Rating: 
Summary: Jarhead is jarring. One of two excellent biographies out.
Review: This guy sure went through a lot of hell. But fortunately he got through it. I've always wondered what the anticipation of battle would really be like to live through...and jarhead explains it well. It's one of two biographies I've recently come across that puts you inside a person's private hell. The other is about the late rock star/heroin addict Layne Staley from Alice In Chains who sat painting in his condo for the last 6 years of his life. That one's called "Angry Chair" and I can recommend both of these if you want to get inside the heads of two people you definitely you'll never change places with in the real world.
Rating: 
Summary: I was 3/7 STA and this book is spot on
Review: I served in the other Scout/Sniper platoon that was part of Task Force Grizzly, STA 3/7. Later I joined STA 2/7 for a brief time and got to know Cpl. Swofford as much as anyone could whose sole purpose at that point was liberty on the beaches of southern California.I bought this book as soon as I heard about it and finished the last page seven hours later. It brought back so many feelings and memories that I couldn't have written it any better. Swofford captured the paradox of war as well as any book I'd ever read. Not many Marines talk about their love/hate relationship with the Corps outside of our circle and he related this sentiment remarkably well. His analysis of the difference between combat marines and the rest of the Corps sounded like recent phone calls between me and my buddies. If you want to know what war is REALLY about, the day to day uncertainty, fear, boredom, glee, hate, love, and insanity, the BS of politics, incompitant brass leadership, then this book is for you. This isn't some rah rah book written by some REMF pogue either. Patriotism may get you to the front but your buddies will keep you alive so you can make it back home.
W.Scott Albertson
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing
Review: In a narrative that is similar to that of Full Metal Jacket, only much more powerful, and similar and almost as disturbing as Johnny Got his Gun, Anthony Swofford tells an amazing story, well-written, and deffimately High Art. His intelligence is clear when read that he was the only man in his battalion carrying books with him. Nietzsche, Camus's The Stranger, The Illiad, etc. It's intelligently written, it speaks of the flaws of anti-war works of art such as Aocolypse now. He states in his book that "...the presence of so much death reminds me that I am alive..." Swofford has created a masterpiece of nightmarish proportions.
Rating: 
Summary: He understands
Review: Although Mr. Swofford was probably a little better read then the average young Marine, his account an excellent representation of the mindset of an 18 year old in US military. Although his post service opinions have shifted to a more "enlightened" view of violence, his feelings towards events as the time reflect those of his fellow Marines. Although they may have joked about joining the Oil Corps, they were more worried about and griped more about the problems with equipment and support that affected their ability to fight. It should also be noted that despite his complaints about poor conditions, heavy packs, and non working radios, Lance Corporal Swofford answered every call put up to them by his superiors whether foolish or wise. Although some people may be upset by his undiscipline antics on many occasions, when called for he did his duty.
The authors frequent use of military terminology makes it seem his work is primarily for a military audience. Those without some military background make have trouble understanding both the references the author makes and the attitude he holds. While some people might be shocked by his accounts of physical violence in daily life, others will understand why he and others accepted and welcomed those conditions. I do not see this book, as some observers might argue, as an attempt to seed discontent in the ranks or discourage people from joining the service. I think this story is more a consolation to every soldier, sailor, marine, or airman who has ever felt doubt, fear, or regret in thier work, letting them know that they are not alone in their feelings. As the author ends, "Some wars are unaviodable and need well to be fought, but this doesn't end warfare's waste."
