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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I am abandoning this book. The writing is great and the story is compelling but I am just not a war story kind of gal. Plus, it is overdue at the library. Grrr....
I saw the television series first, and I thought it was brilliant. The book is of the same quality, though I missed the extra personality injected by seeing it enacted. Lots of nice additional details, but I think the biggest add-on came in the afterword, where the author reflects with incisive criticism on the book, its aftermath, its reactions, and the overall place/state of war in modern America.
I think this is a hard book to rate.
I wanted to read this as the show adaption is one of my favourite series and it was really impressive to see how much the show stuck with the actual accounts of this book.
On one hand, it’s first accounts of a journalist writing his experience with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but on the other hand, it’s really hard not get angry at the content of this memoir and how childish marines can be.
• It instilled my hate for war further and showed how racist and homophobic marines are. I sometimes had to put the book down just so I could vent out my frustrations because I was livid at how dense the marines could be. There was only so many slurs I could take before I was having to tap out and cool off.
• my mind was boggled that they weren’t even trained for this type of invasion, Person didn’t even have training or a license to drive his platoons vehicle, they weren’t trained to be sitting in a vehicle for 15+ hours a day.
• As I read on further, the difference of the opinions, how things slowly started to change for the marines and how war really affected them by the end was quite surprising. It also really shocked me at how idiotic and stupid higher ups could be, especially when their men’s lives are on the line.
The truthfulness, the intense details and dedication Wright took to write this is the reason I’m giving this four stars.
I wanted to read this as the show adaption is one of my favourite series and it was really impressive to see how much the show stuck with the actual accounts of this book.
On one hand, it’s first accounts of a journalist writing his experience with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but on the other hand, it’s really hard not get angry at the content of this memoir and how childish marines can be.
• It instilled my hate for war further and showed how racist and homophobic marines are. I sometimes had to put the book down just so I could vent out my frustrations because I was livid at how dense the marines could be. There was only so many slurs I could take before I was having to tap out and cool off.
• my mind was boggled that they weren’t even trained for this type of invasion, Person didn’t even have training or a license to drive his platoons vehicle, they weren’t trained to be sitting in a vehicle for 15+ hours a day.
• As I read on further, the difference of the opinions, how things slowly started to change for the marines and how war really affected them by the end was quite surprising. It also really shocked me at how idiotic and stupid higher ups could be, especially when their men’s lives are on the line.
The truthfulness, the intense details and dedication Wright took to write this is the reason I’m giving this four stars.
Great writing. Slightly gritty but not overly depressing like other war memoirs. Definitely check it out if you're interested in OIF.
One thing I want to make clear: I think this book is imporatant for Americans to pick up. You don't have to read the whole thing, but Wright is writing the facts as they were in 2003. He does not add literary flare, his does not shove his own political opnions down your throat, and he stays true to simple war facts.
There are some difficulties with the novel: Wright wants to be so accurate he introduces us to a new character every 5 pages, which makes it rather confusing as to who is who. He also doesn't want to leave out any one instance, and doesn't want to condense for authenticities sake, thus you are stuck reading very similar situations over, and over, and over.
Despite this I did enjoy the novel. It was a slow read, but every time I picked it up I enjoyed Wright's voice, and his ability to distance himself from the content. He isn't afraid to be honest, a rarity in Journalism and his epilogue is like a kick in the gut.
There are some difficulties with the novel: Wright wants to be so accurate he introduces us to a new character every 5 pages, which makes it rather confusing as to who is who. He also doesn't want to leave out any one instance, and doesn't want to condense for authenticities sake, thus you are stuck reading very similar situations over, and over, and over.
Despite this I did enjoy the novel. It was a slow read, but every time I picked it up I enjoyed Wright's voice, and his ability to distance himself from the content. He isn't afraid to be honest, a rarity in Journalism and his epilogue is like a kick in the gut.
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Andrea's review: a journalist is embedded with the a unit of Marines, the First Recon Battalion, as the first unit in Iraq to go in and fight. He travels with them as they go on their daily missions and risk their lives to protect us at home. It's a perfectly truthful account of early fighting in the Iraq war after 9-11. No matter what your opinion is/was on the war, our military personnel is there and this is what the elite go through, everyday, for us. If you read this, you will have to agree that the Marines are truly some of the bravest, strongest, most durable people in our country. Thank God they are on our side. Evan Wright became so close with these men, that after their tour was over and his assignment was done, he remained very close with some of men in this unit. Even if you had nothing in common with them, if you saw them work and fight like he did, how could you not have anything but respect for them. Friendship probably came easily after that.
This is really interesting reporting "from the trenches," of the US's latest incursion into Iraq - well, invasion would be the word. The book follows a single platoon of Marines who became the spearhead of the invading forces. We spend time with an interesting group of young men, some of whom have a good idea of what the war is about, most of whom don't, but are doing what Marines do, i.e., killing the enemy, and a few of whom (officers, of course) who should have been court martialed for their incompetence.
So, what do we learn? Nothing new, really. War is hell; warriors are neither good nor bad, just temporarily insane; soldiers bond; the upper echelons are idiots; the innocent die.
Generation Kill is misnamed, but I'm sure the title will sell books. We've no more raised a generation of killers for this war, than for any other war. In fact, without a draft, this war is probably going to affect a lot fewer young men and women than our past wars.
Generation Kill is being compared to Michael Herr's "Dispatches." Don't believe it for a second. Dispatches crossed the line into literature; Generation Kill is good reporting, but it doesn't transcend.
Just remember as you're reading that anyone who tells you there is glory in war is lying.
So, what do we learn? Nothing new, really. War is hell; warriors are neither good nor bad, just temporarily insane; soldiers bond; the upper echelons are idiots; the innocent die.
Generation Kill is misnamed, but I'm sure the title will sell books. We've no more raised a generation of killers for this war, than for any other war. In fact, without a draft, this war is probably going to affect a lot fewer young men and women than our past wars.
Generation Kill is being compared to Michael Herr's "Dispatches." Don't believe it for a second. Dispatches crossed the line into literature; Generation Kill is good reporting, but it doesn't transcend.
Just remember as you're reading that anyone who tells you there is glory in war is lying.