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Jarhead

by Anthony Swofford

3.49 · rating details · 3,014 ratings · 336 reviews

Anthony Swofford's Jarhead is the first Gulf War memoir by a frontline infantry marine, and it is a searing, unforgettable narrative.

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Anthony Swofford's Jarhead is the first Gulf War memoir by a frontline infantry marine, and it is a searing, unforgettable narrative.

When the marines -- or "jarheads," as they call themselves -- were sent in 1990 to Saudi Arabia to fight the Iraqis, Swofford was there, with a hundred-pound pack on his shoulders and a sniper's rifle in his hands. It was one misery upon another. He lived in sand for six months, his girlfriend back home betrayed him for a scrawny hotel clerk, he was punished by boredom and fear, he considered suicide, he pulled a gun on one of his fellow marines, and he was shot at by both Iraqis and Americans. At the end of the war, Swofford hiked for miles through a landscape of incinerated Iraqi soldiers and later was nearly killed in a booby-trapped Iraqi bunker.

Swofford weaves this experience of war with vivid accounts of boot camp (which included physical abuse by his drill instructor), reflections on the mythos of the marines, and remembrances of battles with lovers and family. As engagement with the Iraqis draws closer, he is forced to consider what it is to be an American, a soldier, a son of a soldier, and a man.

Unlike the real-time print and television coverage of the Gulf War, which was highly scripted by the Pentagon, Swofford's account subverts the conventional wisdom that U.S. military interventions are now merely surgical insertions of superior forces that result in few American casualties. Jarhead insists we remember the Americans who are in fact wounded or killed, the fields of smoking enemy corpses left behind, and the continuing difficulty that American soldiers have reentering civilian life.

A harrowing yet inspiring portrait of a tormented consciousness struggling for inner peace, Jarhead will elbow for room on that short shelf of American war classics that includes Philip Caputo's A Rumor of War and Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, and be admired not only for the raw beauty of its prose but also for the depth of its pained heart.

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Paperback, 260 pages

Published November 11th 2005 by Scribner

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Dec 21, 2010

Aaron rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sets-the-standard, life-story, military

A few years ago I watched the movie Jarhead and was pleased to find the book was much better. I don't think this book is for everyone, but speaking for myself it is among the best autobiographies I have come across, regardless of the style or subject matter. Rather than sell his story or this work, I'd like to respond to two of the general themes that I see in the reviews.

First, I feel the book was very carefully organized, perhaps I could say crafted. Swofford does not tell his story...more

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Dec 07, 2007

Silvana rated it

Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: nonfiction, military-espionage, history, biography, used-to-own

Welcome to the Suck.

Being a jarhead is frustrating. At least, that's what been described so vividly by Anthony Swofford.

Jarhead means a member of the United States Marine Corps. When used by civilians it could be considered derogatory, but it is used often among Marines. The term originates from the "high and tight" haircut that many Marines have, which makes their head look like a jar. It did NOT originate from their uniform or cover.

This book remin...more

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Jul 30, 2007

Renee rated it

· review of another edition

{Warning: Strong language} Once upon a time I read a review of the book Jarhead, by Anthony Swofford, which peaked my interest. DH Jeff was thoughtful enough to pick me up a copy. I'm glad he's not a marine, or at least anyone like Mr. Swofford. Honestly, I kept thinking, "what a horse's a-- this guy (Swofford) is." And, did I need any reminders that so many of our young marines will screw anything around - and I do mean anything? Especially while they're bemoaning their unfaithful ...more

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Aug 29, 2011

Terri rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-from-library, modern-war

