The Things They Carried (original 1990; edição 2009)

A collection of stories from someone who was a junior enlisted draftee in an infantry unit during the Vietnam War. He had some pretty good stories about the others in his platoon, and those were best because they were without his postwar anti-war rationalizations. The audiobook, which was great, included a more current-day account of the author’s return, and that wasn’t particularly good. ( )

THIS is the book every English major should read. On the surface, it's a story of Vietnam. But really, it's the story of ourselves. ( )

Great book for an independent read especially for students interested in the military. ( )

Masterful storytelling: a sequence of stories that twist and turn and bounce off each other; writing so powerful that it steals your breath; it captures the moral confusion that is the legacy of the Vietnam War.

The Things They Carried is a must-read story for anyone looking for an adventure-filled or war-educating novel. I myself was not expecting to love this book as much as I did because I typically am not as drawn towards "war based" novels. However, this story is one that was incredibly eye-opening and left me feeling grateful for the soldiers that fight for their country. Specifically, it accurately focuses in on certain war stories and what the realities are of being a soldier. The details are what really makes this novel great. The specificities give the reader a clear understanding of what these soldiers are going through and how the struggles effected them. The title is very appropriate because the soldiers that came to war carried many burdens; some of them the physical burdens, such as the large weapons, and some of them the mental burdens such as, losing a friend or comrade amongst the war. I would highly recommended this book. ( )