Overview

In his New York Times bestselling 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.

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Michiko Kakutani The New York Times A searing contribution to the literature of combat, a book that combines the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried....An irreverent but meditative voice that captures the juiced-up machismo of jarhead culture and the existential loneliness of combat...Mr. Swofford conveys a chilling sense of what it is like to be under enemy fire, and he also communicates a palpable sense of the fog of war. Mark Bowden Author of Black Hawk Down Jarhead will go down with the best books ever written about military life. The Sacramento Bee A bayonet in the eye...brutal and unforgettable. Entertainment Weekly A brutally honest memoir...gut-wrenching frontline reportage.

Entertainment Weekly A brutally honest memoir...gut-wrenching frontline reportage. The Sacramento Bee A bayonet in the eye...brutal and unforgettable. Mark Bowden Author of Black Hawk Down Jarhead will go down with the best books ever written about military life. Michiko Kakutani The New York Times A searing contribution to the literature of combat, a book that combines the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried....An irreverent but meditative voice that captures the juiced-up machismo of jarhead culture and the existential loneliness of combat...Mr. Swofford conveys a chilling sense of what it is like to be under enemy fire, and he also communicates a palpable sense of the fog of war.

Entertainment Weekly A brutally honest memoir...gut-wrenching frontline reportage. Michiko Kakutani The New York Times A searing contribution to the literature of combat, a book that combines the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried....An irreverent but meditative voice that captures the juiced-up machismo of jarhead culture and the existential loneliness of combat...Mr. Swofford conveys a chilling sense of what it is like to be under enemy fire, and he also communicates a palpable sense of the fog of war. The Sacramento Bee A bayonet in the eye...brutal and unforgettable. Mark Bowden Author of Black Hawk Down Jarhead will go down with the best books ever written about military life.

Mark Bowden Author of Black Hawk Down Jarhead will go down with the best books ever written about military life. The Sacramento Bee A bayonet in the eye...brutal and unforgettable. Michiko Kakutani The New York Times A searing contribution to the literature of combat, a book that combines the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried.... An irreverent but meditative voice that captures the juiced-up machismo of jarhead culture and the existential loneliness of combat...Mr. Swofford conveys a chilling sense of what it is like to be under enemy fire, and he also communicates a palpable sense of the fog of war. Entertainment Weekly A brutally honest memoir...gut-wrenching frontline reportage. Entertainment Weekly A brutally honest memoir...gut-wrenching frontline reportage. Michiko Kakutani The New York Times A searing contribution to the literature of combat, a book that combines the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried....An irreverent but meditative voice that captures the juiced-up machismo of jarhead culture and the existential loneliness of combat...Mr. Swofford conveys a chilling sense of what it is like to be under enemy fire, and he also communicates a palpable sense of the fog of war. The Sacramento Bee A bayonet in the eye...brutal and unforgettable. Mark Bowden Author of Black Hawk Down Jarhead will go down with the best books ever written about military life. A brutally honest memoir...gut-wrenching frontline reportage. -- Entertainment Weekly A searing contribution to the literature of combat. --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times A bayonet in the eye...brutal and unforgettable. -- The Sacramento Bee Michiko Kakutani The New York Times A searing contribution to the literature of combat, a book that combines the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried.... An irreverent but meditative voice that captures the juiced-up machismo of jarhead culture and the existential loneliness of combat...Mr. Swofford conveys a chilling sense of what it is like to be under enemy fire, and he also communicates a palpable sense of the fog of war.

""Jarhead will go down with the best books ever written about military life."" --Mark Bowden Author of Black Hawk Down ""A bayonet in the eye...brutal and unforgettable."" --The Sacramento Bee ""A brutally honest memoir...gut-wrenching frontline reportage."" --Entertainment Weekly ""A searing contribution to the literature of combat, a book that combines the black humor of Catch-22 with the savagery of Full Metal Jacket and the visceral detail of The Things They Carried....An irreverent but meditative voice that captures the juiced-up machismo of jarhead culture and the existential loneliness of combat...Mr. Swofford conveys a chilling sense of what it is like to be under enemy fire, and he also communicates a palpable sense of the fog of war."" --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times ""Extraordinary: full of insight into the minds and rucksacks of our latter-day warriors."" --Kirkus Reviews (starred)

Author Information

Anthony Swofford served in a U.S. Marine Corps Surveillance and Target Acquisition/Scout-Sniper platoon during the Gulf War. After the war, he was educated at American River College; the University of California, Davis; and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. He has taught at the University of Iowa and Lewis and Clark College. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New York Times, Harper's, Men's Journal, The Iowa Review, and other publications. A Michener-Copernicus Fellowship recipient, he lives in New York

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