Generation Kill - Evan Wright

Generation Kill

By Evan Wright

  • Release Date: 2004-06-17
  • Genre: History
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 323 Ratings

Description

Based on Evan Wright's National Magazine Award-winning story in Rolling Stone, this is the raw, firsthand account of the 2003 Iraq invasion that inspired the HBO® original mini-series.

Within hours of 9/11, America’s war on terrorism fell to those like the twenty-three Marines of the First Recon Battalion, the first generation dispatched into open-ended combat since Vietnam. They were a new pop-culture breed of American warrior unrecognizable to their forebears—soldiers raised on hip hop, video games and The Real World. Cocky, brave, headstrong, wary and mostly unprepared for the physical, emotional and moral horrors ahead, the “First Suicide Battalion” would spearhead the blitzkrieg on Iraq, and fight against the hardest resistance Saddam had to offer.

Hailed as “one of the best books to come out of the Iraq war”(Financial Times), Generation Kill is the funny, frightening, and profane firsthand account of these remarkable men, of the personal toll of victory, and of the randomness, brutality and camaraderie of a new American War.

Reviews

  • Joyful Reading

    5
    By TingG86
    This is a bit of light reading which gives you an insight into what a daily marine life looks like in a war.
  • Generation kill

    5
    By hochgda
    True to real life from personal experience . Great book outlining the outstanding men who served in Iraqi theater during the initial invasion.
  • Couldn't get in to it.

    2
    By 
    Tried to read this a few times but I just couldn't keep interested. The pace of the book seemed strange. Usually I can't put books like these down.
  • Not what I was expecting. Kind of a let down.

    2
    By saddlegurll
    Reading the reviews I had high hopes for this book, but I am just about half way through the book and I have a few frustrations with it already. One: I have done some research and I've noticed that the author had exaggerated a few of the details, something that I, personally cannot stand so I've been treating this book as a work of fiction rather and a firsthand account of real events. Two: There is something in the way the author writes that I get a sense it was written by a teenage boy. I mean I'm not reading war books for the art of literature, but the man who wrote this is apparently a journalist, so I was expecting the writing to be a little more grown up, or at the very least better than what it is. Three: I was looking for a book that was more about the whole war, or more on the invasion force as a whole. This book is not that. Four: Since this book was not about the invasion force as a whole, I was hoping that it would provide serious insight into the way that soldiers deal with war. This book does not do that. Five: This book is not, from what I can tell, a very deep or personal account of what happened. I almost get the sense that it glorifies war; it kind of makes the war seem like one big game of Call of Duty or something. Also if this book is supposed to make you feel something, it's not doing a very good job of stirring up emotion. Not to mention there is something lacking in the way the author describes the battles, they never stick with me. When I'm done reading them, I can never really remember what happened. He seems to rush through the descriptions, kind of like if he was speaking the story he would be talking very quickly. The only things he seems to describe well are his emotions, and quite frankly I don't care what he was feeling. I'm not reading a war book to understand what it's like from a reporter’s point of view. I'm reading a war book so I can know what it was like for the soldiers fighting the battle and so I can learn about that battle. All in all, the book is not horrible just not exactly what I was looking for, so it's a little frustrating for me. Maybe it will get better as I go on.
  • Great book

    5
    By McHoofty
    Really captures the essence of the military.
  • Captain America!!!

    5
    By archman11bravo
    By far one of my favorite reads. Read it twice so far might read it a third or more in the future. Hope the HBO special dosent ruin it though.
  • My all-time favorite book

    5
    By rooster7011
    I read the original Rollingstone Magazine 3-part article. I remember walking by the PX and stumbling across this book and remembering those key word phrases from the article. I was really excited to see it made into a book. Not surprised at all that HBO took notice and made it into a great mini series!! It's such an awesome read!
  • Amazing

    5
    By Sgt.Fishy
    This is the greatest book I've ever read. I bought this book on paperback and read it 4 times. But personally, I'd rather watch the HBO series because it is so much better and you feel the emotions as much as the actors. Overall amazing book. Semper Fi Marines.
  • Completely engrossing

    5
    By beadsorbees
    I've never been to war, and almost certainly never will. This means I can't speak to the truth of what Wright has captured about the second Gulf War, but it certainly feels as real as it gets. Wright brings out the human qualities in each of his characters, but without embellishing any of their actions or words. The chaos and futility of war is on full display.
  • Phenomenal

    5
    By NovemberJuilet
    By far one of my favorite books. Even though it is set during a time of war you find yourself laughing. It shows you how all these Marines interact with each other and the brotherhood that it forms.