Jarhead, Anthony Swofford
Jarhead, Anthony Swofford
60 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

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

Author: Anthony Swofford

Narrator: Anthony Swofford

Unabridged: 8 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/11/2005


Synopsis

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.

About Anthony Swofford

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.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Aaron on December 21, 2010

A few years ago I watched the movie Jarhead and was pleased to find the book was much better. I don't think this book is for everyone, but speaking for myself it is among the best autobiographies I have come across, regardless of the style or subject matter. Rather than sell his story or this work,......more

Goodreads review by Brent on January 21, 2021

A brutal and depressing account of a brutal and depressing occupation. I finally read this 30 years after the events depicted. A healthy distance from which to observe and evaluate. This book gets a lot of things right: The boredom, the confusion, the love/hate relationship between the jarhead and the......more

Goodreads review by Bibliovoracious on November 12, 2018

Although it's possible that the Marine Corps is "different" now, and of course I know that this book does not represent the experience of all Marines, I have it on good authority that it tells the story of many Marines, and it's an important story. The Marines I know- plagued by nightmares, handicap......more

Goodreads review by Will on November 01, 2008

A very effective, intimate story of war as told from the point of view of a grunt.......more

Goodreads review by Doug on February 10, 2021

One of the defining formative books of my early life. I probably read this twice in high school. Undeniably poetic, philosophical, rebellious, and uncannily insightful, reading Jarhead is like devouring the book form of a film like American Beauty except from the perspective of a Marine grunt living......more