Rating: 
Summary: Good Book with Misleading Title
Review: While this book was engrossing throughout, I thought the title was wholly misleading. Swofford's recollections of actual Persian Gulf War events don't even begin until you've read about 3/4 of the book. Everything to that point is recollections and stories about what it is like to be in the military, the close relationships that develop, the boredom of the job, etc. As I kept reading on I kept asking "Okay, when are you going to actually discuss your experiences in the actual war?" The remainder of the book is the best portion - Swofford's no-hold-barred writing style leaves nothing to the imagination. His ability to describe everything from his deepest fears and hopes to the raw carnage of war is impressive. His honesty is also very refreshing. Overall a good book, but the title is totally misleading in my opinion. Swofford is an able writer indeed with an interesting story to tell. One more gripe: Swofford has adopted a writing style where a long paragraph often consists of a single tremendously long sentence. This becomes quite annoying very quickly. Mr. Swofford - great book but please remember to hit the "." on your word processor more often.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding, Marine. Outstanding.
Review: After reading Swofford's brilliant memoir, I'm torn. On the one hand, he makes me want to finally transcribe my own Gulf War journals. On the other...because what he's written is so much more analytical than what I'd come up with, maybe I shouldn't bother. But that's a decision for another time. It's hard not to identify with Swofford, because we were stationed at "two-nine" (Twentynine Palms) at the same time and maybe even crossed paths once or twice. He is me, and the fellow college dropouts I hung out with in my infantry unit--the guys who sat around discussing philosophy while other Marines looked at us funny. Swofford tells the tale of the infantry grunt well. My only issue is with the "Dear John" porno video. I don't think we were at the same camp as Swofford's unit (I never saw a "wall of shame"), but we heard about it, too. It's unsurprising that Swofford wasn't actually at the viewing, because the story has been debunked as a revamping of an old urban/war legend. I do find it surprising that Swofford tells the story as fact, without a shred of skepticism. But maybe that speaks to the level of trust he has in his buddies. (Oh, and I don't know of a barracks at MCRD San Diego that's a full mile from the base theater.) All in all, a great, quick read--and worth violating my book-buying moratorium for.
Rating: 
Summary: No news in this memoir.
Review: I read the glowing reviews of this book. Being a Marine myself and having been forwarned in reviews that it was a gloomy portrait of war, I was not surprised by any of the anecdotes or opinions of the author. Swoffard is a good writer. His prose is smooth and solid. But his account is by no means representative of the Marine Corps or even the typical Marine. His news that Marines get in trouble and do bad things is no news at all - the Marine Corps, as dismayed Mr. Swoffard found out, is a microcosm and a reflection of society in general. For example, some abusive Drill Instructors get prosecuted and kicked out; others get coddled. Some Marines like Swoffard stay in for over 20 years and make the Marine Corps their career; others are just like Swoffard - they do one tour and leave, disillusioned. This book should be treated for what it is: A single Marine's experiences and opinions; not what it implies. The disappointment with Swoffard's book lies in his implied indictment of the Marine Corps as a whole. His book misleads because one should never judge any group, whether a race, religion, gender or the like, based upon the experiences or opinions of ONE person from that group.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: I stupidly purchased this book after reading an excerpt in a Sunday paper a month (or so) ago. I could have saved myself [the money], the excerpt was the best part of the book! I would have given the book less stars, but the review doesn't allow negative numbers. Although, it appears that the reviews are split pretty close to 50/50 (why some people like this is beyond me), it seems that more military vets throught the book was trash. I was in the Air Force (yes "Flyboys"), during the war (1981-1992), but have numerous friends now and then in all the services. Swofford's "book"(and I use the term lightly), appear to be more self serving and (with the exception of urinating on
himself throughout the book), self bravado (detailing his alleged sexual escapades), than anything else. He appears nothing more than a whining, anti-military, pathetic loser, who has disgraced himself, the Corp, and the Military. This book does a dis-service to all the real combat soldiers who fought (and died) during this (and any other) war. The title "A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles" comes nowhere near to what the story is about. First of all being a new Marine the author (as well as most military vets know it is all about 'sit around and wait' in the military), besides the sitting and waiting there are no other gripping tales about the Gulf War. We all know there were dead Iraqi's in the desert, we don't need to hear that the author sat around with some dead soldiers and figured they wanted to know about him, (and this was one of the better areas of the book, because he was actually close to an Iraqi soldier). Also, what "Other Battles"? His alleged barroom brawls? Sticking an M-16 in the temple of another Marine? Chastising his brother or mother? The author is nothing but a Marine who had his stateside and overseas tours, nothing more, nothing less. It appears just because the author alleges he has a brain (he talks of his reading the Iliad and speaking about Chekhov), that all the upper echelon of writings elite, must assume this book is beautifully written. Not only is the story pathetic, it is (contrary to what many have wrote), terribly written. A story should make you want to turn the page and continue reading. This book had me turning pages to get past the [stuff] that was put in as filler! Attempting to bring out details to get the reader to envision himself in the story is fine, but the author doesn't need to repeat himself constantly or go overboard by boringly repeating every last detail of a hotel room in Hawaii where he was conceived! The last time I looked, Swofford's alleged psychologically challenged sister, his alleged 'story-telling' brother, his alleged sexual escapades, his alleged decision to be (or not be) Roman Catholic, as well as many other areas, had nothing to do with the Gulf War or 'Other Battles'. I know you have to establish characters, but do just that, establish them, don't make it 75% of the book! If you still want to read this book go to the bookstore read from pages 217 to 235, that's about the extent of his participation in the war, which is the reason (by judging from the title), we all were intrigued by this book.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: My boyfriend is an active duty Corporal in the US Marines, and he is currently deployed in Kuwait. I heard of the author from a couple of This American Life episodes (NPR radio program). I bought the book in Newark airport on the way home to California and finished most of it by the time I landed.
