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Johnny Got His Gun Audiobook
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(4.00) - 12,813 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
This was no ordinary war. This was a war to make the world safe for democracy. And if democracy was made safe, then nothing else mattered—not the millions of dead bodies, nor the thousands of ruined lives…. This is no ordinary novel. This is a novel that never takes the easy way out: it is shocking, violent, terrifying, horrible, uncompromising, brutal, remorseless, and gruesome...but so is war.
Johnny Got His Gun holds a place as one of the classic antiwar novels. First published in 1939, Dalton Trumbo's story of a young American soldier terribly maimed in World War I—he "survives" armless, legless, and faceless, but with his mind intact—was an immediate bestseller. This fiercely moving novel was a rallying point for many Americans who came of age during World War II, and it became perhaps the most popular novel of protest during the Vietnam era.
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"I found this book so depressing but very good. Its like watching a horrible train wreck, you just cant avert your eyes. Totally anti-war, but the way its written, I think it can convince anyone to be an absolute anti-war activist. The book is excellent, just by how persuasive it is. "
— davie916 (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Mr. Trumbo sets this story down almost without pause or punctuation and with a fury amounting to eloquence.”
— New York Times -
Powerful…an eye-opener.
— Michael Moore -
“It is hard to imaging a more persuasive argument for staying out of war than this smooth, savage, brilliant tale.”
— Chicago Daily News
Johnny Got His Gun Listener Reviews
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" I read this junior year of high school, and to this day its the best grade I've ever received on an essay. I titled it "Dead Meat" and I wrote it in Trig class right before turning it in the next period. Thanks, Mr. Kelly! "
— Arielle, 2/20/2014 -
" I read this book in jr. high school... I was (embarrassingly) inspired to read it by Metallica's video for "One," and low and behold discovered a beautifully written story about a terrible war tragedy. The descriptions and authors imagination was so vivid and moving. "
— Tiffani, 2/12/2014 -
" Great book but when I read it, it was just before I was about to be drafted for the Vietnam war. Not a good time to read it! Thankfully, I never was drafted. "
— Rod, 2/7/2014 -
" An attack disguised as a story. A little too preachy for me. "
— Josh, 1/29/2014 -
" Every time I read this book I like it less and less. I mean, it's okay, but I'm done. "
— Brooke, 1/23/2014 -
" Can't really say much as it's the ending that makes this book great, and I can't talk about that, can I? Superb, however, and certainly doesn't read like it's 75 years old. Should be compulsory reading in all schools everywhere. "
— Richard, 1/18/2014 -
" An absolute must for any critical reader. "
— Steph, 1/12/2014 -
" A fantastic book! Truly shocking and truthful. "
— Jennifer, 1/6/2014 -
" a fine example of anti-war literature that is as relevant today as it was when it was written after WWI. Psychologically terrifying at times and heart rendering at others, It makes you appreciate life in a whole new way while it enrages you and leaves you questioning humanity and its bloodlust. "
— Liz, 12/18/2013 -
" I read this book about 35 years ago and I still go back to it in my mind. It left quite an impression. "
— Joanne, 8/23/2013 -
" War! What is it good for? "
— Mic, 7/22/2013 -
" Saddest, most horrifying book in the world. "
— Hanna, 6/14/2013 -
" haunted me for months - like going through a living nightmare. war certainly is hell but i never looked at it from this particular vantage point - a glimpse into the left over damaged, in the extreme. an important book. heart wrenching. no wonder it was banned. "
— Becky, 4/28/2013 -
" This is the book our bookclub is currently reading. Wow - it's a heavy, heavy book and hard to read at times. "
— Suzanne, 4/11/2013 -
" If I ever need motivation to sign one of those "do not resuscitate" forms, this is it. "
— Ariana, 3/1/2013 -
" This is the mother of all anti-war books. Quite possibly the most depressing book I have ever read. It has been virtually immortalized by Metallica as the theme of a song of theirs. "
— dale, 8/4/2012 -
" I read this per Howard Zinn's recommendation. It is absolutely terrifying, in a good way of course. "
— Alla, 5/13/2012 -
" This book will really make you consider what the true atrocities of war are. My oldest brother recommended it to me when I was about 12 years old and it has stuck with me. "
— Carolyne, 4/26/2012 -
" This had a profound effect on me around 1970 ehn I first read it. The Vietnam war was raging...and so was I. "
— Pat, 4/15/2012 -
" What an amazing story of the horrors of war. "
— Emily, 3/14/2012 -
" a living dead man = an interesting concept. no limbs and no face "
— Stephen, 1/14/2012 -
" This was a very good story, yet so depressing. I can't and don't want to imagine what the charactor Joe went through. What were the doctors thinking?? Why would you put someone through what he went through?? Playing God I guess!! "
— Janet, 1/14/2012 -
" Everyone needs to read this book. Everyone. "
— Leah, 10/21/2011 -
" Probably the most depressing book I've ever read, but also really damned good. "
— Rob, 9/5/2011 -
" Even the ending of this book is depressing, but it sure did make me think. "
— Erica, 6/9/2011 -
" I liked the free flowing thought but hated the repitition. It seems like sentences would begin with the same thing over and OVER! The last 50 pages was worth most of the monotony. "
— Nathan, 6/4/2011 -
" I am extremely anti-war. Reading this book was a mind opener for me. I loved it. I would have to say that 'Johnny Got His Gun', is and will remain my favorite book of all time. "
— Casey, 5/31/2011 -
" I read this book in high school. The character and his story are burned in my memory forever. Powerful, powerful book. The crushing exposure of the war machine's impact on the human spirit is comparable to Orwell's 1984. "
— Chance, 5/19/2011 -
" Reading this along with Starship Troopers should be required of every high schooler. "
— Dave, 5/17/2011 -
" WOW! I actually felt panic, claustrophobia, and sorrow while reading this. "
— He-who-must-not-be-named, 5/16/2011 -
" I read this in high school and had trouble trying to figure out if the main character was speaking in the present or referring back to the past. The movie was the only thing to help me figure it out. "
— Allison, 5/4/2011 -
" Powerful as all hell. Provokes a lot of thought about war and the savagery of it, those who make war and those who fight it. "
— Scott, 4/30/2011 -
" One of the most gut-wrenching books I have ever read, and a terrible inditement to war and its savagery. Reality - I doubt that WW I woudl have had the bility to keep someone alive who was this badly injured, but that s not the point. A supurbly, disturbing anti-war novel. "
— Trish, 4/18/2011
About Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo (1905–1976), a screenwriter and novelist, was among the most prolific and important literary figures of his time. Dalton’s screenwriting credits include Kitty Foyle, for which he received an Academy Award nomination; Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo; and Sparticus. His books include Eclipse, The Time of the Toad, The Devil in the Book, and Washington Jitters. Johnny Got His Gun, the most highly acclaimed work of Trumbo’s extraordinary career, won a National Book Award (then known as an American Book Sellers Award) in 1939.
About William Dufris
William Dufris attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland-Gorham before pursuing a career in voice work in London and then the United States. He has won more than twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards, was voted one of the Best Voices at the End of the Century by AudioFile magazine, and won the prestigious Audie Award in 2012 for best nonfiction narration. He lives with his family in Maine.