Rating: 
Summary: A telling examination of what it's like at the pointy end
Review: There are some wildly inappropriate criticisms of this work, especially one's that say "It wasn't like that! I was there! I know!" Mr Swofford makes it plain at the outset that JARHEAD is a recount of HIS EXPERIENCES AS A MARINE AND THEN PARTICIPANT IN OPERATION DESERT STORM. And in recounting those experiences, one may justifiably ask - does he he tell it well, does it have the ring of truth? In my view, it is a well written, honest and highly intelligent recounting. One element of that honesty, is the way in which military training and war reduce a human to the primal animal where the desire to act out one's basest desires become a reality - whether to fight another just for the hell of it, to rape, to curse, to rage - his writing skills bring that feeling of skirting the edge quite vividly to life. Reading it also brings to mind the sickening sight of politicians and others, frequently former military personnel, far from the action Mr Swofford and his comrades experience, surrounding themselves in the trappings of uniform, or flag, and mouthing the platitudes of country, God, and honour. Mr Swofford was a volunteer from a family which had a tradition of military service going back generations. In recounting HIS EXPERIENCES he is successful beyond measure in giving the reader some notion of what it is like to be at the pointy end. It is not a pleasant let alone glorious place to be where the greatest danger experienced can be friendly fire. With 25 years military (air force) experience at the rear-rear-rear I value that recounting. Only, I believe, one in nine military personnel in the infantry experience action anyway. On the ground, in the sand, lugging extra boots, extra fatigues, six MRE's, six quarts of water, a disassembled M16, a 9mm pistol, the M40A1 snipe rifle, one hundred rounds of boat-tail ammunition for the sniper rifle, thirty rounds of 9mm ammunition, five hundred M16 rounds, four M67 fragmentation grenades, two smoke grenades, three green star clusters, two replacement sets of gas mask filters, a map and a patrol-order book inside a mape case, a compass, and a GPS system, with a gas mask secured to his hip, Marined Swofford tastes the mist of oil in the atmosphere, and ponders the motives for combat, reflecting on his own country's motives. He is excellent at reminding the non-combatant that war is 99 percent of time waiting, boredom, and 1% of unbridled fear where bodily functions for even the best loose themselves uncontrollably. One vivid image remains after reading this work, and that is Marine Swofford swirling his own vomit around his mouth before spitting it out, as if savouring his own existence, his own being in the face of death. I have to say I rate this book very highly up there with such writers as Michael Herr and James Jones. I also feel a certain hope that men such as Mr Swofford are able to bring home the "mad scream" as he calls it, and give us hope that his voice and others might be heard more often over the crowd-roar of victory.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: It's funny that so many alleged Marines have slammed this book. I guess they don't like it when someone challenges the Marine Corps' vainglorious, self-serving hype, which is exactly what Swofford does. He writes *honestly* about his experiences, both good and bad, as a Marine. This is one of the best books I've read about life in the military, about why men chose to serve, and about a culture that breeds killers.
Rating: 
Summary: Utter garbage
Review: Do yourself a favor and don't read this. I have been in the Marine Corps far longer than the author and served in the infantry, at the same times and places as the author, particularly with 7th Marines during Desert Storm. The book is a disjointed series of anecdotes relating the author's time spent in the Marine Corps and after. The stories seem selected with shock value in mind. The book has no message that I can find, and is needlessly overflowing with profanity. Someone loaned me a copy of the book at work and after slogging through the first chapters, I checked the endorsements on the dust jacket - not one Marine endorsed this book. I was not surprised. That fact alone should warn off anyone looking for a book on the essence of the Marine Corps experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, it's a Hell of a story, anyway.
Review: Hmm, I read this book and was extremely impressed- make no mistake, the author is a whipsong writer. I thought i had ingested the true gritty tale of some extremely crazy stuff, and was repeatedly reminded of why i would tend to run a mile not to join any military organisation going. Then I read the reviews posted here by other Marines and everything went a little "Rashomon"- who's accounts do I trust? Who is telling the truth? Perhaps they are all telling their personal truths, perhaps they are all covering up, obfuscating, or distorting their credentials. Maybe none of them are Marines at all. But as far as the book itself goes, even if it is complete fiction, it is still beautiful. Not pretty, but beautiful. And, like I said, a HELL of a story.
Rating:
Summary: A LESSON IN INDISCRETION
Review: Perhaps others will find the criticism of an actual marine sniper (me) to be a helpful tool to utilize while pondering whether or not to buy, or even waste time reading, Swofford's book. Let me start off by stating that Swofford is a P.I.G. of the worst ilk, straight up, as in Professionally Instructed Gunman. In short, he is not a sniper, marine or otherwise. I feel it necessary to point this out, lest Swofford be permitted to join the legions of media representatives in their stigmatizion of a legitimate profession. I refer to the American press' continued inaccurate characterization of John Lee Malvo as a "sniper."
After reading some of the other reviews, it is obvious that Swofford has convinced many of his critics that he is something he is not - a graduate of any of the Marine Corps' Scout Sniper Schools. To his credit, he acknowledges the fact that he is not a school-trained sniper in his book, yet he then focuses his efforts on brainwashing readers to believe that platoon-trained marines have somehow earned the MOS 8541, the occupational designator assigned to graduates of one of the sniper schools.
This pertinent fact aside, Jarhead stands as a repulsive, stagnant failure. The book is a slap in the face to every marine that ever lived. Look, nobody's perfect, but I have to wonder why Swofford would even consider revealing the thoughts and actions related to the many instances of indiscretion he lays out in his book, to include those committed at home and abroad.
