Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Great Reading for those exposed to USMC
Review: Once I started reading I couldn't stop. Swafford is a great author, and anyone who has had a brush with the Marines will agree with me. I am sorry that some have not understood the hard hurmor and truthfullness of this book, but for those who have been in the military, no matter what branch; and especially for all us "dependants" (or once were), this book is a MUST READ! I especially recommend this book to all young recruites!!!! A note to the author... I Love your Book!
Rating: 
Summary: Jarhead? It should be titled Jughead.
Review: Oh thank God Mr. Swofford is out of the Marine Corps. I am grateful for all the lives that have been saved since he is no longer in the Corp to steal from the very Marines that would give their own lives to save his. What type man would gleefully and proudly boast about selling out his comrades for profit? The book's lack of direction is glaring but I would imagine that would just be a reflection of Mr. Swoffords lack of character. It is no wonder he is such a hit in France.Fortunately, I borrowed the book from my daughter and didn't waste a cent on the tripe Mr Swofford is spewing. My recommendation would be to stay as far away from the book as humanly possible. Shame on Anthony Swofford for attempting to profit from his proud betrayal of the sworn oath he took when he became a United States Marine.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for looking into personalities
Review: This book was wonderful. I can't give it 5 stars for two reasons: 1, it's not a must read and 2, I wasn't in the military so I can't say what is and is not accurate. However, I think all men between 18-30 should read it to get an idea of how your personality may change as you grow older. I'm 30 now and I can picture how I would've been taken with all of the military sales pitches if I were in the Marines. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get into the mind of a maturing man.
Rating:
Summary: Not a weak paragraph in a magnificent book
Review: Jarhead is some kind of great book. There isn't a weak paragraph or a page I could have done without. Swofford is a real writer, and that may actually be the basis for some of the objections from other jarheads. The book is factual and convincing enough to be required reading as a reality check for George W. Bush, who ought to be shut up in a room with it for a week (though I suppose we'd first have to teach him to read). But the book is also about the nature of experience and knowing: it's full of paradoxes -- seemingly written very precisely and evocatively, but at the same time questioning our ability to truly know and then accurately report what we may think we know. Just be clear: this is a strong strong book written in blood.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting read, but not credible as a memoir
Review: "Swofford's Tale of Woe", as it became known amongst the members and snipers of my Battalion's STA team, "Jarhead" is a story of a troubled young man thrust into a world for which he is ill-equipped with, more so than a chronicle of modern war. Problems arise with the multiple credibility issues that Swofford attempts to dance around with "what follows is neither true nor false but what I know". Admittedly, Swofford's use of language and context is remarkable with vivid scenes from a good storyteller. And there are observations that he makes to which I can relate as a former Marine myself. Which is why he has many experts of literature(including "BlackHawk Down's author, Mark Bowden, in his New York Times review) duped. And if you are attempting to understand the experience of combat and war, unfortunately, Swofford has you duped too.
Many parts of the book are suspect. Firstly, with the credibility of some of the stories and scenes he describes. Secondly, Swofford's experience is , as any Marine can tell, of the "bottom 10%". Unfortunately that leaves the reader shortchanged as to the authenticity of so many stories told.
Credibility. The author's reflection from an encounter with an officer "I considered masturbating on the Captain's desk, but instead I called him a faggot addict cumsucker bitchmaster..." is hardly believable. Trust me on this one. Ironically, he later states in his book, "I rarely disobey orders." Then, the author relates a story in his unit about a Marine's wife who sent him a video that turns out to be her having sex with other men. I entered the Marine Corps before Swofford's tale, and remember this very same story ...it is widely known as Marine folklore. Swofford later claims that enemy artillery rounds "land within fifteen feet of (our) fighting hole..." Again, I've seen incoming. Even if it were fifteen METERS, he'd be dead.
Bottom 10%. In every unit, there are always the ones who truly can't cope. On two occasions, to include boot camp, Swofford admits to pissing his pants. "I closed my eyes and pissed my pants as Drill Instructor Burke screamed in my ear...." Additionally he writes, "I would do my duty....honor my contractual obligation" only to say in the next paragraph that he "spent (his) first few days at Camp Pendleton...faking a stomach flu..." He also admits to stealing and that he "knew the ex-marine who ran the army/navy store would give me $300 for..." He then tells of placing a loaded M-16 to the head of another Marine and, on another occasion, on himself. While this MIGHT be true, it would be highly disturbing behavior rarely found in the Corps(says my own experience and of my enlisted Marines). Out of over 1,000 Marines in our Battalion, we had perhaps 2 that I can think of that would equal his inability to conduct himself in a mature and honorable manner, based upon the author's own admissions.
Lastly, although Swofford did experience war, barely one can say he experienced COMBAT. The closest thing he saw to a firefight was friendly rounds impacting near his vehicle and once with enemy incoming artillery. That is, if you believe those stories are true. Not once did he have a exchange of gunfire where he was directly fired upon, returned fire, then saw the bodies of the dead. He also didn't have the truly unfortunate experience of seeing dead civilians. We were fired upon and returned fire. We saw some Iraqis we killed. We saw dead civilians. We saw gory images of the dead and destroyed that will last in our memories. We saw combat. That death and destruction of combat brings great sadness to anyone with a soul, that war and combat is brutal and horrid...is hardly a new concept. So for Mr. Swofford to claim he can relate his experience as a classic memoir, not counting his credibility issues, is far from fair. So the question begs.....Does it accurately portray, as universal themes that can be understood and related to by most readers, what it was like to experience the Corps, the Gulf War and combat in general? Truly Swofford's account of his experiences miss the mark. There is amazing prose and dramatic story-telling, but again this is hardly a classic memoir. If you want to understand what it was like to be in combat, I highly recommend a powerful memoir, the classic "With the Old Breed" by E.B. Sledge. For a glimpse into the modern Marine Corps, wait for better books that are sure to emerge in the coming years.
