Johnny Got His Gun

Rating:
Summary: Absurdity
Review: It seems to me that anyone who abdicates a certain worldview has to resort to absurdities to prove their "rationale". First, Johnny's condition is impossible. Let's review a few things.

Psychology of acceptance. First, we do not know that Johnny would be outraged by his condition. The muteness, the inability to perceive objects, the inability to smell. We look upon it with horror, because it is hard for us to imagine living without such things. Recent blindness in people rarely determines suicidal tendencencies, nor do amputations, or sudden loss of hearing. That the human mind is capable of acceptance of such conditions and to conclude that one would beg for suicide or conclude against war because of said conditions is absurd.

Then, there is the philosophical leap of saying that no human event, freedom, liberty is ever worth war. Yet, everything in our history, from ancient times to the present, indicates otherwise. That for every one person who concludes this communistic perspective, there are thousands more who are more than willing to sacrifice, no matter what bodily harm. That a man or woman will go to war to save his/her family, to guarantee their way of life (whether it is being able to live to eat rat droppings or to live in a luxurious hotel). This book is completely absent of any darwinian perspective and basically assumes that humans are nothing but purely cognitive creatures. However contradicts itself by saying that this person wants to fight to get his word out. That said ideology is worth fighting for, while proclaiming no ideology is worth fighting for, in conflict, whatever... Thus, it negates itself. Here is the problemata:

I hold that all bodily harm is wrong.
I hold that all human thoughts are not worth fighting for.
I am unwilling to risk harm to my body for the thoughts in my head.

I believe that all humans should stop fighting wars.
However, I am unwilling to risk bodily harm to stop wars.
Since I am unwilling to defend democracy, my right to speak freely, I can not afford to speak out, because that would entail bodily harm.

So, if we are to conclude that all war is wrong, regardless of circumstance (like Jews being burned in stoves etc.), then we have negated the very free speech that we espouse our views. This circular reasoning is why this book is utterly rediculous and how liberalism/communism/socialism can never work.

Rating:
Summary: An appropriate reality check for these frightening times
Review: Let us all be reminded that war is a bad thing and no work of literature better illustrates this point than "Johnny Got His Gun".

It seems that our society, in our thirst for revenge and our tendency to deify the regular human beings that we call "heroes", is beginning to forget that war is a horrible thing. This book is a must read for any and all of those few sane people left in this country that realize that other solutions must be sought out. George W. probably hasn't read this book, but if he has, I'm certain that he wouldn't want you to read it. This book did not score any points for Dalton Trumbo with the warmongering US government. On the contrary, it earned him a place on the Hollywood Blacklist.

It is also great that this book goes very well with the movie. That is, it doesn't matter whether you read the book first or see the movie, you'll enjoy both and being familiar with one will help you to get more out of the other.

Also, I am quite positive, although I have never read about it anywhere or heard this band ever give credit to Dalton Trumbo, that the song "One" by Metallica is drawn from this book.

Rating:
Summary: Short easy read - good to have in your head
Review: I read this book once a year and have since I was a little rocker boy who wanted to know more behind the Metallica song, "One." I have grown quite a bit since then and each time I read the simple book, it has a bit more meaning.

Overall the common idea I get from the book is "as a soldier, who's war am I fighting?" The book points towards politicans and policy makers as the reason Joe is over there. Consequently, the book would point this as the reason behind every war since WWI. It's an idea, and should be seen as that. It's not doctrine, but it's an interesting idea. Just another one to have logged in the back of your head for those future stimulating conversations on the necessity of the military, politicians and/or war.

Rating:
Summary: the most thought provoking book i have ever read
Review: This is true masterpiece of literature. unforunetly i do not have the talent with words that mr.trumbo does, so i can not do this book justice, but i will tell you that you should definetly read this book. First of all, this is not a book about war, meaning there will not be lots of action and such. insted it deals with the mental effects of war, with brillance. the book tends to be a little hard to read due to the fact that there may not be one comma in the entire novel, but if you take your time it can be a very powerful and rewarding read. its is a anti-war novel, but it is so much more than that. Please due yourself a favor and read this book.

