroom in Massapequa, New York, in the summer of 1968. Now confined to a wheelchair after his horrific injury, he makes a final entry, ending with the words,'May I say that through these 6 months I've never lost faith in myself, my God, or my country. I believe in everything I wrote in this diary with all my heart and soul.' In Part II, Kovic recalls his political awakening after his return from Vietnam, as well as the tremendous guilt and shame he feels over his accidental killing of a fellow Marine while on patrol. This killing psychologically torments him as much as his severe disability. Kovic experiences numerous failed romantic and sexual entanglements, along with a growing skepticism, a loss of faith in God and country, and a desire to expatriate to France. Struggling to leave the war behind and find his way home, he becomes severely depressed. On the brink of suicide, Kovic experiences a powerful epiphany that gives him a reason and purpose to live; a renewed faith and strength to carry on. Kovic tells his story in the passionate and brutally honest style that led to over one million sales of Born on the Fourth of July. Although his trauma is severe, his third memoir is ultimately the inspirational story of a young man finding a way to rise above his depression and despair, forgiving his enemies and himself, growing deeply committed to a new life.

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9781636141664

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Reviews

"""As relevant as ever, this book is an education. Ron is a true American, and his great heart and hard-won wisdom shine through these pages.""--Oliver Stone, on Born on the Fourth of July ""Classic and timeless.""-- ""New York Times Book Review, on Born on the Fourth of July"" ""Hurricane Street is an unflinching antiwar declaration, written in blood and the sweat of too many haunted nights by a Vietnam Marine Corps sergeant who later opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.""-- ""Los Angeles Times, on Hurricane Street"" ""One of the most powerful [books] I've ever read.""--Bruce Springsteen, on Born on the fourth of July ""Ron Kovic's memoir is a classic of antiwar literature.""--Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, on Born on the Fourth of July"

"More than five decades later, [Kovic's] words drop the reader right back into the jungles of that misbegotten fight, recording his fellow soldiers' routines, the perils they faced nightly on patrol and in camp, and the platitudes he would repeat to himself before he ultimately became disillusioned with his role in the conflict, turning antiwar activist. It's all set against his efforts, twenty years later, to carve out a meaningful civilian life, even as he shares the terrible burden of having accidentally killed one of his own men in the heat of combat. The result is a powerful rumination on the true costs of war.-- ""Booklist"" A powerful, often unsettling book by one of the major voices to come out of the Vietnam era.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" Ron Kovic is one of America's great voices on war and what it does to the body and soul. His story is as timeless and tragic as the country itself.--Bruce Springsteen As relevant as ever, this book is an education. Ron is a true American, and his great heart and hard-won wisdom shine through these pages.--Oliver Stone, on Born on the Fourth of July Classic and timeless.-- ""New York Times Book Review, on Born on the Fourth of July"" Ron Kovic's brilliant idea of opening this book with his Vietnam diary is riveting. It puts the reader in Ron's platoon, in the psyche of a young, patriotic sergeant who is innocent to the tragedy up ahead. Then he turns that tragedy into a blessing, a gift for us all. I, also, never thought I'd learn how to be a more loving sexual partner to my wife from someone in a wheelchair, but Ron Kovic is one of my teachers. His spirit transcends reality.--John Densmore, author of Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and The Doors Ron Kovic's memoir is a classic of antiwar literature.--Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, on Born on the Fourth of July Born on the Fourth of July author Kovic returns to his traumatic experiences during the Vietnam War for this searing memoir . . . While Kovic covers familiar territory, he does so with immediacy and bracing candor. Even those acquainted with the author's story will find this fascinating.-- ""Publishers Weekly"" With A Dangerous Country: An American Elegy, Ron Kovic has reached into his heart for closure to his great memoir Born on the Fourth of July.-- ""Oliver Stone, filmmaker"" Hurricane Street is an unflinching antiwar declaration, written in blood and the sweat of too many haunted nights by a Vietnam Marine Corps sergeant who later opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.-- ""Los Angeles Times, on Hurricane Street"" As the son of the architect of the Vietnam War, I was deeply humbled and saddened reading A Dangerous Country: An American Elegy. Ron Kovic's devastatingly detailed daily journal of his life serving on the front lines and his eloquent portrayal of his postwar trauma are a powerful call for mental health reform for the 850,000 Vietnam veterans alive today and the millions of veterans who have served in subsequent wars. If there is a final chapter to the war's legacy, this may be it.--Craig McNamara, author of Because Our Fathers Lied: A Memoir of Truth and Family, from Vietnam to Today Ron Kovic's memoir Dangerous Country moved me deeply . . . The massive destruction caused by war is not just physical, but deeply psychological. A profoundly honest portrayal of the internal struggle that all veterans of war experience for the rest of their lives.--Kaylie Jones, author of A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries"

"A powerful, often unsettling book by one of the major voices to come out of the Vietnam era.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" Ron Kovic is one of America's great voices on war and what it does to the body and soul. His story is as timeless and tragic as the country itself.--Bruce Springsteen As relevant as ever, this book is an education. Ron is a true American, and his great heart and hard-won wisdom shine through these pages.--Oliver Stone, on Born on the Fourth of July Classic and timeless.-- ""New York Times Book Review, on Born on the Fourth of July"" Ron Kovic's brilliant idea of opening this book with his Vietnam diary is riveting. It puts the reader in Ron's platoon, in the psyche of a young, patriotic sergeant who is innocent to the tragedy up ahead. Then he turns that tragedy into a blessing, a gift for us all. I, also, never thought I'd learn how to be a more loving sexual partner to my wife from someone in a wheelchair, but Ron Kovic is one of my teachers. His spirit transcends reality.--John Densmore, author of Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and The Doors Ron Kovic's memoir is a classic of antiwar literature.--Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, on Born on the Fourth of July Hurricane Street is an unflinching antiwar declaration, written in blood and the sweat of too many haunted nights by a Vietnam Marine Corps sergeant who later opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.-- ""Los Angeles Times, on Hurricane Street"" As the son of the architect of the Vietnam War, I was deeply humbled and saddened reading A Dangerous Country: An American Elegy. Ron Kovic's devastatingly detailed daily journal of his life serving on the front lines and his eloquent portrayal of his postwar trauma are a powerful call for mental health reform for the 850,000 Vietnam veterans alive today and the millions of veterans who have served in subsequent wars. If there is a final chapter to the war's legacy, this may be it.--Craig McNamara, author of Because Our Fathers Lied: A Memoir of Truth and Family, from Vietnam to Today Ron Kovic's memoir Dangerous Country moved me deeply . . . The massive destruction caused by war is not just physical, but deeply psychological. A profoundly honest portrayal of the internal struggle that all veterans of war experience for the rest of their lives.--Kaylie Jones, author of A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries"

Author Information

RON KOVIC served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. He was paralyzed from his chest down in combat in 1968 and has been in a wheelchair ever since. Along with Oliver Stone, Kovic was the coscreenwriter of the 1989 Academy Award-winning film based on Kovic's best-selling memoir Born on the Fourth of July (starring Tom Cruise as Kovic). Hurricane Street (2016) detailed Kovic's efforts to organize the American Veterans Movement in 1974, fighting for better treatment of injured and disabled veterans. His latest work is A Dangerous Country.

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