If you go into this book expecting fire fights, skirmishes, battles and sorties, then you are coming at this book from the wrong direction, or you have the wrong book.
Jarhead is what the title says it is. A book about a Jarhead. A young man in the service of the United States Marine Corp. Don't go into the book expecting anything but that. It concerns a Marine's journey towards becoming a Marine and a Sniper and who then joins the boots on the ground in the Middle east for the Gulf War c...moreIf you go into this book expecting fire fights, skirmishes, battles and sorties, then you are coming at this book from the wrong direction, or you have the wrong book.
Jarhead is what the title says it is. A book about a Jarhead. A young man in the service of the United States Marine Corp. Don't go into the book expecting anything but that. It concerns a Marine's journey towards becoming a Marine and a Sniper and who then joins the boots on the ground in the Middle east for the Gulf War conflict.
It is also about a boy becoming a man, but you should expect that from a book such as this. A book that has been a literary triumph for the author. Literary triumphs usually include some form of angst and evolution.
I wanted to give this book 5 stars as the writing took my breath away, but in the end I was turned off by the authors constant preoccupation with sex and sexual metaphors.
Anthony Swofford seems to have a major sex fixation issue which goes beyond the mention of the frequent prostitutes and veneral diseases. He sure does fixate on sex. Half of it wasn't necessary. Most people are not new to the 19/20/21 year old's obsession with sex and chasing his next sexual encounter. It's no secret. Men will be men, boys will be boys.
I am not a prude, anyone who knows me knows that I am far from it, but comparing things, for example, to the 'tight insides of a woman' twice in one paragraph, seems more inserted (no pun intended) for it's shock value and not it's relevance value.
So, this made me drop a star from an otherwise fantastic book. I would recommend it though. Even to people who don't usually read war non fiction.

As a side note, it was quite interesting to get up close and personal with the introduction of the very first Barrett sniper rifles as they were released in a small number to all branches of the military, (SF, SEAL, Sniper teams etc) before the Gulf war officially kicked off. Hard to imagine that it was only in the early 90's that the military started equipping their elite teams with a bonafide sniper rifle.
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Mar 22, 2009

Benjamin Solah rated it

· review of another edition

This is by no means an explicitly anti-war novel. It’s more an honest account and because the honest truth is that war is vicious and atrocious, an anti-war message cannot be hidden except through lies.

Anthony Swofford was a U.S. sniper during the first Gulf War and Jarhead tells his story of life in the Marines and fighting in this war. His whole experience in coloured by power-hungry and vicious officers, rowdy nights out with fellow Marines and of course, the in your face brutalit...moreThis is by no means an explicitly anti-war novel. It’s more an honest account and because the honest truth is that war is vicious and atrocious, an anti-war message cannot be hidden except through lies.

Anthony Swofford was a U.S. sniper during the first Gulf War and Jarhead tells his story of life in the Marines and fighting in this war. His whole experience in coloured by power-hungry and vicious officers, rowdy nights out with fellow Marines and of course, the in your face brutality of killing innocent people in Iraq.

Although Swofford still holds onto an idea that the Marines are a good thing, he and other Marines still hold this contempt for the officers, whether it’s for their brute discipline or whether it’s taking credit for kills in the battlefield. It brings to mind the contempt for officers during Vietnam when grunts used to frag their officers who tried to send them on virtually suicidal missions. It’s clear from this that despite the cultural indoctrination the army tries to impose on its recruits, the reality of the situation still shines through stronger.

I would’ve thought that the book would deal a lot more with the actual war, but most of it deals with the painful waiting for it to begin. But it is clear the the war was short and still left Swofford and his fellow marines with fucking strong images. The scene that left the biggest impression on me was when he walked into a circle of dead Iraqi soldiers and sat with them. He could really empathise with these men as if they weren’t really his enemy, they were men in the same situation as him.

So although Swofford draws conclusions I would not agree with, like how he hates war but still sees it as necessary, the reality of the story he tells leaves me with facts and anecdotes that hardens my own conclusions in that war is a brutal thing that only benefits the rulers who do not have to go to the front-line to fight it and risk their own lives.

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Jan 27, 2012

Roger DeBlanck rated it

· review of another edition

A former U.S. Marine sniper, Anthony Swofford offers an unrelenting, honest, and keen memoir that delves the heart of the soldier. Along with war’s drama and horror, the aftermath and psychosis of war are under study in his reflections and anecdotes. He addresses the difficulty of the marine readapting to everyday life after the first Gulf War. He explains what a soldier sees, does, and feels and how all of it compounds to an overload of emotional instability that makes the transition back to pr...more

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Sep 30, 2011

David Schroeder rated it

Jarhead is a very realistic imagery story about being a Marine during the Gulf War, and the effect the war had on them. I rated Jarhead with a 3 because it was an exciting story, but didn't give a very good image for the Marine Corps. It made all soldiers look like drunks who have no self-control and didn't care about American values in any way, when in reality, most soldiers don't feel this way at all.

