270th out of 3,892 books
—
16,438 voters
Johnny Got His Gun
Few American novels are genuine classics, with a permanent place in our literature. This is one of them. First published in 1939, the story of an average American youth who "survives" World War I armless, legless and faceless with his mind intact was an immediate bestseller. Its anti-war message had a profound effect on Americans during the Vietnam era, and is no...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
August 1st 2000
by Citadel Press
(first published 1939)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
11,431)
Stephanie
rated it
Recommends it for:
anyone feeling sorry for themselves
Shelves:
roughstuff,
greatfnwriting
I read this book during my lunch breaks at the cafe of Barnes & Noble in Chelsea, NYC. I think I finished it in five sittings, with great big tears rolling down my face. While everybody around me was busy quaffing scalding hot lattes, I was trying to muffle the sounds of my agonized weeping into my scarf. Luckily, this is not seen as strange behavior in Manhattan, so I was able to finish the book unmolested.
Johnny Got His Gun sounds like it was written during the early stages of the...more
Johnny Got His Gun sounds like it was written during the early stages of the...more
Every time I read a book, I feel committed to it as if to a relationship. That relationship can be an infatuational fling, a carnal attraction, a passionate love, a committed best friend, a life partner...whatever form it takes will depend on how much I will remember it. Johnny Got His Gun got completely under my skin.
I was finishing the last page on an airplane and an 80 year old yoga teacher looked at me and quietly summed up this book. "I remember reading that. It blew my m...more
I was finishing the last page on an airplane and an 80 year old yoga teacher looked at me and quietly summed up this book. "I remember reading that. It blew my m...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs in the water?
Bob.
What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs on a porch?
Matt.
What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs on skis?
Skip.
What do you call a novel about a guy who has no arms and no legs because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Johnny Got His Gun.
***
This works best as a character sketch. As poor Jon ...more
Bob.
What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs on a porch?
Matt.
What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs on skis?
Skip.
What do you call a novel about a guy who has no arms and no legs because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Johnny Got His Gun.
***
This works best as a character sketch. As poor Jon ...more
One of my favorite books, and it seems, a favorite of many other lovers of peace and justice, I have used this book since 2000 with my senior students to discuss war and our current state of affairs. This book opens up readers to many other types of discussions, however. The fact that we can loose our capacity to act in a flash; or, that we can write the way we think.
Dalton Trumbo was a writer who saw beyond his times and was able to write for future generations, much like Orwell. I feel a...more
Dalton Trumbo was a writer who saw beyond his times and was able to write for future generations, much like Orwell. I feel a...more
Jennifer (aka EM)
rated it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
for-the-desert-island,
unhealthy4children
Infinite Jest has beaten me, again.
Instead, I picked this up. The new edition I got has a new Foreword by a woman namedCarolCindy Sheehan, who lost her son Casey in Iraq in 2004. This is on top of the old new Foreword by Ron Kovic -- does that name ring a bell? It should, if you are a reader of war or anti-war novels. He is the writer of the book, and the individual on whom the lead character was based, of Born On The 4th Of July, which was of course about Vietnam. (And was th...more
Instead, I picked this up. The new edition I got has a new Foreword by a woman named
I finished this book in December of '07, Johnny Got his Gun, and it made me want to shoot myself in the face.
It is written in second person limited, which is annoying enough if not for the added limitation of narrating through a character with no eyes, nose, ears, mouth or limbs. Written primarily in stream-of-consciousness, I simply wanted to cut my eyes out so that I could at least fall asleep on my 5-hour flight. Johnny was supposed to be an anti-war novel, receiving a mountain of prais...more
It is written in second person limited, which is annoying enough if not for the added limitation of narrating through a character with no eyes, nose, ears, mouth or limbs. Written primarily in stream-of-consciousness, I simply wanted to cut my eyes out so that I could at least fall asleep on my 5-hour flight. Johnny was supposed to be an anti-war novel, receiving a mountain of prais...more
Reading this book really makes you realize that war is real. It isn't the crisp uniforms of army officers, the fast air force jets, or the big boom of navy guns that we see in commericals for the armed forces, images that paint a distorted picture of the reality of war.
