No Time for Sergeants: A Novel

by Mac Hyman

"No Time For Sergeants" by Mac Hyman. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Plays, Classics, Historical Fiction, Military Fiction, War

214 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS, first published in 1954, details the mishaps of farm boy Will Stockdale who is (unfortunately for some) drafted into the Air Force.

With an uneducated southern dialect, Will narrates his disastrously crazy encounters that result in a plain old super-silly bunch of fun and laughs.

Although I did enjoy this quick read, watching Andy Griffith play Will on screen was much funnier.

(sorry we lost Mac Hyman at such a young age)

[Tom Mathews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this goofy story. It's a humorous look at a country boy who gets drafted into the Air Force. I'm not sure whether the main theme is country bumpkin Will Stockdale's difficulties in adapting to military life or if it's the military's difficulty in dealing with country bumpkin Will Stockdale.

Having seen the movie when I was a teenager. I couldn't help hearing Andy Griffith's voice as Will described his adventures.

I'd like to thank Lynn at On the Southern Literary Trail group for selecting this book and giving me the opportunity to read and discuss it with others.

[Connie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

No Time for Sergeants is hilarious! Will Stockdale, a country bumpkin from Georgia, is drafted into the service and sent to boot camp during World War II. He's a character similar to Gomer Pyle or Forrest Gump. Will is naive to the ways of the world, but with enough common sense to land on his feet. He drives Sergeant King absolutely crazy, so the sergeant coaches him so he'll pass the Air Force tests just to get Will out of his barracks.

The book was adapted for TV, a Broadway play, and a movie. Youtube has some great clips of Andy Griffith playing Will Stockdale that are sure to put a smile on your face.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, easy, and funny novel about an uneducated good ole boy from Georgia who unwittingly outsmarts his ranking officers when he is drafted into the Air Force. His honesty and country logic win out every time. It was filmed as a movie starring Andy Griffith, and since I had seen the movie a few years ago, I heard his voice narrating the whole thing. Perfect casting!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a hoot. I go back to an Andy Griffith episode in a scene where Andy tells Ernest T, "you're not no account, you're just ignorant." Well, Will Stockdale isn't no account he's just a country boy that is somewhat ignorant of things in life and in the military. Not a book for everybody. The dialect of a country bumpkin from Georgia could drive a person mad and Stockdale's thought process could drive a reader insane, but me....I had a blast. That was a fun read. I love reading books that have some age to them. This was written in 1954.
Note: Author's daughter is Gwyn Hyman Rubio who wrote Icy Sparks

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fiercely cynical look at the US army through the optimistically clouded eyes of its narrator - a dialect-talking backwoods boy unaccustomed to the darker nature of city dwellers and bureaucrats.

The only novel published during his short life, the author drew upon his own military experience and - with adaptations for stage screen and TV - helped propel Andy Griffin, Don Knotts, and Jim Nabors to stardom.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've never read this book, you've missed one of the greatest Southern books of all time. It inspired an equally funny movie, and when placed beside Forest Grump, it trumps!

[Lwg63 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a lot of firsts for me. This was the first book I can remember reading just because I wanted something to do during a long hot nothing to do summer. I was bored and my mother in desperation said: "why don't you read a book". So I found this one and read it. It was so funny. I think it was the first time I laughed out loud while reading a book. It later became a movie staring Andy Griffith and I remember thinking for the first time that "the book was better than the movie". It is about a country boy who is very unaware of the real world, especial the “army way” of doing thing. It is an easy read and I think you will enjoy it.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a mildly hilarious spoof of the military and the conformity that drives it. I say mildly because some sections made me laugh a lot but others fell flat. The problem in my case was that I have seen the movie version several times. Reading the book did not work so well for me because I knew most of the big moments coming up. I still laugh over "Permanent Latrine Orderly" but it's not as funny when you're looking for it. I also think the film tightened up the story, cutting parts of the book that do not work so well while making the story more effective. Still, it was fun to read the narration and be able to hear it in Andy Griffith's voice.

[Rick Bavera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can honestly say I never saw the movie, and this is the first I ever saw the book.

