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The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq
John Crawford joined the Florida National Guard to pay for his college tuition. One weekend a month. Two weeks a year. A free education. But in 2002, one semester shy of graduation and on his honeymoon, Crawford was shipped off to the front lines in Iraq. Once there he was determined to get it all down, to chronicle the daily life of a soldier in all its brutal, terrifying...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
April 4th 2006
by Riverhead Trade
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John Crawford was newly married when his National Guard unit was shipped to Baghdad in time for the first wave of invasions in the most recent U.S. project against Iraq. As a member of the National Guard, he should have only been overseas for a couple of months. Instead, Crawford fought for over a year before being sent home. This book tells some of the things he experienced while stationed in Baghdad.
Crawford took his title from the fact that he never wants to tell another true s...more
Crawford took his title from the fact that he never wants to tell another true s...more
A heartbreakingly true account of a soldier's life in the current Iraq war. The author was a National Guardsman who expected to do the "two weeks a year" thing until he was called up to do security detail in Baghda; hence the "accidental soldier" of the title. The horrors he witnessed and the agony and fear he had to endure will be familiar to anyone who reads the paper, but his attention to detail and his pulse-pounding anecdotes bring his tale home. Ultimately, a damning an...more
I know it’s a good book when I’m still thinking about it 10 days after I finished it. I was looking for brutal honesty and the raw emotional toll of war (not a factual history tome), and I got it in this book. Sometimes it was as much what WASN’T written as what was (the chapter near the end with the three young boys is a good example). That is a delicate balance for a writer and it was powerful. (Note: toning down the swear words and tightening up the sentence structure would have made it even ...more
Spencer Hargadon
rated it
It is a well written series of stories and anecdotes of Crawford's time serving in the military. What really gets you about the book is his honest no bullshit assessment of the war, he isn't trying to demonize the military for ruining his life, or make him out to be a galavanting hero, he's just telling you stories, true stories, or if not true, at least ones that he believes. His stories aren't lost in military jargon, and are accessible whether this is your first military book or your 50th. ...more
While I was reading the preface of this book, this was my exact thought: “Wow, this guy is pissed off. This is going to be good.”
I wasn’t wrong. This book is good. It is also gut-churning, heart-wrenching, and devastating. I was riveted. I could hardly put it down. Crawford was clearly very angry when he wrote it, and I don’t blame him. He joined the National Guard to earn money for college. He never expected to be sent to fight a war overseas (and in my opinion he never should have be...more
I wasn’t wrong. This book is good. It is also gut-churning, heart-wrenching, and devastating. I was riveted. I could hardly put it down. Crawford was clearly very angry when he wrote it, and I don’t blame him. He joined the National Guard to earn money for college. He never expected to be sent to fight a war overseas (and in my opinion he never should have be...more
A friend, Sean Coutain, gave me this book a couple years ago, and I didn't read it then because I was just back from Iraq and not interested. I finally picked it up last week and flew through it.