This book has quite a few strengths; it is exciting, and catches your attention q...more

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Sep 26, 2011

Patrick McCoy rated it

Shelves: biography-autobiography

I picked up a copy of Anthony Swafford's memoir about the First Gulf War called Jarhead. He's a compelling storyteller; I think it gives insight into the mindset of a young soldier. Swafford's story of why he joined is equally interesting, he felt he was part of a tradition, even though his father didn't want him to go. I guess the young have been trying to prove themselves in war for centuries and won't stop doing it anytime soon. I guess it's a bit interesting in that Swafford is roughly my ag...moreI picked up a copy of Anthony Swafford's memoir about the First Gulf War called Jarhead. He's a compelling storyteller; I think it gives insight into the mindset of a young soldier. Swafford's story of why he joined is equally interesting, he felt he was part of a tradition, even though his father didn't want him to go. I guess the young have been trying to prove themselves in war for centuries and won't stop doing it anytime soon. I guess it's a bit interesting in that Swafford is roughly my age. I remember protesting the war and thinking that it was all about protecting oil rights, but in retrospect it was more warranted than the current war given that Iraq had invaded Kuwait and America had the support of many nations. However, it was mostly the same men in charge who wanted it. They need to stability in the Middle East to protect our right to cheap gasoline. It looks like that capturing Hussein in the first time around would have prevented this war, but hindsight is 20/20, and I'm sure I would have been against that as well, but it does seems as though some people were left high and dry, when the US refused to march on to Baghdad.

The descriptions of military culture make it seem absolutely intolerable. I can remember a teacher talking about his stint in the navy and how the military is all about reducing you to a number and breaking you down and taking away your identity so that you follow orders, even if they are detrimental to your well being. Blind obedience to superiors, that I have had trouble abiding to, and always have. I can remember being pestered by the local armed forces recruiting offices, since they knew I was in community college in need of financial aid to continue my education, but I would never have submitted to that type of abuse for any amount of money. I remember my mother asking why I wouldn't even consider joining the reserves to get money for college. I was dumbfounded that she could even suggest such a course. I was already a budding liberal who had rebelled against the Catholic church and was against everything the military stood for. I've never had a good image of the military. Every soldier, jarhead, or sailor I ever met was pumped full of testosterone looking for a reason to go off on the nearest person. Not exactly cream of the crop in my opinion. Some of my friends went ROTC, and officers are whole different breed from the vast majority, and from what I've seen almost every soldier, jarhead, or sailor I've come across here in Tokyo, has been completely ignorant and uneducated-usually drunk and out of control as well. It seems to me the military as the last resort for those who cannot escape poverty and ignorance. It is my prejudice, but this book only reinforces it.

I find it interesting to get the details about desert warfare and the way the US approached this particular war. The director David O. Russell did a lot of research for his film based on the Gulf War, Three Kings, which, even though a work of fiction, was highly researched. I found his commentary on the writing/directing of the film fascinating as Swafford confirms many of his observations about the war and soldier life in the desert in his book.
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Aug 03, 2011

James Korsmo added it

This is not an easy book to read. That doesn't mean it isn't well-written, which it is, or that it lacks action, because it doesn't. Instead, it is an often uncomfortable book. It dispels the illusion we all harbor to one degree or another that war is noble and that warriors are likewise noble. Instead, Swofford recounts his own experience in the Marine Corps, first as a line grunt in training and then as a member of the elite Surveillance and Target Acquisition Platoon (that is, a member of the...more

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Sep 07, 2010

Fabio added it

Shelves: 11th-grade-advisory

Jarhead
By: Anthony Swafford
272 pages
Isbn13: 9780743287210

When Marines get sent to war, it can be a very big tragic. Jarheads are what the marines in this book called themselves. In this book, Jarheads were in Iraq fighting a war. Swafford, one of the jarheads, was living a crappy life at the time. He had many near-death experiences, and it didn’t seem as if anything was going right for him. Swafford takes us through the time he had spent at war, through everything he w...more

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Jul 07, 2009

Amanda added it

Shelves: 11th-grade

"Jarhead," by Anthony Swofford is the memoir of a US Corps Marine. This takes you through the different moments of Anthony Swofford's life during the time when he was in the Marines. He tells you how things really were like for one and how life becomes misery quickly over there. He starts off with how he got into the Marines, (the option for him besides jail time) and ends with why he wrote the book in the first place (the reason for him going to the Marine in the first place was t...more

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Apr 04, 2009

Hank rated it

I've heard a number of enlisted Marines talk about how "realistic" this movie/ book is. Perhaps I'm a bit idealistic, but I think Mr. Swofford exaggerates in a very sincere seeming way in order to draw the reader to a familiar Vietnam-victimized-unknowing soldier being taken advantage of by the privileged few.

