What happens to a reasonably intelligent, moral and patriotic young man when he is taken from his comfortable American life and transported to a place where his only purpose is killing and the people around him are all killers? He lives in the most primitive conditions imaginable. For food, clothing and shelter he must rely only on what he can carry on his back. He is exposed to a variety of poisonous snakes, scorpions and centipedes and to swarms of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. When it is hot, there will be no escaping the heat. He will toil and sweat until it seems there is not a drop of moisture left in his body. If it rains for a month, he will be wet for the entire month, his feet wrinkling and cracking, his boots disintegrating and his clothes turning to rags. And if all that isn't bad enough, everywhere he goes little brown men are lurking in the bushes and trying to kill him. It does not take the reasonably intelligent young man long to figure out that he is in a world of hurt. How does this knowledge affect him? That is the subject of this dark, intense novel. Jungle Rules follows the transformation of Andy Cullen, a clean-cut American boy, into a hardcore "boonierat" in the jungles and rice paddies of Viet Nam. The novel describes the process of dehumanization that affects every soldier in a combat environment. In its milder form, this process is reflected in the happenings at an Abu Ghraib Prison; at its worst in the horror and tragedy of a My Lai Massacre. Americans idealize their military and expect them to live up to the highest moral standards. In our World of automobiles and houses with hot and cold running water and refrigerators and televisions and computers, where we all live in accordance with a rational set of rules, such standards are easy to impose. In the jungle, the rules are different.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fine young men we come to care about.,
By
This review is from: Jungle Rules (Paperback)
Vietnam has faded to an abstraction in the common perspective. Sacrifices, horrors and lunacy are trivialized and reduced to senseless idiom. Nothing is real.
Without preaching or explaining, this book simply takes the reader there, unlike anything I have ever read about any war. It's called a novel, but it reads as truth -- almost a personal journal. Nothing is spared. Crittenden made me care about these men and their condition, and wonder how they lived it, as half a World away we sat contented watching edited, manipulated two-dimensional image-bites on a 20" screen. If you care about what happens to young men thrust into the face of violent death by whatever political inanity happens to govern at the moment, and the split second survival choices they are forced to make and pay for for the rest of their lives, buy this book -- then pass it to a friend.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Soldier's Story,
By Anthony Benedetto (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Jungle Rules (Paperback)
It is hard for a civilian to understand what it must be like to serve in our country's armed forces during military conflict. The work of the men and women who are risking their lives each day is beyond comprehension. Sacrifices are made and we all hope they are for just and good causes. Sometimes, however, basic survival is the cause.
Many books have been written about Vietnam and there are many strong opinions about our country's involvement in that conflict. Some glorify the roles of soldiers in battle while others dwell on the absurdity of war. A few report on the atrocities committed by our soldiers. But until now, nothing that I have read captures the psychological and emotional process that transforms a normal young man into a hardcore boonierat. Gaz Crittenden's Jungle Rules is a brilliantly written story and is of great current interest as it helps put into perspective the difficulties our military personnel face on a daily basis. For example, after reading this story, one may begin to have different understanding how the alleged events at Haditha could have occurred. This is an excellent book, a true book, and a must read for anyone who wants to have a better appreciation for what war is really like and for the conditions under which our soldiers do their work.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE WAY IT WAS,
This review is from: Jungle Rules (Paperback)
I began to read JUNGLE RULES with trepidation as I lived this divisive part of our nation's history (at least vicariously) as a young teen and into my adult years). Other books have been so horrific that I had to put them down. While this does not sugarcoat what our boys went through it is an honest and open examination told by a fictional 20 year old of the horrors of war, the importance of humor (Black though it may have been) and the ultimate survival of the human spirit. I laughed, I cried; it is one of the best books I have read this year and holds it's own with MASH as a reflection of what the men in our lives (and now women) experience. Gaz speaks with a strong voice and my only disappointment was when the book ended as I wanted to savor it. I look forward to more books by this writer.
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