"Generation Kill"

[Scrim]

Just got this book by Evan Wright. The same bloke who wrote the Articles in Rolling Stone "The Killer Elite" about the Marines in First Recon.
If you read the articles in RS you will enjot this, more of the same, pretty good so far.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0399151931/qid=1088088652/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-3114527-6341532

Heres what I didnt know though. On the back cover it says the "Killer Elite" is being made into a mini-series by HBO! Rejoice! I think HBO has a good track record with their shows and this sounds like another good project. Hopefully they wont **** it up to bad.

[gaz]

I'm about three quarters of the way through this one at the moment and am finding it very interesting, particularly the way Wright both praises the Marines Corps and points out what he considers to be it's problems.

[MetalBoy]

I dunno, that title is a little too subtle for my tastes.

[Maj C]

My buddy was with 1st Recon Bn but steered clear of this guy...note the author's previous experience was editor of Hustler.

He said just like any author the guy had an agenda so take it with a pinch of salt too!

[Maj C]

double

[obd]

Hey all. Just finished the book "Generation Kill" yesterday.......My buddy is a Marine and the author definately got alot of details correct from thier slang to the fact that today's Marines are a mix of "jarheads" and A+ students, rich and poor. Some come from stable homes and others from broken homes....Some joined up to escape jail or gangs and others to escape a soft and meaningless existence while others were simply disenfranchised by capitalist corporate America and sought another way of life.......but above all, every single one of them is a Marine first!!!!

Overall, I found the book to be interesting.........The most interesting thing about it was that it brought home to me the fact that its still possible to take white, black, Mexican, Chinese, (etc) poor, rich, smart and stupid......then mix them all up through shared experience, and make them brothers in arms.......In short, despite the books graphic and violent story, I got the encouraging feeling that it showed we can all get along as human beings and even become closer than brothers if we are just willing to break through socio-economic barriers and get to know eachother.........God I sound like a puke........but hey its true though.....The Marine system really does work.....it really does create cohesive fighting units and other militaries (including the US Army) have alot to learn from the USMC!!!!!

Oh yeah, and it was a funny book too....Private Person's was the funniest Marine there......I mean, "NAMBLA" conspiracy? WOW!!! While he was good comic relief, I think I would end up killing the kid if I was stuck in a HUMVEE with him for a month!!!! (or at least confiscating his supply of Ripped Fuel anyway)

[Scrim]

Finally finished it. Must say I enjoyed it very much. Definately brought back some memories.
It was way better than Jarhead, which was good, but Swofford obviously had some kind of grudge against the Corps. And to be honest I thought he came off as a bit of a pussy.
On the other hand, Generation Kill was written by a civillian, who I think has a bit of a hard-on for Marines.
Highly recommended.(Like I'm some kind of reviewer or something.)

[Dennis G]

Did anyone take a look at "This Mans Army"


http://www.militarybookclub.com/doc/mil/GlobalData/GlobalImages/BookJacketsLarge/663328_lg.jpg

[Dennis G]

The author of This Man’s Army went to an Ivy League school but shot an M-16 better than anyone in his ROTC unit. He knew Shakespeare back and forth but killed al Qaeda fighters with the best of them. He’s not the type of guy you often read about—a man who gave up the kind of high-paying Wall Street job all his classmates had landed, to become a full-time fighter. His job began in earnest when he and his unit shipped out to Afghanistan after 9/11.

This exciting, insightful combat memoir takes you from Ranger school to desert camp life to the Afghanistan’s Shah-e Kot Valley during Operation Anaconda, where he fought Osama bin Laden’s gang in a field of battle where no lines were drawn and the enemy was seemingly everywhere. “’Kill everyone you see’ was the rule of the day,” says the author about one particular area of the valley.

Readers are transported to the mountains of Afghanistan, where soldiers crawl into tiny cave openings Vietnam style to flush out al Qaeda; daisy cutter bombs make entire mountains vanish; Afghan warlords summarily execute their own soldiers for petty crimes; and the author gets his first kill. A thrilling, one-of-a-kind memoir from the War on Terror. 256 pages.

[East]

I also liked jarhead, has anyone read Spare Parts?

[Dennis G]

I want to read Spare Parts & This mans Army but I really disliked Jarhead. I'm right in the moddle of Warrior Soul.

[KB]

I liked the book a great deal. I left the Marines at the end of '84, but the unit and individuals Wright writes about gave me a feeling of deja vu. For a civilian I thought he came about as close as any to describing what its like, both the good and the bad.

[WolverineBlue]

Just picked up Generation Kill, and I think I'll be able to read it in a couple of days, since I'll be at the beach this weekend. woot

Jarhead was pretty good, in my opinion.

I'm also bringing Fever Pitch, a book about European soccer to read this weekend.

[Midtown]

I loved the articles in RS, ill have to pick that up

[WolverineBlue]

Two chapters into Generation Kill -- friggin' cool. Big up to 1st Recon.

[DE_Six]

I'm halfway through it and I'm greatly enjoying it. I also liked Jarhead a good deal, I dig this type of grunt-level accounts, discussing the individuals rather than the macro-level of operations.

[WolverineBlue]

Just noticed that the A-10's referred to in the accident with the Marines in Nasaryiah were called "Army A-10 attack jets." p. 80 :(

[Scrim]

Caught that one too. I think old Evan got "Air National Guard" and "Army National Guard" confused, added two and two and got five.