Jarhead : A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles

Rating:
Summary: Page-turner
Review: A lot of people don't like this book, and I respect their points of view, some of which are well argued here. But I did like the book. A lot.

JARHEAD is well-written, honest and profane. It doesn't glorify combat. What little actual combat "Jarhead" contains is over fast. Yet the book manages to be compelling, with a strong sense of place.

Is it anti-Marine? It didn't feel that way to me when I read it, though obviously it infuriated a lot of other reviewers. Some will find the book offensively profane, unpleasant and uncomfortable. I didn't. To me, it was an economically written page-turner, and I hope we hear more from the author.

I should disclose that I am a soldier (Guardsman) with strong loyalty to the Army and huge respect for Marines, and I still did not find the book offensive. It just seemed honest. Without getting too political, I found this an enjoyable read -- but of course decide for yourself. Try a copy. Also recommended: THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez -- another wonderfully engaging, funny -- albeit unrelated (to politics and war) -- Amazon quick-pick. THE LOSERS CLUB and JARHEAD -- are definitely my favorite two purchases this year.


Rating:
Summary: JarHead Is The Story Of A Marine Who Sold Out
Review: I wrote an earlier review, but it got pulled. Hmmm, I wonder why? Anyway, I'll sum up what I said before. Other Marines and armed forces reviewers pretty much backed up what I wrote. Many of the tales in this book are urban legends. Although one reviewer said the tales of whoring are 100% true, I wonder if some of his encounters were. I found it odd that one of the girls he shacked up with happened to be a virgin, and that there was so much drama over it. His actions as a scout sniper, as others have said, are grossly misrepresentative of the real deal. As I've said before, Swofford is a liar; you don't have to be in the Marines to see that. He's a real embarassment to anyone he's ever worked for, even McDonald's. He'd sell out anything to make a buck.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent first hand account
Review: Although some would say this book is a bad "coming of age" story, I chose to be open and soak it in. The author describes his life in the Marines, the close freindships that develop, and the many disappointments. What it does best is express the "dark side" of being an American marine. When the author is finally deployed to Iraq, it may not be what you expect. Readers looking for combat stories will find there are few. The one engagement has the author in position to snipe Iraqi targets, but he is not given permission. Instead the marines want "action", they want to move in and attack rather than snipe from afar (lives are lost because of this) A must read for anyone thinking of joining up. In my opinion Jarhead should have been titled, "Jarhead: Inside the mind of a Marine in the Gulf War"

Rating:
Summary: Apparently too honest for some....
Review: Great book, in my opinion.
Anthony Swofford's memoir of Desert Shield/Storm is, like most good memoirs, more about his own personal experience than about the historical view. This isn't a documentary-style Thunder Run or Black Hawk Down, but a personal account of growth and experience. In our present polarized political climate, I have to admire him for his honest, and, at times, brutally ugly description of himself and the people around him, be it in or out of uniform.

Some things the negative reviews miss:

The author isn't trying to represent the entire Marine Corps. He is writing about a pivotal life experience, and, just like if 5 people see them same movie, you'll get 5 different reviews from them, none of which will be `wrong'.
If you, as a serving or former Marine, don't like this book, then write your own, it's that simple. The book is about one man's subjective experience, not yours, so get over it. A lot of what gets called "lies" and "inaccuracies", like "marines don't act that way" etc is plain wrong. Some marines do, sorry. If you think that a group of people, ANY group, actually embodies 100% of all the lofty qualities they like to claim, then you're the one lying to yourself. Swofford obviously isn't exactly what Marine recruiters are looking for: emotionally, he's too sensitive and introspective. However, he managed to achieve a fairly elite status within the Corps; he Walked the Walk, he can write whatever the hell he wants.

As for this being "liberal propaganda", what with his comments about the oil industry and some our politicians' corporate connections, can you honestly say he's `inaccurate'?!
The connection between Big Oil and US foreign policy is well-documented. How you choose to interpret that is up to you.



Rating:
Summary: Jarhead
Review: Bluto, Otter and the Delta House gang go to the Desert to safeguard cowardly Kuwaitis and pump up the profits for "Big Oil". Why is it that the only "war" books that get rave reviews are anti-war screeds? Those with little or no exposure to the military should find this book interesting, to say the least, and perhaps frightening. You give a 19 year old man Marine training, immerse him in Marine culture, then send him to war with his buddies and you get a lot of behaviors that will shock your average civilian. The author is a good wordsmith and truly captures life in the Saudi desert during the long build up to the ground war. His dipiction of Marine life prior to the war is also very good. Not bad. Not great.

Rating:
Summary: Semper Fi Jarhead
Review: I handed this book around to Marines of different ages and eras, 8 out of 10 gave me the same reply, "I thought I was the only one who thought that way", Thanks Jarhead. I read a review of MOTO0331, First I was witness to the viewing of that movie, its not a "urban legend", it cut off Total Recall, I was acually kind of mad. Second, I remember taking a drink of water when the author went for his all night run,(I was in the group playing volleyball all night long) I was in the room next the Mr. Swofford that night and actually when I read this book it brought back a flood of memories,I will always remember that night very specifically, not every night you see a guy flip out over his wifes first porn movie. Thanks Jarhead
P.S. now my wife gets me, not sure yet if that's a good thing!!!