Rating:
Summary: WOW.
Review: Just finished reading this last night, and I must say that I've never read a book that had the effect on me that this one did. Just a masterpiece in every sense of the word. A brutal look at the effects of war, and a remarkable story about human nature. Although definitely not for the weak-of-heart, this is a story that will get inside your mind and keep you thinking long after it's completion.

Rating:
Summary: Johnny Gun His Gun: Not the compelling war book you want
Review: Dalton Trumbo's book is the worst book I have ever read in my entire life. I have read many books and I can easily tell you this is the most boring, anticlimactic, awful book I have ever read. You have to ask... What was Trumbo thinking when he splurged this book out. What could make the plot better for example???

Plot- 10/100
I guess what hurt the plot so bad is the absence of excitement. The main character, Joe enters World War I and is badly hurt. Most of the book is spent in his mind, of him thinking to himself about how bad war is. Contrary to the wonderful novel, Catch 22, this book is simply BORING! Other than everything, this is a great book. I read this book for a senior project for my high school English teacher and I told her it was the worst book in history. That's how bad it is.

Climax- 10/100
Poor Dalton made the end of this book up in 10 minutes. I can't tell you what happens, but it involves a mental climax. You are thinking... Mental climax? Yes, that's right, Joe thinks to himself. The end of the book is one 50 page rant on war. *Screams* He ended the book with a few hundred mixed opinions about war, many repeated constantly.

Literary Quality- 50/100
The reason why I gave Trumbo 50 on this section is because he ended his sentences with periods. Good job, at least one part of this book is decent, most of the time. Sometimes, I actually stopped to measure how long some run-off sentences were... The longest was a whole page! He repeats ideas many times on one page, and even in one chapter. Awful.

Lasting Appeal- 0/100
I would not read this book again if you threatened to throw me in a pit of scorpions, mad cows, rat poison, mentally deranged elephants, math professors, sharks, Disney characters, and hydrochloric acid. Think about that. It is THAT BAD! I struggled through every chapter. The only good thing I got out of this was some opinions if I ever decide to be a anti-war maniac. You know, the ones that live in a cardboard box on the porch of the white house. The ones that protest to the first lady about how nobody remembered the alamo. That's how dedicated you have to be to survive reading this. The only reason I read it was that I had to for school.... Suffering through this book was my hardest project ever.

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Great book, bad message
Review: This novel definitely has quite a message to deliver. The author does a great job of getting his anti-war feelings through. I loved the book and the emotion it evokes but I tend to disagree with the message. It seems that, according to Trumbo, nothing is worth dying for, no theory, idea, or principal. In the book, we learn that no one is able to claim that democracy is worth life unless they have died for it. Our hero Joe is living-dead so he is the only living soul qualified to say that he would rather live in slavery than die for freedom. I find this hard to swallow as our author would be accusing our brave war dead as being mindless bots that just do as their told without conviction. Does he really believe that WWII vets died for nothing? Did the fathers of our country organize militias just to feed their egos as their sons went into battle against the king? What about the slaves? If it is better to be a slave than dead, why did some slaves risk their lives to escape to the north? I believe they have the right to educate us about just what is worth dying for, not Mr. Trumbo. The book is great and the message will find a home in many anti-war circles but I support democracy and the necessity to defend it at all costs. Call me a follower but I am also one of those spokes in the wheel talked about in the book, I am a citizen of this country and that's what we're all about, the people. You anti-Bush people will change your tune quickly when Saddam's chemical brew ends up on your doorstep.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best anti-war books ever written
Review: War is war. Innocent civilians die, families are ruined and soldiers are smashed to pieces on the battlefield. This book is gruesome. But it also serves as a valuable tool for those who question the wisdom of blindly following leaders into combat.

This book is written with a fury. It is also one of the most horrifying accusations against war. To this end, it is arguably one of the best anti-war books ever written. Mothers and fathers should read this book before allowing their children to march off to war.