I regret that I spent money in anticipation of a memorable story and instead waded through the meaningless panderings of an incessant whiner. Swofford's work is a prime example of everything that is wrong with the United States military, the Marine Corps included. Were our fortunes left to the character and integrity of others like him, we would have little to reflect upon each Veteran's Day.
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY READING THIS BOOK!!!
I would have given the work 0 stars, but apparently that can't be done.
Rating:
Summary: UNSAT
Review: This book caught my attention because I to am a Marine. I was not in Desert Storm but joined a year after the war and still serving. After the first couple of pages I began to question the author and his commitment to the Corps. He called someone an ex-marine and anyone who served in the Marines knows there is no such thing only former Marines. Only a dirtbag who had pro-con marks of 3.5/3.5 would make such a statement. Despite that I kept reading and was just in awe of of the ridiculous stories told by this so called Marine. He speaks of a Corps I have never seen or heard of except in some Hollywood movies. Swofford is ashamed of his service in the Marine Corps. A couple of points. He never mentions his rank, doesnt talk about ever being in any significant leadership billets. He is not proud of the time he spent in the Marine Corps and could care less of the legacy of Marines that came before him. I would like for someone to go interview his old STA buddies from 2/7 and I think they would say Swofford is a rambling idiot. But in his defense he already throws out his disclaimer for writing a fairy tale by saying this is how hge sees it. He does write well but he writes lies about the Corps and he should be ashamed of his service and his portrayl of the finest fighting force the world has ever seen. Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful memoir...
Review: This book tells the true story of what it is like to be a US Marine and to be in war. The author leaves no feelings out as he describes his thoughts on going to war, possibly dying, and the idea that he may have to kill an opposing soldier. The book is also a great read about what it is truly like to be a grunt, and the implications that it has on the psyche of a soldier. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A Valuable Addition to the Canon of War Literature
Review: Anthony Swofford's book is a classic war memoir. In the tradition of the memoir, there are, of course apocryphal stories, exaggerations, and braggadocio. Still, I agree with Michiko Kakutani that he has accomplished "the literary equivalent of hitting a dime group at a grand." (This is sniper talk for firing three shots that can be covered by a dime at 1000 yards.) Swofford self-consciously writes in the tradition of war literature; there are echoes of Stephen Crane and classical works. In one scene, a lull in the action, Swofford reads the Iliad instead of interacting with other soldiers. Later, when a member of his unit desecrates an Iraqi corpse there are echoes of Achilles' abuse of Hector's dead body and the lack of heroism in the endeavor. The snipers anticipated combat, yet here they were limited to searching bunkers in a war that lasted only a few days. The theme of the absurdity of war is omnipresent; Swofford describes a football game played in full chemical protection gear for and the his ownbrush with death after the hostilities ended.
This book is extremely useful for hawks and doves for the simple reason that it portrays the life of troops on the ground-a life that seems nasty, brutish, and potentially short. The boredom and terror of combat, along with the ubiquitous sand are palpable. Swofford begins his account with the statement, "what follows is neither true nor false but what I know." Despite the effects of sand and the fog of war, Jarhead provides excellent insight into the combat experience of American troops for generations past and present.
Rating:
Summary: Jarhead
Review: "Jarhead" by Anthony Swofford, is a diary of a marine's experiences through the long and treacherous journey of the "Gulf War." Anthony Swofford is referred to in the book as "Swoff." He is a marine "jarhead" who has come across his ruck, which is a box that has everything he brought back from the war. This brought back memories he had hoped been forgotten.
Everything found in the ruck brought back some kind of hardship. His sun bleached cammie's, reminds him of the hot days he spent in the sand in Kuwait. By opening the ruck he reopened a part of him he thought was closed forever. When he went into war he saw himself as a boy becoming a man. Soon enough he came to find out that he might have went into the war as a boy, but wasn't sure what e was when he came out. This may seem hard to imagine but after reading the story you will see why "Swoff" doesn't want to remember his days lying wet in the petrol rain.
Although I have never been involved in a war, it is hard for me to imagine that prior to the war, the soldiers would only sit around drink, have sex, and watch porn. Anthony Swofford gave me a great visual image on what it was like going through the boot camp, and traveling from country to country. I can see how "Swoff" regrets ever going into the marines; running, and training day after day, knowing it could be days, months, or years before ever actually seeing battle. This takes great dedication and love for your country and definitely I look up to him for that.
The book goes into great detail about what happened from day to day in the war. This made it hard for me to read because it seemed like I was reading the same thing over and over. They would be in one country, and have sex with as many women as they could while they drank day and night. Then they would move to another place and continue to do the same. The whole time it seemed to be leading you to a hard fought out battle, but by the end of the book it seemed as though he hadn't actually experienced that much on the battlefield. Yes he did stake out a place for forty-eight hours, and dug trenches while being shot at, but this was by their own people.
In my opinion I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Anthony Swofford goes into too much detail about how he thought war was going to be instead of what it was like throughout the battles. I thought at first that this book would be interesting because I wanted to learn about the war from a marine's perspective. After reading this book I realized that it really didn't teach me anything I hoped to have learned. It said much of nothing about the battles, just about what lead to the battles. So I never learned what the war was actually like from an actual marine's perspective!
Rating:
Summary: A personal truth
Review: I truly enjoyed this book for its honesty and personal truth. Having spent twenty years working in a male dominant environment I can see Swofford in every man where machismo is a thin veil between the face you show to the world and the face you show to yourself. Perhaps the reason the reviewer kathy from Jupiter,Fl gave up on her high school memoir manuscript is because she can't write as eloquent and as skillfully as Swofford.
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