Jarhead, a Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles by Anthony Swofford

This book could have been written by two different authors; the first half written and an immature, foul mouthed childish young man who might impress a thirteen-year old boy, while the second half was written by a young man who came from a family poor background, who is seeking in the Marines a home and cause and who decides to shape up as he is thrust into an actual war situation. The man who wrote the first half is as far from the ideal American soldier that one can image while the second half author is a creditable work in progress.

The book is both boring (in the first half) and interesting (in the second) as the author slowly matures and realizes that despite typical military B.S., there is a rhyme and reason to the military way of doing things. He is proud to be a Marine and his specialty (recon and sniper) and he matures much faster as he and his unit are sent out in the first phase of Operation Desert Storm. Later in life, he matures further as he runs across former members of his unit who have not matured and who live a life filled with made up fantasies fueled by alcohol and drugs.

There is no possible way that I would want to have dinner with the author of the first half of the book, but there would be an opportunity to enjoy a meal with the second-half author as he comes from a world far removed from the American ideal. As military history  it has little to offer, but as personal development it has some merit.  I would not, however, mark this as a book worth reading a second time.