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Guts: Combat, Hell-raising, Cancer, Business Start-ups, and Undying Love: One American Guy's Reckless, Lucky Life
“This is a a package of boasts, false modesty, flawed memories, dropped names, outright errors, and embarrassing disclosures that I think are pretty neat–but may appall you, if you’re squeamish or have an orderly turn of mind.”—Robert Nylen
The thing is, Robert Nylen should have died several times in 1968. He was a goner in 2006, and 2007 as well, and yet he survived through a combination of dumb luck and sheer perseverance. Of course, as you read these words, he’s already bit the dust. But let’s not dwell on that.
A self-confessed reckless jerk, Nylen spent the last four years of his life grappling with Big Diseases (cancer, diabetes), an astonishing twelve broken bones, and ten surgeries. His lifetime total is twenty-four fractures, most of which resulted from a flagrant refusal to act his age–or anyone’s age, for that matter. And yet Guts is not a mere chronicle of injuries but a sharp and wry meditation on American Manhood.
Growing up in suburbia in the ’50s and ’60s, with a father who had worked on the atom bomb, Nylen was an immature kid who was always eager for attention. In college he became a slovenly, hard-partying fraternity brother who barely graduated. Then came the realization that he was going to have to go to Vietnam. A dramatic tour of duty came to an abrupt end with multiple wounds, leading him to grow up fast. It was then that he started the real risky business itself. Some ventures succeeded and some failed. He exercised feverishly and often displayed a complete lack of common sense. And then he got sick, inevitably, with colon cancer.
Hilarious, moving, and riveting, this is the life of a tough guy as seen through the scope of a national obsession with toughness. Whether he was facing Viet Cong as a platoon leader in Vietnam or doing battle with venture capitalists at home, Nylen never backed down from a good fight–and he had the many scars to prove it. In Guts , Robert Nylen writes with humor and precision about the travails–and glory–of manhood.
The thing is, Robert Nylen should have died several times in 1968. He was a goner in 2006, and 2007 as well, and yet he survived through a combination of dumb luck and sheer perseverance. Of course, as you read these words, he’s already bit the dust. But let’s not dwell on that.
A self-confessed reckless jerk, Nylen spent the last four years of his life grappling with Big Diseases (cancer, diabetes), an astonishing twelve broken bones, and ten surgeries. His lifetime total is twenty-four fractures, most of which resulted from a flagrant refusal to act his age–or anyone’s age, for that matter. And yet Guts is not a mere chronicle of injuries but a sharp and wry meditation on American Manhood.
Growing up in suburbia in the ’50s and ’60s, with a father who had worked on the atom bomb, Nylen was an immature kid who was always eager for attention. In college he became a slovenly, hard-partying fraternity brother who barely graduated. Then came the realization that he was going to have to go to Vietnam. A dramatic tour of duty came to an abrupt end with multiple wounds, leading him to grow up fast. It was then that he started the real risky business itself. Some ventures succeeded and some failed. He exercised feverishly and often displayed a complete lack of common sense. And then he got sick, inevitably, with colon cancer.
Hilarious, moving, and riveting, this is the life of a tough guy as seen through the scope of a national obsession with toughness. Whether he was facing Viet Cong as a platoon leader in Vietnam or doing battle with venture capitalists at home, Nylen never backed down from a good fight–and he had the many scars to prove it. In Guts , Robert Nylen writes with humor and precision about the travails–and glory–of manhood.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 25, 2023
I really enjoyed this Book, and the Author was truly Gutsy, and lived the Life triumphant...!
August 5, 2010
I was introduced to this book by the late author's daughter. She is an incredible jewelry designer and lovely, creative woman living in Massachusettes. She posted a video of her father speaking about his book shortly after his death, and I became intrigued by the story.
It's safe to say I polished this book off in about three days last summer. My husband was away, and I spent afternoons floating in the pool while taking in the amazing, sometimes unbelievably tragic, and always sardonically told tales in Nylen's memoir. Sure--anyone could write an account of their life (especially one that involved war). But Nylen's voice is strong, his dedication to his family is inspiring, and his ability to maintain faith in himself and his ambitions leaps off each page.
Actually I purchased a copy of this for my Dad, as well. It's one of my favorites, and I'll probably re-read it someday (if only to once again enjoy Nylen's mix of sarcasm, wit, and of course--guts).
It's safe to say I polished this book off in about three days last summer. My husband was away, and I spent afternoons floating in the pool while taking in the amazing, sometimes unbelievably tragic, and always sardonically told tales in Nylen's memoir. Sure--anyone could write an account of their life (especially one that involved war). But Nylen's voice is strong, his dedication to his family is inspiring, and his ability to maintain faith in himself and his ambitions leaps off each page.
Actually I purchased a copy of this for my Dad, as well. It's one of my favorites, and I'll probably re-read it someday (if only to once again enjoy Nylen's mix of sarcasm, wit, and of course--guts).
January 3, 2010
I guess you'd have to describe this meandering book as a "memoir", but it reveals little about the late author other than he was consistently unlucky for most of his life. For those of us old enough to remember "Li'l Abner", Nylen resembles the character "Joe Btfsplk" who wandered about with a black cloud hovering over him.
For all its technical flaws, this is a pretty good read and I found myself rooting for the guy to survive.
For all its technical flaws, this is a pretty good read and I found myself rooting for the guy to survive.
March 31, 2013
I was not a fan. Robert Nylen is a super likeable guy but the writing was so random and disjointed and rambling that there was LOTS of skimming throughout the whole book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews