Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
Without question the best, most captivating, saddest, most frustrating book I ever read!
I read this book for the firt time when I was in my teens in the eighties. During a time when I was becoming aware of war as something other than an abstract concept.
I think this is a must read for all pacifists, all people who are requiring others to go to war.
As a child, I thought of this book in terms of what if had been my father? (I knew he had gone to Vietnam) Now, this book is still relevant, what if this was my son.
I have not said much about the book itself. I think this book is like childbirth. No matter what one hears from others, one much experience this for themselves.
I read this book for the firt time when I was in my teens in the eighties. During a time when I was becoming aware of war as something other than an abstract concept.
I think this is a must read for all pacifists, all people who are requiring others to go to war.
As a child, I thought of this book in terms of what if had been my father? (I knew he had gone to Vietnam) Now, this book is still relevant, what if this was my son.
I have not said much about the book itself. I think this book is like childbirth. No matter what one hears from others, one much experience this for themselves.
Such a powerful book.
The hawks should read - or reread - it.
The hawks should read - or reread - it.
Wow what an amazing book. The best anti war book I have ever read by far. I flew through this. It is about a twenty year old kid that gets shipped off to war and is fighting in France when out of nowhere a bomb shell drops near him and blows off his arms/legs/eyes/ears/mouth and he is stuck within the confines of his own body, trapped forever with no way of hearing, smelling, talking, walking, etc. ever again. It is extremely depressing but shows the reality of war and how men were sent off to fight for a war that they had no business being in. Giving up their lives and youth and leaving their families and wife's/girlfriends to never return home with nothing to show for it.
So many good quotes in this book:
"You were born and raised in the good healthy country of Colorado and you had no more to do with Germany or England or France or even Washington D.C. than you had to do with the man on the moon. Yet here you are and it was none of your affair" (24).
"You can always hear the people who are willing to sacrifice somebody's else's life" (115).
"There's nothing noble about dying. Not even if you die for honor" (118).
"We will use the guns you force upon us we will use them to defend our very lives and the menace to our lives does not lie on the other side of nomansland that was set apart without our consent it lies within our own boundaries here and now we have seen it and we know it" (242).
"You never really knew what the fight was all about" (24).
Great book, 4.2/5
So many good quotes in this book:
"You were born and raised in the good healthy country of Colorado and you had no more to do with Germany or England or France or even Washington D.C. than you had to do with the man on the moon. Yet here you are and it was none of your affair" (24).
"You can always hear the people who are willing to sacrifice somebody's else's life" (115).
"There's nothing noble about dying. Not even if you die for honor" (118).
"We will use the guns you force upon us we will use them to defend our very lives and the menace to our lives does not lie on the other side of nomansland that was set apart without our consent it lies within our own boundaries here and now we have seen it and we know it" (242).
"You never really knew what the fight was all about" (24).
Great book, 4.2/5
What a kick in the guts! As many have already pointed out, this should be a required reading for all those who sit in their nice sunny offices and send other people's kids to war...
I've discovered Trumbo very late, but fortunately not too late.
I've discovered Trumbo very late, but fortunately not too late.
This is a brilliant, emotionally devastating novel, one of the most poignant pieces of anti-war media that I have experienced. The book is about a soldier, Johnny, as he lies in a bed, gradually realizing that he has lost all of his limbs and his entire face, becoming a prisoner in his own body as a result of injuries sustained during the war.
The prose is chaotic and surreal, in the style of "stream of consciousness," with unclear delineations between when Johnny is remembering or dreaming. At times he enters memories of his past and his present experience invades the memory. It's perfect for the premise, as Johhny is literally trapped in his own mind, unable to leave it, in an endless state of confusion as he tries to figure out where he is and what has happened to him. Past and present, reality and dreams - these all become a blur.
A lot of anti-war media focuses on the horrors of war itself - the trenches of WWI, the bombings, the feeling of fear as soldiers go into battle. What I find particularly unique about this book is that it mostly avoids talking about Johnny's actual experience during the war, instead focusing on the "before" and "after" - his memories from before the war, and his experience trapped in his body after the war. In this way, it focuses on the titular character, Johnny, as a person - his hopes, dreams, and experiences before he became a soldier, and how scared and terrified he is after he has been maimed.
Johnny himself, despite his disabilities, is an extremely sympathetic and admirable soul. The passage where he Despite this, he has his faults - such as looking down on his father, who cannot afford a new fishing rod.
Johnny's devolution near the end of the book, as he grows increasingly desperate and more frantic, his optimism and hope shining through, makes the ultimate end all the more tragic. His ultimate conclusion -
(My only complaint is some comparisons of Johnny's condition to that of slaves and the careless way he refers to people of color - which is a product of the time, and not wholly unearned. Other than that I found the book aged fairly well.)
Overall this book is fantastic. It's accessible and raw and visceral in the way that few books are, and it makes its point exceedingly well while humanizing its titular victim of war.
