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Johnny Got His Gun (Penguin Modern Classics) [Paperback]

Dalton Trumbo , E. L. Doctorow
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
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Book Description

30 July 2009 0141189819 978-0141189819

It was the war to end all wars, the global struggle that would finally make the world safe for democracy - at any cost. But one American soldier has paid a price beyond measure. And within the disfigured flesh that was once a vision of youth lives a spirit that cannot accept what the world has become.

An immediate bestseller upon its first publication in 1939, Trumbo's stark, profoundly troubling masterpiece about the horrors of the First World War brilliantly crystallized the uncompromising brutality of war and became the most influential protest novel of the Vietnam era. As timely as ever.


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Johnny Got His Gun (Penguin Modern Classics) + Johnny Got His Gun [DVD] [1971]
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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics (30 July 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141189819
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141189819
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.7 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 67,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'Powerful ... an eye-opener' - Michael Moore 'A book that can never be forgotten by anyone who reads it' Saturday Review

About the Author

Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976) was among the most prolific and important literary figures of his time. One of the famous Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify about his alleged Communist affiliations before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. Johnny Got His Gun won a National Book Award in 1939.

E.L. Doctorow is one of America's most accomplished and acclaimed living writers. Winner of the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award (twice), the PEN/Faulkner Award, and the National Humanities Medal, he is the author of nine novels that have explored the drama of American life from the late 19th century to the 21st.


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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An extremely powerful and disturbing story. 8 Jun 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
There are few books which I can honestly say have altered my outlook on life, whose covers I have closed a different person. "Johnny got his gun" is one of them, though I fear I lack the eloquence to persuade you to read it.

It tells the story of a World War One soldier, horrifically wounded in battle to the point where he is totally cut off from the outside world. With only his memories for company, he attempts to make sense of his situation, and make the most of his world, such as it is. After a long time (having no way to measure time at first, he can be no more precise than this), he eventually manages to communicate with the staff attending him in hospital, and then with his army commanders.

Trumbo's masterstroke is, to my mind, quite subtle: he hardly uses any punctuation at all, save for full stops. This relates very effectively the disordered stream of the soldier's thoughts, and at times, makes the prose all the more disturbing.

His protests to the outside world, first unheard and later ignored, are extremely powerful and moving, and make the book as a whole demand repeat readings.

Everyone should me made to read this book at sometime or another.

(In case you were wondering, the other life-altering books were "One flew over the cuckoo's nest", "Slaughterhouse five", "Farenheit 351" and "1984" - read them all.)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Why politicians never fight wars themselves 3 July 2002
Format:Paperback
Next time you watch a "smart-bomb" create a puff of smoke on a green screen, or, you see the clouds of dust settling on a hill in Afghanistan or Iraq you might be forgiven for thinking that war really is now "clinical", "painless" and "humane".

This book illustrates what war looks like up-close and personal, from an author black-listed for "un-American" behaviour. Every time you see a bomb exploding you never see the real casualties. These are too graphic to appear on TV and therefore we are safely insulated from seeing what we are responsible for. But the pictures themselves show only half the truth.

This book lays bare the reality of suffering and the stark reality that war, for whatever reason, is not glorious. It is not honourable. It is not heroic.
It illustrates how the with the best intentions and through being caught up in patriotic or nationalistic ferver your life can be taken and never returned. All the while, those who choose to start war never, ever have to put their lives on the line.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Previous reviews suggested that this would be a thought provoking book, but believe me they cannot prepare you for the effect this book will have. It not only provides a disturbing insight into the horrors faced by one man, but makes you question the very foundations upon which western society is based. You could struggle for a lifetime with the issues raised by this book and never find answers. Trumbo's dialogues are a moving and powerful expression of one man's hell. The book is beautifully written and the lack of punctuation only makes the text more compelling.

Do not be mislead or detered by the title, this is not a war story in the traditional sense; it is so much more. I cannot recommend this book highly enough but if you only read one book in your entire lifetime it should be this one!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Limbless, eyeless but trapped in thoughts
Taking an extreme position and imagining what life would be like, Dalton Trumbo inhabits a living corpse and recollects life without limb, eyesight, smell or taste. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Dr. Delvis Memphistopheles
5.0 out of 5 stars Johnny Got His Gun
I'm not sure how the majority of people who read this book heard about it but for me it was through the song 'One' by Metallica. Read more
Published 22 months ago by josh L
5.0 out of 5 stars Gut Wrenching
one of the best books i have aver read. A true enditement of the horrors of war and the politicians who continue to send our boys to die to this day. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2010 by verbal kint
4.0 out of 5 stars Go Get Your gun...
I stumbled across this book completely by accident whilst hunting down new things to read on Amazon.

Wow. This book is intense. Read more
Published on 25 May 2010 by Ms. C. Hankinson
4.0 out of 5 stars Johnny Got His Gun
Got book on time and in an OK condition. The book is definately not for the faint hearted.
Published on 10 Feb 2010 by Prem Mehra
5.0 out of 5 stars A sensorial whorlwind
I love this book, upheld as one of the greatest anti war novels, and so it should be. The main character's narrative slowly but surely draws you in and the gradual severity and... Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2009 by Ms. Sally Atkinson
1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious, boring...typical lefty drivel
Anyone who comes up with the original "Give this to Bush" really does have their head up their own ass.

War only occurs because conditions WORSE THAN WAR exist. Read more
Published on 4 May 2008 by David Campbell
3.0 out of 5 stars Fails to Make Its Point Convincingly
This book chronicles the intermittent dreams and growing consciousness of a young man who wakes up in an army hospital and gradually becomes conscious enough to realize that he's... Read more
Published on 30 April 2008 by Jeri Massi
4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, thought provoking and very sad
I read this book about ten years ago and am re reading it again now. It is one of those stories that stays with you for a long time and makes you think about the realities of war. Read more
Published on 19 Aug 2005 by Toni
5.0 out of 5 stars Passionate Read About the Qualities of Human Life
Well what can i say? At first, once hearing the synopsis, i was quite skeptical. Most war novels, in my opinion, lack the narrative initiative to keep my attention sustained. Read more
Published on 17 April 2004 by Lousson
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