Jarhead- Book Review

To tell the truth, Jarhead wasn’t even my first choice for a book to read. I was going to read The Match, but I could not find. Jarhead was kind of just lying on my desk so I picked it up and started reading. I’m actually happy about my choice. I didn’t know much about the story to begin with, only that it was about the First Gulf War and there was a movie made about it. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.
This book is based on the true story of scout/sniper marine Anthony Swofford. He tells his story of what it was like being in the marines, not just during the war but before and after the war. Swofford jumps from past to present to even after the war throughout the story. It often creates confusion, but it also gives helpful background information on new characters in the story. Swofford first starts out by talking about his time at a marine barracks at Twentynine Palms in Southern California. Swofford then throughout the rests of his story talks about the drugs, the alcohol, the women and the battle with depression that marines go through during war. The story is filled with action from bar fights, to war scenes, to suicidal threats and even marines threatening to kill one another.
Jarhead really was a fun book to read. It gave me a totally different perspective of what combat marines deal with during, before and after a war. It was definitely a great surprise, that I enjoyed this book. I’ve had the book for almost three years with no interest in reading it, but I’m glad I decided to. Many people would love this book, especially war history buffs. This is definitely a guy’s book. I can’t see many women wanting to read this, because of the graphic details it consists of.