War it dirty, dispairing, desperate, and destructive.
War is death.
Johnny Got His Gun is a book that shows another face of death. One that is mortally infinite. A death that you live, but you can...more
War it dirty, dispairing, desperate, and destructive.
War is death.
Johnny Got His Gun is a book that shows another face of death. One that is mortally infinite. A death that you live, but you can...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
John Stevens
rated it
Recommends it for:
No one. Everyone.
Recommended to John by:
A military friend.
I read this book years ago. Back in the 70's. I'd barely missed Vietnam but did join the service voluntarily. A friend gave me this book.
It took a lot of guts to write the profoundly and emotionally descriptive story about the horror of war.
People come away from it with strong emotions. Not always the same. As a young man in my twenties, knowing guys that didn't come back from Vietnam and knowing a few who came back in body only, this book struck me hard. It helped me to und...more
It took a lot of guts to write the profoundly and emotionally descriptive story about the horror of war.
People come away from it with strong emotions. Not always the same. As a young man in my twenties, knowing guys that didn't come back from Vietnam and knowing a few who came back in body only, this book struck me hard. It helped me to und...more
Sometimes honoring your country can be harmful and very dangerous. Many people enter the war willingly when they want to make a right and serve their country. Although today you have an option, during the Civil War there was a draft where people didn’t have a choice to join. The main character Johnny has a giant struggle throughout the book. During the war he was seriously injured and unfortunately lost a lot of privileges. These privileges aren’t items or freedom, but physical and mental privil...more
I decided to pick this book up after reading of it in Newman and Jones' excellent overview volume, "Horror: 100 Best Books." While the overwhelming majority of the books discussed therein deal with ghosts, the supernatural, werewolves, vampires and the like, Dalton Trumbo's "Johnny Got His Gun" (1939) deals with horror of a different sort: the horror of war, or, more specifically, war's aftermath.
In this unforgettable novel, we meet a young man named Joe Bonham, ...more
In this unforgettable novel, we meet a young man named Joe Bonham, ...more
Fred Maack
rated it
Shelves:
2011-read,
american,
best-seller,
character-study,
classic,
horror,
leftist,
novel,
political,
psychology,
survival,
war,
world-war-i
This is an amazing book. It is almost an experiment in writing which ends up being a phenomenal piece of literature. It's almost like a creative writing assignment to write about a character with no nose, no mouth, no arms, no legs, no ears and no eyes.
There is one scene with a rat. I won't give too much away, but I'm not often bothered by graphic scenes in books. This scene had me squirming as it was so well written and so appropriate to the situation the character was in.
...more
There is one scene with a rat. I won't give too much away, but I'm not often bothered by graphic scenes in books. This scene had me squirming as it was so well written and so appropriate to the situation the character was in.