There was some humor in it. But I also saw much of it predictable, especially the turn of events toward the end with the airplane.

But I enjoyed the read.

[John Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel, which was translated into a play by Ira Levin and a film starring Andy Griffith and Nick Adams, is the story of an uneducated and naive Georgia hillbilly, Will Stockdale, who is drafted into the Air Force during the 1950s. This book was also the inspiration for the television sit-com, Gomer Pyle. Andy Griffin captured Will's narration and speech.

Although the film was generally true to the film, I was fascinated in what changes were made. For example, the scene in the movie when Will is caught speechless encountering a female officer, the same scene in the book involves a black officer. I guess both were telling of the times when this book was published in 1954.

Generally, each page elicited a chuckle but I could not read it without the film running in my head, which is why I don't like to watch movies before reading the book.

[Patricia Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book three stars for the humor that kept me laughing throughout. It was a read for a southern writers book club and I love reading something I would not have picked. Another interesting aside to this book is that the writers daughter is Gwen Rubio who wrote Icy Sparks, an Oprah bookclub read. The main character is southern to the core and good at heart. Everything his protagonists do to rid themselves or him seems to backfire because he is just good at heart and always thinks the best of others. If I could give it a three point five I would. I woke my dogs laughing at the last page. The book is out of print but I managed to find a used copy on eBay for 99 cents plus shipping. It is available for sharing.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A ditsy Huck Finn yarn that wears out its welcome before Will even gets to the draft board.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Real rating: 2 1/2 stars

*yawn*

I have a hard time not finishing books, but I finally have to admit defeat on this books, one hundred and twenty pages in. Not that this book was horrible, but it was so incredibly boring--which is hard to do when the setting is WWII.

I could see how this could become a smash hit of a movie, as that could really play up the humor, but when it comes to the book, I feel like there's hardly a plot and the humor is dulled by the fact that the main character is so dull.

Will is such a forgettable main character. He always does his best to please others and doesn't understand anything going on around him because he's so backwoods. I didn't mind the backwoods part, as that was where much of the humor comes from--him not understanding the real intentions/meanings of what people say and do--but he was so eager to please that there really isn't much trouble in the book. I mean, there is some trouble because nobody wants him, but he doesn't realize there's trouble and I really don't care enough about him to care where he ends up.

So, while it wasn't an awful book and I felt the author captured Will's speech well, it was too boring for me to finish.

[Frederic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has not aged well. It's a fairly early book using critical humor directed at the military, and that dimension still resonates to some extent, but the humor revolves primarily around dialect, rural identity, and in places race, and is often problematic in the context of today. Much better off watching the movie version (and even that might not work for younger audiences)....

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sergeant hates the amiable new draftee, Will Stockdale. He is trying everything to get Will in trouble, and one night he decides to take Will out drinking. It ends somewhat like this;
The sergeant, he done decided to wash his car while we were headed home. So they all decided to find some water. The ocean is right there, so he drove into the ocean. Lissen to that power! Lissen to it! When the car stopped, he and the others jumped out and started sloshin' water all over the car. But I got tired, so I jest went on back to the barracks and went to bed. Mixin' too many drinks makes me sleepy.
And the only one of this group that doesn't get in trouble? Will, who was obviously not a part of it because he wasn't even hung over!
This is probably the funniest, most laugh out loud book I have ever read.

[Drew Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sure most of you have heard of the famous film which brought Andy Griffith and Don Knotts together for the first time. Did you know there was a novel behind the film? I didn’t. I’ve had the film for a few months now on loan from Netflix. After learning the film was first a novel, I couldn’t watch it, but had to find the novel and read it first, then watch the film, and review both. Mac Hyman’s 1954 novel, No Time for Sergeants, is nowhere near as beloved or celebrated as the film adaptation. GoodReads has it hovering around a 3.6 rating. I thought the rating couldn’t be right, but it’s generous after reading, or trying to read. Unfortunately for me, I found another title to add to the infamous “so bad I couldn’t finish” shelf...

To read the rest of this review go to https://drewmartinwrites.wordpress.co...

