Johnny Got His Gun

May 26, 2008
This audio edition of Trumbo's classic 1939 novel of war's insanity begins as a bit of a slog because of the lengthy padding at its start. With two introductions, from Cindy Sheehan and Ron Kovic, that attempt to place the novel in the context of more recent armed conflicts in both Iraq and Vietnam, it is the better part of a disc before the book properly begins. Once it does, though, the slog ceases. Trumbo's novel is spine-tingling in its immediacy and horror, and William Dufris (while occasionally fumbling around in his bag of voices) mostly gives the words room to breathe. For this book, little more is necessary. A Citadel paperback.

August 1, 2007
Trumbo's horrific 1939 novel of World War I garnered the National Book Award and kudos from critics. The book resurfaced as one of the leading protest novels during the Vietnam era. With current events as they are, the antiwar book will no doubt find a new audience. This edition includes a new foreword by Cindy Sheehan and a readers' guide. Nonfiction

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