The prose is chaotic and surreal, in the style of "stream of consciousness," with unclear delineations between when Johnny is remembering or dreaming. At times he enters memories of his past and his present experience invades the memory. It's perfect for the premise, as Johhny is literally trapped in his own mind, unable to leave it, in an endless state of confusion as he tries to figure out where he is and what has happened to him. Past and present, reality and dreams - these all become a blur.
A lot of anti-war media focuses on the horrors of war itself - the trenches of WWI, the bombings, the feeling of fear as soldiers go into battle. What I find particularly unique about this book is that it mostly avoids talking about Johnny's actual experience during the war, instead focusing on the "before" and "after" - his memories from before the war, and his experience trapped in his body after the war. In this way, it focuses on the titular character, Johnny, as a person - his hopes, dreams, and experiences before he became a soldier, and how scared and terrified he is after he has been maimed.
Johnny himself, despite his disabilities, is an extremely sympathetic and admirable soul. The passage where he
Spoiler
figures out how to tell when the sun rises so that he can get a handle on when the days pass is grueling and long, and when he finally figured it out, his sheer, simple joy at being able to know when the sun has risen is as cathartic as it is tragic. It is, in my opinion, the strongest passage of the book - as even in this state near death, he tries his best to "live" in the meager way that he can.Johnny's devolution near the end of the book, as he grows increasingly desperate and more frantic, his optimism and hope shining through, makes the ultimate end all the more tragic. His ultimate conclusion -
Spoiler
that the soldiers of the world will rise up and prevent themselves from being used in the war machine - is, in my opinion, a reflection of Johnny's neverending spirit, which doesn't waver even at the end of the book. It's a tragic ending, but not an entirely hopeless one. Johnny's prediction, also, that the officials are hiding his condition in preparation for a new war, was exceedingly prescient, as the book was released RIGHT before WWII. And yet maybe it wasn't such a surprise - since then, there have been many wars, and there will be many wars in the future, I'm sure. Wars that will steal the lives of the young, like Johnny.(My only complaint is some comparisons of Johnny's condition to that of slaves and the careless way he refers to people of color - which is a product of the time, and not wholly unearned. Other than that I found the book aged fairly well.)
Overall this book is fantastic. It's accessible and raw and visceral in the way that few books are, and it makes its point exceedingly well while humanizing its titular victim of war.
“But it wasn't a dream” (Trumbo 63).
Since it's publication during World War II, through various wars and political movements, Johnny Got His Gun has been a book in the spotlight. Of course, Trumbo was a member of the Hollywood Ten, and the book was banned, but it has always found it's way into the hands of pacifists, and is still considered among the best anti-war novels to ever be published. Is there truth to this statement? Is the book still as relevant as it was upon it's release or even during the Vietnam war? In a word: absolutely.
In his introduction to Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo describes World War I as the last of the “romantic wars.” While I have just discussed how war is far from romantic, I believe that Trumbo has a point with his statement. What he is saying is that World War I was the big war that served to open up the eyes of the world and cause the general public to finally understand that they were being lied to. This is not to say there wasn't dissenters and pacifists prior to World War I, but it is saying that they were being silenced and that the general public didn't want to listen to them. After the countless injuries and deaths incurred from World War I, including a most extreme (and fictional) case detailed in this book, the public began to take a stand and speak out against war. Johnny Got His Gun has been a massively popular book for the harsh story that it tells, showing the pain that the massively crippled can endure. It's a reality that no one wants to face, and it's not the only book of it's kind, but it was one of the first landmark, much-read books to tell this story. Following 9/11, the United States of America went into a flag waving frenzy. This carried over for many years, and is still prevalent today, in 2008. Patriotism was bred out of catastrophe, an unjust and unrelated war stemmed from this sense of patriotism, and 5 years later is still going on as planned, with people turning their shoulders rather than participating in continuous protests. We are still lied to. The amount of money that goes into the war is glossed over, while nationwide, programs are cut, and people don't realize the correlation. Our soldiers are not dying, that's a good thing right? We have less casualties than any other war we have participated in. Yet, we also have more serious, life-altering injuries than ever before as well. They're alive, but are they functional? It's opening up a wave of jobs to cater to this veterans, that's a good thing, but at what cost? “When armies move and flags wave and slogans pop up watch out little guy because it's somebody else's chestnuts in the fire, not yours” (114).