Crawford's experience was much different than mine. In part, because he was there at the start--it was the wild west and living conditions were at their most primitive. I had expected this book to be an indictment of the Iraq War, and maybe that's even what Crawford intended. Instead, ho...more
Crawford's experience was much different than mine. In part, because he was there at the start--it was the wild west and living conditions were at their most primitive. I had expected this book to be an indictment of the Iraq War, and maybe that's even what Crawford intended. Instead, ho...more
Book Review: The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier’s Account of the War in Iraq by John Crawford
“Hey Crawford, you got a piece of brain on your foot”. Florida National Guardsmen, John Crawford, was two credits away from graduation FSU. He was newly married and on his honeymoon when he was called to the front lines of the invasion force of Iraq. In between his patrols, he started writing stories about what happened to him and his squad. These stories became The Last Tr...more
“Hey Crawford, you got a piece of brain on your foot”. Florida National Guardsmen, John Crawford, was two credits away from graduation FSU. He was newly married and on his honeymoon when he was called to the front lines of the invasion force of Iraq. In between his patrols, he started writing stories about what happened to him and his squad. These stories became The Last Tr...more
I have a bit of trouble with the title, because I don't really think there's anything "Accidental" about it. There is no draft, so Crawford knew what he was signing up for...or did he. Because the thing is, prior to 9/11, the military was seen differently, more of an easy way to pay for college, not something where you're almost certainly going to get sent to war. So on one hand, man up, you signed up for it. On the other hand, at the time he did sign up, things were different, so....more
A grim, tersely-written series of vignettes from the author's time in a National Guard unit sent to Iraq. Crawford was a soldier prior to college and his tenure in the Guard but hadn't been in combat before, and even he is periodically numbed by the surroundings and overwhelmed by the heat, the endless boredom punctuated by horrific violence, and (infrequently) the drugs and alcohol that his unit can find. Not taken seriously by the regular Army, his "group of college students" gets pa...more
This is as clear a case as has ever been made of how the business of war creates sociopaths, and how those human beings cope with the continuous survival through a hellish situation. A person must either disconnect from other human beings (the enemy) so thoroughly until he is callous and jaded and take on a macabre sense of humor, or he must go crazy with grief. Then when he comes home he cannot relate normally to his friends, his spouse, his family, even the grocery store. He must live with ...more
A friend of mine, an Iraq-war vet, suggested I read this book. It's a powerful and traumatic experience he went through, and this book is an authentic portrayal of his time there, I was told. Powerful it is, from accounts of arriving in combat to find vietnam-era equipment, cold-war mentalities of commanders, and generally disheartening dangers presented by the local combatants.
It's a compelling and quick read, and it isn't all horror stories. Some parts are endearing, and some are ...more
It's a compelling and quick read, and it isn't all horror stories. Some parts are endearing, and some are ...more
I recently ended my Active Duty military career and I was flooded with so many different thoughts about this book and the experiences of its author/soldier. The overwhelming thoughts were how proud I am to have been associated, in even the slightest ways, with the folks who get the job done, and the shame that some leadership lost sight of whole mission to focus on their own glory.
John Crawford's story caught my attention from the first paragraph of the Prelude and wouldn't let it go until...more
John Crawford's story caught my attention from the first paragraph of the Prelude and wouldn't let it go until...more
I could see where Crawford might have been in a writing class and someone said, "Hey, you're writing about your experiences as a soldier in war? Here, read this-" and hands him a copy of Tim O'Brian's The Things They Carried. While the title of Crawford's book and his final chapter are strongly reminiscent of O'Brian's essay "How to Tell a True War Story," it lacks the artistry, the finesse, the ironic tone of O'Brian's work. Crawford is, to put it bluntly (and in his own wo...more
I read somewhere, I can't remember where, that the current armed forces are the most literate soldiery in world history and the volume of war memoirs are proof of this.
I heard this author interviewed on NPR and he was very funny, which made me read the book.
The book, of course, wasn't always funny because it is about war after all. It is funny, sad, heartbreaking, and sometimes inspiring. There are a number of excellent war memoirs, so many you certainly can't read them ...more
I heard this author interviewed on NPR and he was very funny, which made me read the book.
The book, of course, wasn't always funny because it is about war after all. It is funny, sad, heartbreaking, and sometimes inspiring. There are a number of excellent war memoirs, so many you certainly can't read them ...more
I'm extremely ambivalent about this book. It was very well-written and gritty, and I definitely got caught up in the stories. Very reminiscent of O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," but with the dark humor of Catch-22. I appreciated the raw honesty of the author. He did not gloss over the ugly parts of war or try to make out shameful behavior to be heroic, and that was refreshing.
That being said, I could never really like or empathize with him. He just didn't seem like...more
That being said, I could never really like or empathize with him. He just didn't seem like...more
I only got to page 50 before I gave up reading it. I hardly ever not finish a book I start, but I just could not keep reading. Someone compared it to O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" but I thought it was not anything like that book! This one was more factual and straightforward whereas O'Brien told his stories poetically, blending fiction with truth. It just wasn't the book for me. I could see it being a very powerful read for many people--just too much military in it for my taste.
More a collection of essays than a straight narrative -- each can stand alone as its own story and you can take your time with it. If you are listening, you may need to. The reader has an intense delivery that serves the writer's voice, but can become tiring over long stretches. If some of these accounts are difficult to read, they can be even harder to hear. This is not family material. But as an account of what daily life is like for our troops, this sounds like the truth.