I think that the author portrays an image of the Marines that many active duty Marines have of the Corps, including my Marine. My boyfriend loves the Corps but he knows that he is doing a lot more than what he signed up to do when he signed the contract. He loves his country yet he feels like a property of the State. Swofford tells so many stories that have similar themes and are true and relavant to what these guys are going through right now: the endless wait with no information, sand everywhere, feeling out of touch with home, dealing with the same guys days and night, being idetifies first as what you do and then who you are and other sentiments felt with the love-hate relationships many have with the Corps.
I can relate Swofford so easily to my boyfriend. While he read The Illiad in the back of a Humvee, my boyfriend listens to classical music on his post (when he can).
In short, this book is relavant and true. Many of the reviwers said that guys like these don't exist in the Marines. I am here to tell you that they do and I am strongly attached to one of them.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I'd hoped.
Review: I was really disappointed in the book. I found it self-consciously "literary" and elliptical. There is too much attention given to Swofford's pre-war sexual difficulties and not enough to the general experience of a Marine grunt in Gulf War I. I think that the book might have been better before the author had been through the University of Iowa writing school. It smells of the lamp, alas. In addition, there is a post-Vietnam self-pity for what is, at best, a poor excuse for a war. Go look at Vietnam. Or Korea. Or, or course, WWII.
Rating:
Summary: Jarhead: Missing the body
Review: I reached for this book from a friend's bookshelf at the outbreak of the 2003 war in Iraq. Within the first few pages I found myself at ease with the stage the author set for the reader. On one level, a personal and heart-felt account of the action (or lack thereof) a combatant saw in the first gulf war, punctuated with details from his upbringing & personal relationships(or lack thereof) that provide vivid context as to why this young man was where he was. On another level you get an inside view of a war-machine at odds with the pap served up by the international media junket that follows any US military action. Swafford is engaging, and his tuition since his return to civilian life has not been wasted, but this book is not that well written. Often the imagery is clunky, and the book suffers from pacing problems before the onslaught of the actual war. Also, the author hints at significant personal stakes for the Bush and Cheney families at 'securing' all that oil - but leaves it at that. If the powers that be took the US to war to improve their net worth, the subject warrants more than mere mention.
Don't get me wrong - this is a good read & worth the effort, however view it as a work early in a promising author's career - not as the well-written master of the genre that some portray it to be.
Rating:
Summary: Tedious
Review: All I can say is cry-baby
Rating: 
Summary: excellent memoir of the first Gulf War...
Review: With the second Gulf War coming to a close (presumably), this is a popular time to be reading books about the first Gulf War as they may have some bearing on the current one and to help us understand what might really be happening on the ground. Jarhead is a memoir of the first Gulf War written by Anthony Swofford, a marine sniper who was in Kuwait and Iraq for Operation Desert Shield/Storm. This is his story of the Marines, and his experiences in the first Gulf War. Swofford tells a story of one man's disillusionment with the Marine Corp and while he tries to spin the story so that we believe this is the entire Corps; that is a hard story to take. Swofford's Marine Corps is a bunch of men who do not want to be there and would love nothing more than to go home again. I have no reason to doubt the veracity of Swofford's experiences, but the author also admits to being a little unstable throughout his tour of duty. It is Swofford's depression (which he mentions several times) and disillusionment with the military and war that shapes and colors his narrative. As he weaves his story, the author presents his view of war. By the end of the book, Swofford is telling us that war is wrong and unnecessary. I thought this was a well written (if profane) book about the first Gulf War (and war in general), however Anthony Swofford's views on that particular war (that it was fought for oil) colors his account. He presents the idea that war is bad, but does not acknowledge the necessity of it at times, nor does Swofford present a reasonable alternative to war. Even so, Jarhead is well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Disgruntled Marine
Review: When a friend of mine first gave me this book I was very excited. I belonged to 1/7 the authors sister battalion and a member of task force Ripper in the Gulf War. I thought the book would describe areas of operations or individuals that I might have known. At the very least I thought based on the title "jarhead" the book would be a sort of factual depiction of U.S. Marines. Instead what I read was the works of a person who hated the Marine Corps and if he did, his reasons are his own. Based on the way he seems to "whine" about everything makes me wonder if the author was even a member of a S.T.A platoon at all. His writing style seems to reflect that the author attended a class on metaphors and then went wild trying to "flower up" the language or make the book longer by trying to fill the pages with non relevant language. His use of common Marine terminology runs rampid through out the book as if Marines actually run around speaking that way all of the time and calling each other jarhead at every turn. The author filled the pages with his own personal feelings which would have been great if they were relevant to the subject matter and not because he was upset that people were unfaithful to their spouses while deployed. I wonder if these feelings are from his personal experiences and felt the need to vent. I do not recommend this book to anyone who has any knowledge of military life because I believe they would just be dissapointed. I do recommend this book to people who have absolutely no idea of what military life is like, likes a short story with tons of "filler or Flowery" language and a couple of hours to kill while stranded in a remote location with no access to anything else to pass the time.
I was very dissapointed in this book because other then a few accounts it does not reflect the true nature of what makes a U.S. Marine act, behave or feel the way they do in a combat zone. It is the work of a bitter person. To use the words of the Drill Instructor in the film "Full Metal Jacket". "YOUR A KILLER SWOFFARD, NOT A WRITER"! At least not a very good or honest one.
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