Yes, some of the urban-myths that Swofford claims to have occurred in his unit may have happened over time and among the hundreds of thousands of short & long Marin...more

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Jun 18, 2010

Greg rated it

If I could give this book zero stars I would. This has nothing to do with the 1st gulf war. It has to do with the ramblings of an immoral, narcissistic misogynist with a chip on his shoulder who should have been kicked out of the Marine Corps during 1st phase. He comes across as being one of those Marines we called the bottom 10% who made life hard for everyone else.

Swofford exaggerates or flat-out lies about many of his experiences, i.e. peeing his pants multiple times in boot ca...more

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Feb 06, 2012

Jacob Smith rated it

In Jarhead, Anthony Swofford has written a powerful and riveting memoir of his life, particularly his involvement as a Marine during the first Persian Gulf war. He recounts his experiences in the Marine culture, the blood lust, the alternating boredom and terror, and the absurd moments including wearing camouflage uniforms because their desert ones hadn't arrived yet. He watched the burning wells rain oil on the desert and the desecration of Iraqi corpses. At the same time he became aware that b...more

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Dec 02, 2011

Trevor Stone rated it

· review of another edition

The authors purpose in writing the book Jarhead was to inform his readers about the events and his experiences he went through while being in the war. He tells his story in narritive form to keep the reader interested throughout the book. Anthony Swofford served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Surveillance and Target Acquisition/Scout-Sniper platoon.

I think the theme that the author tried to pertray was to try to show his readers what it was like for him to go through the Marines. The ...more

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Sep 27, 2010

Wsingiser rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jarhead is story of one marine and his many battles. Anthony Swofford was a marine in the Surveillance and Target Acquisition Platoon (STA pronounced stay). He attended the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. At this University, he received a Michener-Copernicus Fellowship. He currently lives in New York City where he is at work on a novel. Jarhead gives the reader an idea of what a marine’s life is like.
Anthony Swofford was a scout/sniper in the Surveillance and Target Acquisitio...more

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Sep 15, 2010

Greg Swallow rated it

I read this book because it was mentioned in another book review in the New York Times recently. I probably should have read the other book, instead.

I'm sure that going through the Marines is hell, but at the end of the book I felt that this story was mostly hype. Even with a conflict in Iraq in 1991, being in the armed forces through that two-decade period was mostly a safe proposition, and I don't buy that generally lolling around Kuwait City with nothing to do for a couple of we...more

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Sep 28, 2011

Janina rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: biography, non-fiction

Anthony Swofford joined the Marines at age 18, thus becoming a Jarhead. When he was 20 he went to war.

Swofford isn't a dumb loser who joined the marines because he didn't know what to do with his life. While reading the book it becomes clear that he wanted to join the Marines for a long, long time. Barely 18 he finally joined, after his father refused to sign the paper when he was only 17. Ultimately he became a scout sniper.

The language is at times absolutely vulgar - bu...more

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Jul 09, 2009

TBML rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone

Shelves: adventure-and-travel, biography-and-memoir, current-events-politics-and-socia, history, mark-picks

This is some of the very best war writing, and hence reading, I have ever encountered. An added bonus for me was listening to the Recorded Books, LLC version with Swofford himself narrating. Unlike some (even outstanding) authors, Mr. Swofford is a superbly accomplished reader as well, which made hearing the author's presentation of his work doubly enjoyable.