Rating:
Summary: cover to cover
Review: I read Swofford's book cover to cover. His description of life in the Corps is very real. I like how he explains the feelings of boredom and of girls back home who are sleeping with stupid hotel "boys". I was a peacetime Marine serving between the two Iraq wars and since I've never seen war or combat Swofford gave me a vision to put in my head that I can relate to. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent dialogue
Review: I just recently bought the book and read it in a few days. I do not think it is particularly strong on character development nor do I think the plot of the book is going to surprise anyone; it is, afterall, a chronicle of an already very well chronicled war. BUT, the dialogue is excellent, it had me chuckling and laughing several times, and the writing style is strong and engaging. I would compare it to Pulp Fiction, Full Metal Jacket and Training Day where the dialogue of the characters, along with a standout performance here and there, is the backbone of the movie. I read an excerpt of this book in the CalAggie alumni magazine (I tried to join the Marines in the summer of 1990 and went to the Oakland MEPS only to be declined on a medical technicality. A few days later I was a freshman at UCD)and decided to buy it because it sounded interesting and because Mr. Swofford had spent some time in this area. I am glad I did and I wholly endorse this book.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed Jarhead
Review: Mr. Swofford tried too hard to convince his audience that he was a tough but sensitve guy. His book has far too many flaws as a result. A few observations follow: 1. He should have written the book as a novel (preferably a humorous novel). It would have been more believable and less irritating. Of course, as a novel it would not have made a best seller list.
2. He tried too hard for shock value. I was not at all shocked, but was, as above, irritated.
3. The scout/snipers I was familiar with were, in general, somewhat more intelligent than the run-of-the-mill infantrymen, were motivated and respectful, spent most of their time doing map work for the S-2, and generally bitched and moaned when the H&S CO Gunny made them do things like stand CP security. They certainly were not the supermen that Swofford makes them out to be. In addition, my experience was that there really isn't much need or use for snipers in a Marine Corps infantry battalion.
4. I generally dislike and am suspicious of anyone who deliberately knocks the common rifleman, particularly when he is a staff pogue who has never experienced the day-to-day grind of living in the muck and the mud. Swofford spent most of his time in "the rear" and some in the "rear rear".
5. I really distrust people who for one reason or another think that someone with a particular talent or specialty is a cut above the normal Marine.
6. There are far too many tidbits he offers that simply could not have been true.
7. His book is much like Oliver Stone's Platoon - a compilation of anecdotes, hearsay, metaphors and other such apocrypha all neatly compressed into a narrow time frame and presented as a personal experience.
8. I particularly dislike the (universally false) presentation of all officers as complete jerks. For example, I do not know a single officer or stereotype of one who would tell the Marine cleaning a 4-holer to replace a drum right now so that the officer could use the 4-holer. Too, as a member of the battalion staff, Swofford would not have developed such disdain toward all officers, or if he did, would not have lasted long as a STA member.
9. Virtually all the sex [stuff] is overdone and thrown in for, as above, shock value. I suppose Swofford thinks it represents some sort of realism, but most of the stories he relates are the sort that are bantered about in jest. To have us believe that in 1989 (post Tailgate) some Marine [engaged] a broad on the hood of a jitney while it was being driven out the gate at Olongapo (and didn't get court martialed and discharged) is a real stretch. Besides, jitneys probably weren't allowed aboard the base.
10. As near as I can tell, Swofford received "incoming" on two occasions during his 4-day war, none of it being small arms fire. While being on the receiving end of a few artillery rounds or RPGs is an interesting experience, there is absolutely nothing that compares to having several thousand AK-47 or other small arms rounds shot directly at your forehead by a couple hundred guys only a few meters away. His being "nearly killed" by a booby trap is a ridiculous effort at a claim to fame. I am "nearly killed" every time I drive down the highway.
11. The highest of his touted "decorations" is the Combat Action Ribbon; some of the ordinary 0311s he disparages might wonder how he earned it.
12. So he saw a bunch of dead bodies. Big deal.
13. He must have been a big, self-centered jerk at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.
14. His book is filled with lies. All too many of them. They are not just exaggerations. Twice within the book he discusses inveterate liars, one being a fellow STA Marine, and the other being himself. There no doubt is something Freudian going on there.
15. Swofford has some real personality problems. His continuous reliance on sex stories goes beyond normality. There is something fishy underneath it all. He needs to grow up emotionally so that he can present immature emotions with some authority.
16. Swofford is at best an ordinary writer, certainly not gifted. Cormack McCarthy is a gifted writer.
I am not at all opposed to the sort of stories he tells, but he is too caught up in trying to be macho and to shock the mothers, wives, girl friends, and pusillanimous civilian men that might read the book. Perhaps his next book, a novel, will be more readable. S/F,
Bill Stensland
Rating:
Summary: Swofford's motto is "Simper Fi"
Review: I originally picked up this book for my grandfather since he's a retired Marine but after ten pages of Swofford's tripe, my grandfather practically needed a Dramamine to hold down the nausea. He's just being overly critical, I thought to myself, and decided to give Swofford's book a try. Actually, my grandfather was being overly generous. Swofford's attempts to crucify the Corps at every chance only succeed in making himself sound like an unethical sniveling coward. And while he made a poor Marine, he makes an even worse author- wading through his writing is the literary equivalent of being pecked to death by ducks. If you want to read a real book about the Marine Corps, invest your time and a few dollars in Joseph Owen's Colder Than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. No self-pitying whining to be found there.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Money
Review: This ain,t the Marine Corp I knew.Boring,boring boring.
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