Contrary to the title, which definitely implies that this book is nonfiction, this is a fiction book. At least, it is sold as fiction; and the author in the epilogue admits that it is fiction, although claiming it is inspired by actual events that happened to him. This was very problematic for this book. Instead of reading this and saying "Wow, this is what it is like for a soldier in Iraq." I kept wondering "What of this is real and what isn't?" Truth is the first casua...more
Holy crap! I don't know which is more amazing, what we put our young soldiers through in the name of oil, or what an outstanding job Crawford does of writing about it! He's a very gifted writer and I hope that he succeeds in turning it into a career. Even if he doesn't, this may end up being a quintessential book about the Iraq War. Give it a chance and it will break your heart, humble you, make you laugh, fascinate and trouble you all at the same time.
AMAZING! If anyone really wants to know and appreciate the American ground perspective of Iraq then I highly recommend this book. Warning: It is as raw, intense and honest as they come. Crawford also has a unique gift for putting his reader in his shoes without seeming contrived in the least. Any person responsible for any aspect of US foreign policy should be required to read this book, and quite frankly, any American voter.
4.5.
Great perspective on the war from a soldier's POV. I saw an interview w/the author on The Daily Show and immediately put this on my list. So far my hubby and I have read it, next up is oldest son. It sounds like everyday life for soldiers hasn't really changed that much since Vietnam in terms of the drugs, and the cruddy work, and oh, how I wish this one had a happy ending. Although he came home. That's happy.
Great perspective on the war from a soldier's POV. I saw an interview w/the author on The Daily Show and immediately put this on my list. So far my hubby and I have read it, next up is oldest son. It sounds like everyday life for soldiers hasn't really changed that much since Vietnam in terms of the drugs, and the cruddy work, and oh, how I wish this one had a happy ending. Although he came home. That's happy.
An amazing true story of a National Guards Infantry soldiers experience fighting the war in Iraq. A young man pushed beyond endurance. A savage and compelling work that reveals the true cost of the Iraq adventure, the price paid by young soldiers. I recommend this book to readers to better understand what its like to be a young Infantry soldier in the war in Iraq.
As I read this book it was difficult for me to believe that the author had nearly completed a degree in Anthropology before he left for Iraq. Aside from the quality of the writing, there was nothing that indicated his education helped him in any way understand the people of Iraq or the circumstances he found himself in. His account could have been written by any soldier.
I liked this one okay but it left a bit of an odd aftertaste in my mouth. I think maybe I was picking up on the author ambivalance toward his whole experience. Every man or woman's story of their military experience is valid and worth telling. It's important not just to read about the medal of honor winners but the regular soldiers too.
i really loved this book--but i may be a bit biased being an army wife. i came across this in the library RIGHT after my husband deployed--i wanted to educate myself as much as possible with the military,war,PTSD,ect. this book didnt leave my hands till i was done reading it. truly a good read.
I'm not big on war reads and since this is written by a soldier there is a lot of profane language. But I think it is a more introspective book and less violent and graphic than most. Plus if you read it you have to let me know what you think of the last chapter, leave you thinking...
This wasn't exactly "superiorly" written, but it is the real story of a soldier who went to Iraq and that is all that matters. It reveals the TRUTH about what is going on in the basically pointless war and what a soldier actually saw happen there. An eye-opener for sure.
I finished this last night, so I could lend it to Kathleen. It was amazing, a book filled with justifiable loathing for self, for a bad situation, for others. It doesn't make excuses...just lays out the realities of his war experiences. His writing is wonderful, and I have a feeling this will be a classic.
Memoir from a junior enlisted national guard soldier in the early stages of the Iraq War. Tells the story in disjointed experiences throughout a year+ deployment. It's a quick and easy read, but the author writing alternates wildly between introspective and immature. I almost gave it 3 stars, but like I said, it's quick and easy and warrants reading for anyone interested in the Iraq war.
A poorly written collection of unrelated and pointless stories about a soldier's experiences in the War in Iraq. Maybe that's the point, that the war is random and pointless and we'll all be glad when it's over. (just like I was with this book. :)
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