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

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

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Editorial Reviews

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 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.

Customer Reviews

Simply OK

Reviewed by Sean Mccreery, 2010-03-01

This book is simply OK. From what I can tell it chronicles fairly well what Swofford's experience was indeed like. However, it isn't engaging or in depth enough to really warrant close reading. I feel like I could have just read the Wikipedia entry for this book and been just as informed.

Personal tour of the cold and hot hell of war

Reviewed by Jean E. Pouliot, 2009-12-29

Anthony Swofford perfectly exemplifies the contradictions of the warrior. A man who is not eager to fight, but perfectly suited to warfare. An intelligent, sensitive man who reads Camus and Homer but is attracted to the atavistic brutality of the battlefield. A man aware that he is protecting rich, privileged foreigners but who endures torturous heat and loneliness to do it.

Swofford gives us an inside look at the mind and motivations of one Marine. He is no typical recruit, and seems to fall almost passively into the Corps, or "the Suck" as one of his friends calls it. Swofford's view of warfare and of the US military is hardly exalted. He and his fellow Marines spend way too much of his time drinking and screwing (or thinking about drinking and screwing) to be healthy. But these are the young men who are called on to protect us. Swofford's memories of his tour of duty in the first Gulf War are harrowing and terrible. His descriptions of battlefield dead are wrenching, even when the dead are the bad guys. But there's plenty of humor and irony. Battle scenes from antiwar movies like "Apocalypse Now" and "The Deerhunter" are used by the Marines as means of pumping themselves up for battle. Ideal warriors are relived of duty for minor omissions on their applications. Overheated soldiers are required to impress visiting media by playing football in the sand -- in full chemo gear.

Though Swoff's battlefield experiences are very light, his tour of the warrior's mind is top-notch. Fascinating and extremely well written.

Great War Novel

Reviewed by Bob, 2009-12-03

Jarhead the movie is my favorite war film and I wanted to see if the book matched its fame. The book has more to say about Anthony Swofford's mental and physical journey during the war then the movie, but in the end I think they both tied one another.

Three words: Bitter Lance Corporal

Reviewed by C. Rodgers, 2009-06-24

Swofford managed a rare feat: writing a widely-read memoir of war without ever actually seeing combat. If you want to read the bitter and often fabricated ramblings of a young man who believes the Corps and the world owe him something, buy this book. If you want to read *good* fiction regarding the Marine Corps, try W.E.B. Griffin or (better yet) Owen West and his tale of the Marines in Somalia (Sharkman Six).

A Book review

Reviewed by Anonymous, 2009-06-22

This book was one that i simply was not able to put down. It is so harsh and lets us see what a Marines life really is. But Anthony Swafford does this in a way that makes you never ever want to become a member of the Marine Corps, while still at the same time you would want to in a heartbeat to see what is was like. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about real people and events, NOT for children.