A good argument against Clauswitz....

Jarhead - Anthony Swofford

I have friends, relatives and even one neighbor who was a Marine. Some of them served during wartime, some were lucky enough to serve during the increasingly rare times of peace. This narrative takes us with a Marine Sniper to the Persian Gulf during the first Gulf War (or the second... or the 34th, depending on how you count) in the early 90's.
To say that Swofford's account is bleak is to admit only to reading the mere surface of the story. What is ultimately worse is the deep destructive mentality that he lays out throughout this book. There are the obvious references to a childhood of abuse, an adulthood of avarice and the structures that promote some utterly vile behavior but the real story is the utter disillusionment that happened in the Gulf to Mr. Swofford.
Just a warning if you are planning on reading this the language is typical of most of the Marines I know, and the situations the author describes are often disturbing - at best.

Rating: B