Swofford was a Marine sniper in the first Gulf War. He is unflinchingly honest in examining everything about the whole experien...more

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Sep 30, 2011

Elisha Geist rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 04, 2009

Juhi rated it

Anthony Swofford (author of this book) was sent with other U.S. Marines to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Gulf War. While living for six months there he had to learn how to be an American and learn the significance of why an American gives up his life for the army. Being a soldier, Anthony was bored and scared of everything around him, he had to learn to grow up and be proud of who he is and be ready to give up his life for all of his people. A few times in this book I encountered parts where ...more

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Feb 14, 2009

Nick rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

I liked when they were playing football in biohazard suits in the desert in the blazing sun, I didn't like when the author decided to commit suicide, I liked when his friend Troy made him run it out, I didn't like when the author lorded it over his dick friend who joined the french foreign legion, I liked when they got drunk and stayed drunk for a week, and I'm not sure if I liked him fucking the Japanese restaurant owner's daughter while her boyfriend knew about it.

Swofford comes of...more

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Aug 20, 2011

Megan rated it

I started this book thinking it would be a great read about the Marine Corps. I was highly dissapointed by Anthony Swofford's "true" stories about the war. He gave every Marine a bad reputation by his ramblings of what he calls "military life". He discusses pointless subjects loaded with profanity and sexual content. From reading this book one would get the impression that all military wives and girlfriends are cheaters and can't wait for their husbands or boyfriends to leave...more

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Dec 25, 2008

Alana Trejo rated it

My Grandpa was a Marine so I have a soft spot for them. I liked reading this memoir and learning a little more about the day to day life of a marine "in country". I've read that people find it shocking but I didn't. Honestly, what were they expecting from a bunch of highly trained killers left to their own devices in the middle of the desert. I always have wondered why in past wars the folks back home were really involved in the war effort, making bandages and working in factories,...more

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Apr 12, 2011

Jimmy Pappas rated it

Shelves: war

This is a raunchy, filthy, disgusting monologue for the most part, but I was totally hooked. I listened to it read by the author. He's not an excellent reader, but again the book kept me engrossed. It's possible that he lied about some of his details: he has been accused of that. And I would have to agree that I have my doubts about his veracity. Yet from what I experienced in the military and from what I have heard, it had the ring of basic truth. I remember going to basic training with the boo...more

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Sep 08, 2009

Eric rated it

Shelves: 11th-grade

Jarhead by Anthony Sworfford is a good example of exposing the inner side to any complex thing. People, when they hear and see the military always think about toughness, strength, power and reward. Yet, they do not see a lot of what goes behind the scenes. I think that Anthony Swartford was brave in that he was one of the first to succesffully show what happens.
This book is mainly about warfare and what goes on inside the war. A lot of pain and suffering is created and a lot of bad habi...more

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Jun 19, 2009

Carrie rated it

It was different than I thought it would be. But, I didn't really know what to expect. The movie followed the book well, but there's much more to his military service and more to the war than the movie let's one. It made me think differently about the guys I know in the service....not poorly or them, but differently. People should check this out. I was young when Desert Storm happened and this gave an interesting overview of the war and one soldiers experience. I think there a lot of men a...more

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Oct 07, 2011

Keegan Driscoll rated it

I found this book enthralling. It was a detailed description of Anthony Swofford's time in the Marine Corps, and he left nothing out. It was shockingly straightforward, brutally honest, and sometimes impressively violent. Jarhead keeps you interested 100% of the way through, using action-packed fighting scenes described so well it's almost as if you're watching a movie, not reading a book. At times the author's style seems monotonous, but i found this to be a perfect addition to the already ...more

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Sep 30, 2011

Jacob Griest rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 28, 2009

J. Shimotake rated it

This book has been on my shelf for years. Elizabeth started it but never finished it. I believe her review was "meh." Mine's a little longer.

"Jarhead" is the kind of book that a critic, under deadline pressures and a backgammon tournament in an hour, would quickly call "insightful, like Tim O'Brien before him, Swofford illuminates the dark underbelly of war all the while coming of age in the desert sun." The editor would shrug and print, worried abou...more

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About Anthony Swofford

Anthony Swofford is a former United States Marine and author of the book Jarhead, published in 2003, which is primarily based on his accounts of various situations encountered in the first Gulf War.

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Quotes from Jarhead

“I have gone to war and now I can issue my complaint. I can sit on my porch and complain all day. And you must listen. Some of you will say to me: You signed the contract, you crying bitch, and you fought in a war because of your signature, no one held a gun to your head. This is true, but because I signed the contract and fulfilled my obligation to fight one of America’s wars, I am entitled to speak, to say, I belong to a fucked situation.” — 16 people liked it

“My despair is less despair than boredom and loneliness.” — 14 people liked it

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