It is the honesty and sincerity of this World War I tale that allows it to pass the test of time. "johnny got his gun," is a book that documents the gross stupidity that accounted for nine million corpses.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful Literature
Review: What can I say that hasn't been said before? There is a reason why this book has survived for more than seventy years and reads like it was written yesterday. It's raw and unflinching, fast-paced and angry. Most of the prose is stream of consciousness and I've never seen it used more effectively. However it does get a bit grating toward the end. What makes this book survive the times is that Trumbo never waivers in his humanity. You are constantly reminded of it, which makes Johny that much more horrific. We actually have rock and roll to blame for expanding our minds, because if it was not for Metallica, some may never have heard of this book. A classic that is not for the squeamish.

Rating:
Summary: Gift Idea
Review: It's that time of year again!

That time of year when so many of us become stressed out trying to
decide what would be an appropriate gift. One gift I am giving this
year is a book that has been a favorite of mine since I first read it
as a freshman in HS. It is one of the most compelling books ever
written and its theme is very appropriate for these times. The book
is entitled "Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo.

For those of you who have never read the book, it is a raw, riveting,
gut-wrenching, anti-war novel that should be required reading for
anyone advocating war with Iraq. This is an emotional book, which
puts the reader face to face with the human cost of war. It does so
without any of the slickness which we have come to expect from
sources such as CNN, Newsweek or Time - all of which portray a
possible war with Iraq in cold, detached, almost clinical terms. The
realities of war are explored in this book minus the buzzwords, which
are used today to elicit our unquestioning support for a war. Words
like "weapons of mass destruction" "regime
change" "terrorism" "protect our way of life" are
all absent from
this book.

This is the story of Joe, "average American" Bonham and how
his life
was forever changed by the ravages of the war he was asked to go off
and fight and did without question. The book is narrated by Joe and
starts with a description of his life before the war. A rich life,
which was, filled with family and friends as well a girlfriend. Like
we all do, he had plans and dreams for his future. Then he was
asked to go off and fight in order to "make the world safe for
democracy". The publisher writes:

"This was no ordinary war. This was a war to make the world safe
for
democracy. And if democracy was made safe, then nothing else mattered-
-not the millions of dead bodies, nor the thousands of ruined
lives...This is no ordinary novel. This is a novel that never takes
the easy way out: it is shocking, violent, terrifying, horrible,
uncompromising, brutal, remorseless and gruesome...but so is war."

How chilling that paragraph becomes when you inject today's
current
buzzwords into that paragraph:

"This was no ordinary war. This was a war to make the world safe
from terrorists and weapons of mass destruction. And if the world
was made safe from terrorists with their weapons of mass destruction,
then nothing else mattered---not the millions of dead bodies, nor the
thousands of ruined lives, not even our civil liberties."

An excerpt from the book reads:

"They were always fighting for something, the bastards...if they
weren't fighting for liberty they were fighting for independence or
democracy or freedom or decency or honor or their native land or
something else that didn't mean anything...the most important thing is your life little guys. You're worth nothing dead except for speeches. Don't let them kid you anymore. Pay no attention when they
tap you on the shoulder and say come along we've got to fight for
liberty or whatever their word is there's always a word."

Those four sentences from this powerful book make crystal clear in a
way nothing else ever has, why we as citizens, have an obligation to
demand from our leaders that the case for war be made clearly and
honestly. We are entitled to know, minus the buzzwords, what we are
fighting for, what the desired outcome is and what the cost will be.
By reading this book you will come to understand that when soldiers
die in a war they are not "thinking of democracy and freedom and
liberty and honor and of the safety of home and the Stars and Stripes
forever." The loss of their lives and their families are probably
first and foremost in their thoughts as they face death in a foreign
land amongst strangers.

The pages inside of this little book have the power to change the

hearts and minds of people regarding war. They have the power to
make people pay closer attention to the events unfolding around us
and to demand better from those who would lead us into war. I
believe it has the power to save lives. If it can do that, then
this little book will be the most important gift I will ever give.

Elizabeth Presley
Moderator