...more
I liked this book, even though it started off a little slow in my opinion. The author made the whole story pretty exciting, seeing as how the entire book is about a man named Joe with no mouth, no eyes, no ears, no nose, and no limbs lying in a hospital bed never doing anything. It was amazing reading about what this man, who's as close to being dead as any human could be, feels about fighting in wars. He feels that if he can ever learn to communicate with others, he can truly speak for the dead...more
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy
A stick in me hand and a drop in me eye
A doleful damsel I heard cry,
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh my darling dear, Ye look so que...more
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy
A stick in me hand and a drop in me eye
A doleful damsel I heard cry,
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh my darling dear, Ye look so que...more
This is maybe the third greatest anti-war novel I've read ... which puts Trumbo's book in the middle of The Things They Carried (occupying the first position) and All Quiet on the Western Front (at number 3). I think it's a great book because it really makes you run the gamut of feelings ... the two of which I found myself feeling were anger, and cynicism. I found myself disagreeing with Trumbo in that I think some ideas are worth dying for. If people hadn't, then I think this world would be ...more
Kelly Sugalski
added it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Dalton Trumbo was one of Hollywood’s “black-listed” screen writers of the fifties and sixties following the HUAC testimony and McCarthy hearings. He was such a brilliant screen writer that he continued writing films under pseudonyms. This novel shows his incredible skill with dialog. Joe Bonham was a “doughboy” in France during the First World War, “The Great War”, “The War to End all War” and is wounded by an exploding artillery shell. His wounds are so extreme that to describe them here w...more
I first read this book in HS and it's haunted me ever since. It was written in 1939 and is about a WWI soldier who's grieveously injured: he loses all his limbs, his sight, his hearing, his ability to communicate. But mentally -- he's all there. Problem is, no one knows it. Today, they'd do a brain scan, but.. this is the early 30s. The book was pulled from circulation during WWII because... well, it's not very uplifting and no one reading it would want to go to war. It's for this reason, though...more
So I first discovered this book due to the Metallica video "One". I was floored by the video and wanted to learn more so after some investigating I found the movie and in turn the book. So those who say Metal is a waste, Ha!
Joe Bonham, a young soldier serving in World War I, awakens in a hospital bed after being caught in the blast of an exploding artillery shell. He gradually realizes that he has lost his arms, legs, and face, but that his mind functions perfectly, ...more
Joe Bonham, a young soldier serving in World War I, awakens in a hospital bed after being caught in the blast of an exploding artillery shell. He gradually realizes that he has lost his arms, legs, and face, but that his mind functions perfectly, ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Johnny Got His Gun
by Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by Susi Sanchez
Word Count: 534
Sometimes honoring your country can be harmful and very dangerous. Many people enter the war willingly when they want to make a right and serve their country. Although today you have an option, during the Civil War there was a draft where people didn’t have a choice to join. The main character Johnny has a giant struggle throughout the book. During the war he was seriously injured and unfortuna...more
by Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by Susi Sanchez
Word Count: 534
Sometimes honoring your country can be harmful and very dangerous. Many people enter the war willingly when they want to make a right and serve their country. Although today you have an option, during the Civil War there was a draft where people didn’t have a choice to join. The main character Johnny has a giant struggle throughout the book. During the war he was seriously injured and unfortuna...more
Ryan Toh
added it
Johnny Got His Gun
Dalton Trumbo
Book Review By: Ryan Toh
When you hear about war, or read about it, it's usually patriotic, and when it's fiction, it's usually thrilling. The book Johnny Got His Gun is neither patriotic or thrilling, but rather a slap in the face to what war really is, and what happens to those that don't come home the same, physically or mentally.
The book itself was written after the First World War, but ironically before the horrors of the S...more
Dalton Trumbo
Book Review By: Ryan Toh
When you hear about war, or read about it, it's usually patriotic, and when it's fiction, it's usually thrilling. The book Johnny Got His Gun is neither patriotic or thrilling, but rather a slap in the face to what war really is, and what happens to those that don't come home the same, physically or mentally.
The book itself was written after the First World War, but ironically before the horrors of the S...more
I Was Expecting So Much More From This Book. It Had The Potential To Be A Truly Moving Story, But It Just Wasn't Carried Out Well. I Think I Would've Been Much More Affective If Trumbo Hadn't Felt The Need To Repeatedly Tell Me Exactly How I Was Supposed To Be Affected. A Conversation I Had With Friends Sums This Up Perfectly. When He Saw What I Was Reading He Asked About It. I Told Him It Was About The Horrors Of War And Had Gained A Reputation Since Its Publishing Of Being Synonymous With Vari...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Johnny Got His Gun
Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by: Terry Justice Albea
Joe thought it was just another nightmare. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t open his eyes; he couldn’t move his arms, he couldn’t move his legs, he couldn’t move his jaw to talk, or breathe through his nose. He couldn’t feel them. In reality, they were gone. Just as the artillery shell that hit him. Now he is a prisoner in his own body, and he can’t do anything about it.