[Rhonda Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read this novel, though I just watched Andy Griffith's movie again. The first time was in an Air Force base theater. The recruits howled at the "They call them Air-Men" scene. The writer was one of those ex-WWII servicemen who wrote about their military experiences.

One scene was changed from the novel: when Private Will Stockdale sees his first woman officer. In the novel, he saw his first black officer. The scene works perfectly either way. The last part of the movie, when Will and his buddy Ben end up on a misguided airplane, seems to have been tacked on; I can't remember the novel's ending. It's not nearly as good as the rest of the movie and probably had different writers.

[Rex Libris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first encountered No Time for Sergeants in its form as TV special. Andy Griffith plays a complete hayseed who is drafted into the Air Force and subsequently drives his sergeant crazy. The TV special was adapted from the full-length movie, which was adapted by Ira Levin from this book.

While I enjoyed the book, it is second to Griffith's portrayal of the character. I normally like books better than the movies, but in this case it is turned around. The adaptation and the actors give a better life to the story than the book.

This is obviously where Griffith got the idea for the Gomer Pyle spin-off from the Andy Griffith Show. Gomer and Sgt. Carter are the heirs of William Stockdale and Sgt. King.

[Cody Gillespie-Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this in 10th grade, having found it in the school library. I found it quite amusing but due to school work and other things, I eventually stopped reading it. I always planned on finishing it, but never got around to it. Then about six years later, having run out of things to read, while travelling, I came across a copy at an English Language bookstore in Guatemala, and read it. It is a very funny spoof of 1950's american military life.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I watched this movie starring Andy Griffith when I was a teenager and didn't know it was based on a book until I came across this copy in a used bookstore. A country bumpkin who has never been out of the backwoods of Georgia is drafted into the armed forces. The movie version was funnier and more sanitized if I remember correctly. It took me a while to get the voice of the narrator, but by the end I was laughing out loud at how things resolved.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this as a teenager, and I think I chuckled constantly through the whole book. I've since read it a couple more times, and it was as funny the third time as is my memory of the first. The combination of country, small-town naïveté and the occasional glimpses of wisdom learned from a hardscrabble life of work and sacrifice also made this book and it's characters special to me.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A silly and entertaining quick read, if a bit politically incorrect. The racist slang occasionally used by the main character can be off-putting but that's the way people talked in the 40s, especially people from the south. Still funny and worth a look.

[Judith Wrinkle]

This book made me laugh out loud, it was very, very funny. Read it years ago.

[Samson · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the rare occasions that the movie was an improvement from the book.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read back in the 80s

[Michael Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watch the film. It is far better than the book. There are differences but they do not really matter.
A country bumpkin gets drafted into the US Army. The book takes several chapters before Will Stockdale gets to the base but it is done quickly in the movie. He meets his new buddy, Ben and bully Irving as well as the long suffering Sgt King. King recognises him as an idiot and tries to sideline him but Stockdale gives the game away and he is inducted into the Air Force.
Will and Ben are sent on a mission, missing the radio operator, etc and end up going over Yucca Flats as a nuclear bomb is about to be tested. It is thought the two died in the test but they parachuted out and sneaked back to base. They have been awarded posthumous medals in front of the world's media, "to the brave men who died", only to find they are still alive. The only way out of this is to quietly transfer them to the Infantry, which is done in a remote location and the long suffering King gets posted with them.
Hyman wrote some other stories but died of a heart attack aged just 39.

[Lukerik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever stagecraft. Stackpole is on stage at town meeting in Hicksville, Alabama telling the story of how he got his medal. The theatre audience are the townsfolk. As he tells the story it’s staged behind him and he can move in and out of the action.

It’s very funny. I was laughing from the first stage direction.

‘The house curtain rises on a second curtain, that of the “Callville Township Meeting Hall,” on which is depicted a horde of Confederate soldiers surging on toward victory.’

We’re invited to laugh at Stackpole’s poverty and culture, his ignorance and mental deficiencies. And because Levin is some sort of bastard he made me laugh at all these things. However as the play goes on we see his good qualities. Simplicity and honesty, bravery and kindness. By the end it’s the army that’s dysfunctional and ill-equipped.

I’ve not read the novel. I can only assume this adaptation isn’t a total travesty.