A Few Good Men [Paperback]

Aaron Sorkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2010

Drama / 14m, 1f / Int. This Broadway hit about the trial of two Marines for complicity in the death of a fellow Marine at Guantanamo Bay sizzles on stage. The Navy lawyer, a callow young man more interested in softball games than the case, expects a plea bargain and a cover up of what really happened. Prodded by a female member of his defense team, the lawyer eventually makes a valiant effort to defend his clients and, in so doing, puts the military mentality and the Marine code of honor on trial. "Enormously entertaining."-N.Y. Daily News "Plenty of wise cracking humor and suspense."-Time Magazine "Fresh and adroitly updated and conditioned to our time and socio-political climate."-NY Post

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Samuel French, Inc. (June 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0573692009
• ISBN-13: 978-0573692000
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes a great movie, May 13, 2001

By 

shani (lafayette, la) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Few Good Men (Paperback)

With a Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin keeps his readers turning the page. The story of two United States Marines charged and accused of murder unfolds in the hands of the protagonist but the excitement never yields until the closing scene. The main characters in the novel work together to solve the case and prove Dawson and Downey's innocence. Sorkin gives them trouble by the antagonists being directly involved with the case. There is much conflict that repeats throughout the play. Aaron Sorkin writes in perfect vernacular with respect to military affairs. He is accurate in describing the way that all United States Marines and Navy commanders would speak in and out of proper uniform. For one example,Sorkin writes, " Sir, yes sir". He concludes many confrontations with this term because simply this is the way things run in the Navy. Also, the way that Sorkin describes the characters can create mental pictures of the way they stand and speak. His knack for great detail is an asset to the enjoyment of the play. Because this is a play, there is not much description but the writing that does include stage direction and scene change does accurately do so. The characters in the story need eachother to stay strong. Kaffee struggles with the loss of his father, years ago. He feels he is obligated to live up to his father's nearly infallible reptuation. In the beginning, JO and Kaffee do not take eachother seriously, but she is there pushing him through it in the end when he thinks he's failed. Weinberg is an asset to the investigation, yet he is pessimistic throughout the play as a defense attorney. The play in itself is great and it would make a great movie (which it did). I believe that if it had been written as a novel, the value of the writing would be far greater. But, because it was a screenplay, it had not had enough room for elaborate description. On the other hand, the dialect is intense and incredible.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not since Hamlet...., March 20, 2011

By 

David Seaman (Boston) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Few Good Men (Paperback)

By now, everyone with an open eye knows about Aaron Sorkin, if not for his record breaking and brilliant work on "The West Wing" then for "Sports Night" or, my favorite, "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip." But these are all television and granted they represent the best of television for the past 20 years,
AAron Sorkin started out as a playwrite and his big break through was with the two act play "A Few Good Man" which was later turned into a film. EVERYONE remembers Jack Nicholson, on the witness stand, in his Colonel Best Dress, pushed to the edge by Tom Cruise, screaming, "You Can't Handle the Truth!" This line is now an American cloiche. I don't know about the rest of America but "A Few Good Men" is what made me aware of Gitmo and caused me to look into it so that when, under the reign of President Bush II, when it became famous as a war camp for terrorist possibles, we already knew what we were dealing with. I'd direct this play this summer, except it has only one female role in it. in many ways, "A Few Good Men" is remarkably important to American culture and counter-culture.

It began in this small script and we see the brilliance of how he constructed this highly complicated story and told it on a small stage without ONE SINGLE VISIBLE SET CHANGE ever. Some of you won't appreciate that, but trust me, in regard to writing, it's brilliant.

If you liked any of the things I mention above (or his other films, "An American President" and "Charile Wilson's War" to nbame just a few) then buy this script; and buy the Samuel French version so that you see exactly what the original cast and staff were working from. By the time you're on page six you will see it all in your head, you will have forgotten that this isn't real people talking. Sorkin's ability to write dialogue is like listening to a duet by Steve Sondheim. It comes from brilliance, praqctice, and the pressure of a deadline.

Aaron Sorkin is today's William Shakespeare. See if you can get his autograph while you can. He's three years younger than I am- a mere 46. i can't wait to see what's ahead. I hear rumpors of "Follies", speaking of Steve Sondheim.

8 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Few Good Men, January 12, 2000

By 

Stefan Beckerbauer (Munich, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Few Good Men (Paperback)

I consider this book as one of the best I have ever read. It is fascinating, thrilling and you can`t lay it down until you`ve finished it. I pay a great deal of respect to the author Aaron Sorkin.