Books
Kids
Popular
Authors & Events
Recommendations
Audio
Look Inside
Apr 24, 2007 | ISBN 9780891418979 Buy
Dec 24, 2008 | ISBN 9780307494184 Buy
Buy from Other Retailers:
Apr 24, 2007 | ISBN 9780891418979
Dec 24, 2008 | ISBN 9780307494184
Outrageous, hilarious, and absolutely candid, Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green is Johnny Rico’s firsthand account of fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, a memoir that also reveals the universal truths about the madness of war.No one would have picked Johnny Rico for a soldier. The son of an aging hippie father, Johnny was overeducated and hostile to all authority. But when 9/11 happened, the twenty-six-year-old probation officer dropped everything to become an “infantry combat killer.”But if he’d thought that serving his country would be the kind of authentic experience a reader of The Catcher in the Rye would love, he quickly realized he had another thing coming. In Afghanistan he found himself living a Lord of the Flies existence among soldiers who feared civilian life more than they feared the Taliban–guys like Private Cox, a musical prodigy busy “planning his future poverty,” and Private Mulbeck, who didn’t know precisely which country he was in. Life in a combat zone meant carnage and courage–but it also meant tedious hours standing guard, punctuated with thoughtful arguments about whether Bea Arthur was still alive. Utterly uncensored and full of dark wit, Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green is a poignant, frightening, and heartfelt view of life in this and every man’s army.
Johnny Rico is the author of Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green and works as a freelance writer for magazines such as GQ, Penthouse, and Men’s Journal. His assignments have seen him going undercover in the US Army’s CONUS Replacement Center, interviewing mercenaries in Nepal, and… More about Johnny Rico
Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network
Stay in Touch
By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Start earning points for buying books! Just for joining you’ll get personalized recommendations on your dashboard daily and features only for members.