The Monk and the Marines

Like the hero of All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator of this bitter, honest account lives the agony of the common soldier. Blood . . . C rations . . . disease . . . courage . . . whores . . . marijuana . . . battle . . . boredom . . . and fear. The confusions of his monk’s cell traded for the harsh truths of a country with villages known as “Dogpatch” and villagers as “dogs.” A slice of hell where nearly new boots are always available outside the surgery door. To survive, a man must first kill the terror within—or he hasn’t a prayer. 

Not since Johnny Got His Gun has a book so clawed at the reader’s senses, screaming from the page—this is it . . . war . . . This is real.