Customer Reviews

Guts: Combat, Hell-raising, Cancer, Business Start-ups, and Undying Love: One American Guy's Reckless, Lucky Life

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I was lucky enough to know Bob Nylen, the author. But as I read his remarkable book, I thought about the gift the book is to the many people not fortunate enough to have met Bob. His humor and voice are truly remarkable. As Peter Kann said in the Wall Street Journal rave review, Bob's writing about Vietnam is in a class with the greats. Bob's humor, self-deprecation and bravery are on display throughout this unusual memoir.

I just downloaded this book to my Kindle2. I couldn't put it down until it was too dark to read. (I am camping right now) Every sentence sparks a fire of interest that keeps a person reading the excitement. His style of short, powerful sentences is gutsy, I am really glad he wrote his memoirs. I hope his widow, Kit, makes a fortune.

I contrast to one of the other reviews, I was able to read "Guts" only in small bites although I was - and remain - fascinated by it. His treatment of our mortality, the frailties of the human body, and the inexorableness of death are as good as I have ever read anywhere.

Poignant coming of age memoir of youth, combat, business, cancer, life and death, told in an unusual but engaging stacatto style.

It is hard for me to be objective about Guts...I played high school soccer with the author (in the early 60's)and reconnected with him when we were both at Wharton almost 10 years later. My next "contact" was reading his obituary in the New York Times last Christmas. I made a mental note to seek out the book when it was published but it slipped by me until I found the newspaper clipping this fall while cleaning my desk. I immediately ordered it on Amazon.

As we often say, "Who Knew?" Bob Nylen's memoir would be a compelling and powerful read even if it stopped with his chilling account of his combat experience in Viet Nam. But it doesn't stop there and goes on to describe an amazing journey, examining his experiences with disarming candor and introspection, all the while trying to help us to understand just what courage might be. Whatever it is, Bob Nylen had it in spades.

Live life to the fullest, we are told, yet few seem to lead by example. While Robert Nylen's choices are certainly not for everyone, he was undoubtedly someone who did just that, without forgetting to look around every so often and take stock of where he was. The first hundred or so pages of memoirs from his service time in Vietnam are searing, and will touch a nerve in anyone who has found him or herself in uniform at combat.

Robert Nylen's poignant memoir was written in a bold, no nonsense & engaging manner that seems to deliver a clear message: "Have guts; no wimps allowed in life!"

Clearly, Nylen lived his life to the hilt. He seemed to thrive on action; especially when it was filled with chaos. It's no wonder he was a war hero; when all hell was breaking loose, he was probably thinking to himself, "Yeah, this is more like it." Of course, Nylen took that same approach with every endeavor he undertook & became a very successful business person, with no hidden agendas. His approach to everything he did engaged others easily; here was a guy you not only liked; you could trust him. That's not easy to find these days.

Without a doubt, Robert Nylen's message of personal accountabiltiy needs to be heard in all sectors of society. It's time we stopped blaming others when things go wrong; look instead to our own resoursefulness to figure out the best course of action. With the right attitude, nearly anything can be accomplished.

Even in death, Nylen's words still echo in our minds; and we're very fortunate he was kind enough to deliver his message to us.

Mr. Nylen examines with wit and honesty what it means to be a man and especially the concept of toughness--toughness in combat, in business and as a cancer victim. I found the Vietnam chapters riveting. One watches a man try to come to terms with his responsibility in the deaths of other soldiers, something he had to live with. I was drawn to this book because I have a friend with colo-rectal cancer and wanted to get an idea of what he's been going through. Mr. Nylen describes vividly the indignations he had to endure as his disease progressed, but never with self-pity. He's clear-eyed and direct, laughing (almost) in the face of death. He may be dead but I felt like he was in the room with me, telling me his story when I read Guts. I'm glad he shared his experience. After the combat scenes, however, I found the discussion of the magazine industry less compelling.

Robert Nylen died in mid-December, 2008, shortly after reviewing the final proofs of his memoir, at the age of 64. He wrote about his own life, and the lives of others close to him, with the same restlessness and vivacity he appears to have lived it.

Guts is a many-phased story. I think the part that I enjoyed the most was about his time in Vietnam, 1967-1968. Memoirs about service in Vietnam are tricky to write. This was a war-of-choice that claimed many men of my generation. Most men either were drafted to serve...or found a way to get out of serving. (High draft number sure beat hotfooting it across the Canadian border!) Even though I opposed the war, I admired those men who chose to serve. Bob Nylen writes movingly about his own service and of the three or four men whose died under his command. I wrote down their names and will look for them at The Wall in DC when I am next there.

Bob Nylen had many jobs in his life. He seems to have brought to all of them a unique personal energy and intelligence most people lack. His life may have been shorter than most, but he certainly lived it to the fullest, with few regrets. That's more than many people can say at the end of their lives.