Johnny Got His Gun has been one of the...more
Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by: Terry Justice Albea
Joe thought it was just another nightmare. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t open his eyes; he couldn’t move his arms, he couldn’t move his legs, he couldn’t move his jaw to talk, or breathe through his nose. He couldn’t feel them. In reality, they were gone. Just as the artillery shell that hit him. Now he is a prisoner in his own body, and he can’t do anything about it.
Johnny Got His Gun has been one of the...more
Quinn
added it
Johnny Got His Gun Review
Johnny Got His Gun is a disturbing novel about the horrors of war. It was written by Dalton Trumbo in 1938 about a young soldier who lost everything in World War I. Joe Bonham finds himself in a hospital bed and slowly realizes that both his legs and arms have been amputated and on top of that he can no longer speak, hear, see or smell. The entire book takes place inside his mind, reliving his past, questioning himself, his life, and authority, as...more
Joseph Anthony
added it
Situation
The main situation/ thing about this book, is about a man named Johnny. This man Johnny was fighting in a war when he was hit by a bomb. The book had explained how severe the condition Johnny was in after he was hit. It was explained that all four limbs were directly affected and so was his face. In the end, the doctors had ended up cutting off/ amputating his legs. His conditions became worse, instead of good. The doctors had eventually got off his arms off as w...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Mia Sheperd
added it
Johnny Got His Gun was all about tragedies that can occur during war. This book was originally was published in 1939, two days after the outbreak of World War II. The novel was a pacifist piece published in wartime. It taught the bad ideas of war and Hitler burned all copies in the 1940’s. This story is written about a man who had nothing and had to live and survive with only his mind to rely on. You find out early on in the book that due to the war he lost all his limbs, his mouth, ears, ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who has read this and what did you think? | 8 | 23 | Jan 21, 2012 05:43am |
Dalton Trumbo worked as a cub reporter for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, covering courts, the high school, the mortuary and civic organizations. He attended the University of Colorado for two years working as a reporter for the Boulder Daily Camera and contributing to the campus humor magazine, the yearbook and the campus newspaper. He got his start working for Vogue magazine. His first publi...more
More about Dalton Trumbo...
Share This Book
16 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“did anybody ever come back from the dead any single one of the millions who got killed did any one of them ever come back and say by god i'm glad i'm dead because death is always better than dishonor? did they say i'm glad i died to make the world safe for democracy? did they say i like death better than losing liberty? did any of them ever say it's good to think i got my guts blown out for the honor of my country? did any of them ever say look at me i'm dead but i died for decency and that's better than being alive? did any of them ever say here i am i've been rotting for two years in a foreign grave but it's wonderful to die for your native land? did any of them say hurray i died for womanhood and i'm happy see how i sing even though my mouth is choked with worms?”
—
16 people liked it
“Of course a lot of guys were ashamed. Somebody said let's go out and fight for liberty and so they went out and got killed without ever once thinking of liberty. And what kind of liberty were they fighting for anyway? How much liberty and whose kind of liberty? Were they fighting for the liberty of eating free ice cream cones all their lives or for the liberty of robbing anybody they pleased whenever they wanted to or what? You tell a man he can't rob and you take away some of his liberty. You've got to. What the hell does liberty mean anyhow? It's a word like house or table or any other word. Only it's a special kind of word. A guy says house and he can point to a house to prove it. But a guy says come on let's fight for liberty and he can't show you liberty. He can't prove the thing he's talking about so how in the hell can he be telling you to fight for it? No sir anybody who went out and got into the front line trenches to fight for liberty was a goddamn fool and the guy who got him there was a liar.”
—
11 people liked it
More quotes…

Loading...










view all 9 comments

