Over time, Johnny Got His Gun has become the book most synonymous with the anti-war sentiment around the world. The brutal imagery coupled with an alarmingly real portrayal of what a victim might be going through internally is what gives this novel an edge over similar texts. The stream-of-consciousness prose, the near-insane jumping back and forth between the present and the past and the details of the pain that Joe Bonham is going through can turn the the stomach and hearts of even the hardest of us all. When comparing his situation to that of an American slave who had gone through unheard of torture and beatings, Joe says one of the most revelatory and arresting things I've ever read, “...the slaves could always die but he couldn't and he was mutilated far beyond any slave who ever live” (183). In this scene, the reality that Joe is truly powerless finally hits the reader. Thrust into this war, blown to smithereens, immobile, incommunicable, we have felt the pain that Joe is going through up until this point. But when we realize he hasn't even the power to end his own life, his only wish at this point. That's something that is hard to stomach. But it was all for “freedom and democracy.”
Certainly Dalton Trumbo was an extraordinary writer in many mediums, even the government knew that. However it is the reading of this book and the effect it has on people that can be a catalyst for those to stand up for what they believe and speak out against war. Joe was an ordinary guy, but it is through his struggles that we, the reader, connect. The societal change is ours for the changing, and we only need to push harder. Trumbo, the author and Joe Bonham, the brain both know and they tell us, “People wouldn't learn much about anatomy from him but they would learn all there was to know about war” (224). No matter how hard others try to deny us the truth and no matter how hard we try to ignore it, it's real.
So you're right Joe, you're right Mr. Trumbo. It wasn't a dream.
Since it's publication during World War II, through various wars and political movements, Johnny Got His Gun has been a book in the spotlight. Of course, Trumbo was a member of the Hollywood Ten, and the book was banned, but it has always found it's way into the hands of pacifists, and is still considered among the best anti-war novels to ever be published. Is there truth to this statement? Is the book still as relevant as it was upon it's release or even during the Vietnam war? In a word: absolutely.
In his introduction to Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo describes World War I as the last of the “romantic wars.” While I have just discussed how war is far from romantic, I believe that Trumbo has a point with his statement. What he is saying is that World War I was the big war that served to open up the eyes of the world and cause the general public to finally understand that they were being lied to. This is not to say there wasn't dissenters and pacifists prior to World War I, but it is saying that they were being silenced and that the general public didn't want to listen to them. After the countless injuries and deaths incurred from World War I, including a most extreme (and fictional) case detailed in this book, the public began to take a stand and speak out against war. Johnny Got His Gun has been a massively popular book for the harsh story that it tells, showing the pain that the massively crippled can endure. It's a reality that no one wants to face, and it's not the only book of it's kind, but it was one of the first landmark, much-read books to tell this story. Following 9/11, the United States of America went into a flag waving frenzy. This carried over for many years, and is still prevalent today, in 2008. Patriotism was bred out of catastrophe, an unjust and unrelated war stemmed from this sense of patriotism, and 5 years later is still going on as planned, with people turning their shoulders rather than participating in continuous protests. We are still lied to. The amount of money that goes into the war is glossed over, while nationwide, programs are cut, and people don't realize the correlation. Our soldiers are not dying, that's a good thing right? We have less casualties than any other war we have participated in. Yet, we also have more serious, life-altering injuries than ever before as well. They're alive, but are they functional? It's opening up a wave of jobs to cater to this veterans, that's a good thing, but at what cost? “When armies move and flags wave and slogans pop up watch out little guy because it's somebody else's chestnuts in the fire, not yours” (114).
Over time, Johnny Got His Gun has become the book most synonymous with the anti-war sentiment around the world. The brutal imagery coupled with an alarmingly real portrayal of what a victim might be going through internally is what gives this novel an edge over similar texts. The stream-of-consciousness prose, the near-insane jumping back and forth between the present and the past and the details of the pain that Joe Bonham is going through can turn the the stomach and hearts of even the hardest of us all. When comparing his situation to that of an American slave who had gone through unheard of torture and beatings, Joe says one of the most revelatory and arresting things I've ever read, “...the slaves could always die but he couldn't and he was mutilated far beyond any slave who ever live” (183). In this scene, the reality that Joe is truly powerless finally hits the reader. Thrust into this war, blown to smithereens, immobile, incommunicable, we have felt the pain that Joe is going through up until this point. But when we realize he hasn't even the power to end his own life, his only wish at this point. That's something that is hard to stomach. But it was all for “freedom and democracy.”
Certainly Dalton Trumbo was an extraordinary writer in many mediums, even the government knew that. However it is the reading of this book and the effect it has on people that can be a catalyst for those to stand up for what they believe and speak out against war. Joe was an ordinary guy, but it is through his struggles that we, the reader, connect. The societal change is ours for the changing, and we only need to push harder. Trumbo, the author and Joe Bonham, the brain both know and they tell us, “People wouldn't learn much about anatomy from him but they would learn all there was to know about war” (224). No matter how hard others try to deny us the truth and no matter how hard we try to ignore it, it's real.
So you're right Joe, you're right Mr. Trumbo. It wasn't a dream.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
As you read the first pages, you at a complete loss of where the character is. as you read through you start to imagine yourself as him and the details written by the author allow you to get into the book that you do not want to put it down.