Rating:
Summary: Irreverent, vulgar & WONDERFUL
Review: It's not often that I read a book straight through but Anthony Swofford's "Jarhead" is riveting. Vulgar, disturbing and brutally honest, the book rings true on every page. It seems that Swofford held nothing back, describing how he wet his trousers while under artillery fire and contemplating suicide at one point. As a former Marine who served when America was fresh out of Vietnam and still licking its wounds, I can attest to the authenticity of the very rough culture that the author describes. I now know, however, how it was to suffer for seven months in the Desert, protecting an unappreciative host, the suspicion that their lives were on the line for "fat cats" and their oil (any names come to mind?) and the frustration of gearing up for a major offensive only to stand down after the ground war ended so quickly. The author has given America a look into the lives of the lower caste grunts who have always, and probably always will, do the fighting and dying for our country, the people who don't have college, grad school and hefty salary offers as an option. We're treated to a raw and true-to-life glimpse of the lives of the boys who are on the cutting edge of our war machine...the under educated blokes from dead end towns and the inner city, the macho world of testosterone, youth and a good dose of USMC ingrained bravado. Certain images Swofford describes are hard to forget...the desecration and photographing of burned Iraqi bodies, the first sergeant lecturing against the evidently common practice; the severe pummeling of a dead friend's belligerent peers, on the night of his funeral in his old hangout; the trysts of unfaithful wives, sneaking lovers (insult of all insults...Boots right out of training) into base housing at night while their men are stuck in the Desert, desperate to know what she's up to; the pitiful grasping for a relationship with any female back home, no matter how tenuous or imagined; the heart breaking, overly exalted status assigned to the first few letters addressed to "Any Marine" in the Desert; the loneliness and alientation experienced as an almost anonymous grunt in the Fleet Marine Force...epitomized when a Hawaiian friend he lifts weights with tells Swofford to stop being so friendly and smiling all the time. This is life in the real Marine Corps! At times Swofford comes across as somewhat condescending in terms of his opinions of his fellow Marines. That's to be expected from an intelligent, observant and sensitve writer. He clearly was destined for better things and "Jarhead" attests to that. The images he evokes and the atmosphere he paints are lucid, gritty and eye opening. This isn't the dress blues of the recruiting posters but the sweat, hardship and sand-in-every-orifice life of the men on the front lines, chomping at the bit to get into action. "Leatherneck" magazine publishes articles on how it wants the world to view the Marines. "Jarhead" is how it really is out there in "the Fleet." I wouldn't recommend that mothers of prospective Marines read this book. Boys in high school, contemplating a trip to the recruiter, however, will learn much. If they're still willing after Swofford's story, the Corps may have a higher retention rate! How many guys do we know like Swofford's friend, telling war story lies in college, bragging about heroics that never happened? Swofford's work has been compared to the Vietnam-era, anti-war work, "Dispatches" and James Webb's "Fields of Fire." I think it's more appropriate to elevate it to the same exalted staus that Eugene Sledge's classic, "With the Old Breed," holds...a must read for anyone interested in the true story of one who was there. Authentic and, as I said, brutally honest. Semper fi, Marine.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: Although the anguish of combat and graphic scenes of death and devastation that the author encountered must have been overwhelming (and I fortunately have never had to deal with such awful circumstances), I found myself wondering what the book was telling me. Was the author disturbed by his wartime experience, or before it by his own life experience? He makes the case that Marines, or "Jarheads" must all think and act like hard-living drunken killing machines, but many of the Marines I know and have known were simply not cut from that cloth. I certainly hope for the sake of our military that there are finer examples of proud Americans serving their country (in peace or war), that are more worthy of our respect than the soldiers the author describes.
Rating:
Summary: Great Gulf War Book
Review: I am very interested in War, and Special Forces, at the age of 15. Belive it or not, I am interested in Politics, and a very strong Republican. I have dreams of going to National Counter Terrorism University, in D.C., and then joining Delta Force for 5 years, and then the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI. Enough of me, this was a great read. It is a great descritpion of the war, and it was just what I was expecting. If you like this, I would also REALLY reccomend, Marine Sniper.
Rating:
Summary: What a hoot!
Review: Jarhead is a very amusing book; I have no way of verifying its literal authenticity, but this warrior sure can spin a yarn. He writes very well indeed, and is consistently entertaining. I did not think that the book cast aspersions on the Marine Corps, but merely that it set out the author's doubts and darker thoughts that obviously surfaced not infrequently during his own service.
As for the high jinks, even if they are not literally true, they do ring very true of the absurdist worldview, camaraderie and style of speech that only very elite groups of working people develop; sometimes in the military, and even more rarely, in civilian work. Common sense would indicate that a highly trained Marine unit, such as STA 2/7, would be one such elite group.
But I'm a civilian, so I can only conjecture...
Rating: 
Summary: Somebody needs a whaambulance.
Review: I'm glad I picked up the audio version of this for a couple of dollars in the bargain bin, I still feel cheated though. This is NOT the Corps I knew at the time he tells of.
Swofford whines like there's no tomorrow, he takes some truths and then writes complete BS around the truths. About 98% of this story is either completely untrue, urban legend or his skewed view of things. This guy's got a serious chip on his shoulder and thinks the world owes him everything, utterly self-centered without a semblence of honor in his being.
Read this book if you hate the military, it's all the untruths you want to hear. If you want a real account of war and the Marine Corps, warts and all I'd recommend Generation Kill.
Rating:
Summary: An honest account
Review: I have to admit that many of the anecdotes relayed in Anthony Swofford's JAR HEAD made me uncomfortable. I have very few ties to the military--no family there, only a couple friends, no one involved in combat--so for me, this book was the first personal window I had into the world of Desert Shield/Storm. I appreciated Swofford's honesty, and feel that I learned a lot from the book. Though I still find it difficult to understand the mentality of fighting for the sake of fighting, even when disagreeing with the motives behind a war, Swofford has drawn a world in which I can catch a glimpse of the pressures and conditions in the military--as well as the lasting effect military service can have.
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