The million copy bestseller that redefined the way the world saw war. One of the ten books - novels, memoirs and one very unusual biography - that make up our Matchbook Classics' series, a stunningly redesigned collection of some of the best loved titles on our backlist. The Things They Carried is the definitive account of what it was like being on the ground in Vietnam. But while that devastating conflict is central to the book, it is not simply about war. It is a ...
Read More
The million copy bestseller that redefined the way the world saw war. One of the ten books - novels, memoirs and one very unusual biography - that make up our Matchbook Classics' series, a stunningly redesigned collection of some of the best loved titles on our backlist. The Things They Carried is the definitive account of what it was like being on the ground in Vietnam. But while that devastating conflict is central to the book, it is not simply about war. It is a book about memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. It is also about the human heart - about the terrible weight of those things we carry through our lives. The men of Alpha Company - Jimmy Cross, Norman Bowker, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Henry Dobbins and Kiowa - slog through the emptiness and dangers of their Vietnam tour in this haunting and acclaimed collection, which has the cumulative power and unity of a novel.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Things They Carried O'Brien, Tim to cart. $38.99, very good condition, Sold by Arbor-Scout rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ann Arbor, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Houghton Mifflin.
Add this copy of The Things They Carried to cart. $39.99, very good condition, Sold by Bookmarc's rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from La Porte, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. T1-A 20th anniversary edition 2nd printing hardcover book SIGNED and inscribed by Tim O'Brien to previous owner on the title page in very good condition in very good dust jacket that is mylar protected. Dust jacket has some wrinkling and chipping on the edges and corners, a few light soiled patches on some top edges, light discoloration and shelf wear. Book lightly cocked, some bumped corners, wrinkling on the spine edges, couple of small dog-eared pages on the top, tanning and light shelf wear. THIS IS AN AMERICAN CLASSIC. 8.5"x5.5", 233 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. The Things They Carried (1990) is a collection of linked short stories by American novelist Tim O'Brien, about a platoon of American soldiers fighting on the ground in the Vietnam War. His third book about the war, it is based upon his experiences as a soldier in the 23rd Infantry Division. O'Brien generally refrains from political debate and discourse regarding the Vietnam War. He was dismayed that people in his home town seemed to have so little understanding of the war and its world. It was in part a response to what he considered ignorance that he wrote The Things They Carried. It was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1990. Many of the characters are semi-autobiographical, sharing similarities with figures from his memoir If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. In The Things They Carried, O'Brien plays with the genre of metafiction; he writes using verisimilitude. His use of real place names and inclusion of himself as the protagonist blurs fiction and non-fiction. As part of this effect, O'Brien dedicates The Things They Carried to the fictional men of the "Alpha Company, " giving it "the form of a war memoir, " states O'Brien.
Add this copy of The Things They Carried (Contemporary American Fiction) to cart. $50.00, very good condition, Sold by BookHouse On-Line rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Minneapolis, MN, UNITED STATES, published 1991 by Penguin Books.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good. Size: 5x0x7; SIGNED by author on title page. Very good paperback from a personal collection (NOT ex-library). Spine is uncreased, binding tight and sturdy. Light shelfwear; toning to text block. Interior is free of markings save signature. Ships same or next day from Dinkytown, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Add this copy of The Things They Carried to cart. $65.00, very good condition, Sold by Dave Wilhelm Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Evanston, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Houghton Mifflin.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Dust jacket mis-folded at factory, so the title on spine is not perfectly centered. Otherwise book and dust jacket solid VG, no obvious flaws. Number line from 10 to 1. Dust jacket in Brodart cover.
Add this copy of The Things They Carried to cart. $75.00, very good condition, Sold by BookHouse On-Line rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Minneapolis, MN, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Houghton Mifflin / Seymour Lawrence.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Size: 8x5x1; First Edition in first state jacket. Houghton Mifflin, 1990; First Printing with full number line; 273pp. Title text on jacket is off-center, front flap retains original price of $19.95, no design credit on rear flap. Binding is tight, sturdy, and square; minor wear to edges of boards, gilt titling on black cloth spine remains bright and bold; text very good. Very minor wear to edges of unclipped dust jacket; jacket arrives wrapped in protective mylar. An exemplary copy of this modern classic of war storytelling that is also "a book about the human heart, about the terrible weight of these things all of us carry through their lives." Ships from Dinkytown in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Add this copy of The Things They Carried to cart. $99.99, like new condition, Sold by Lionstar Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Longmont, CO, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH).
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in very good dust jacket. A RARE COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING OF THIS PRIZE WINNING CLASSIC + VERY GOOD CONDITION + ORIGINAL HARDBACK FORMAT, PROTECTED BY A MYLAR COVER; COLLECTING BOOKS SINCE 1988, SELLING BOOKS SINCE 2008. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 273 p. Audience: General/trade.
Add this copy of The Things They Carried [Signed] to cart. $150.00, very good condition, Sold by Second Story Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Rockville, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Book. Octavo, 233 pages. In Very Good condition with a Very Good dust jacket. Spine black and light blue with white and light blue lettering. Dust jacket protected with a mylar covering, price uncut: "$24.00." Light scuffing to dust jacket. Light rubbing to edges of boards. Signed flat by O'Brien on title page. Shelved in Case 6. 1375072. Shelved Dupont Bookstore.
Add this copy of The Things They Carried to cart. $175.00, like new condition, Sold by Ziebarth Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Coal Valley, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by The Franklin Library.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. Book Signed limited first edition, hardcover. Full brown leather binding with gilt letters and designs, gilt page edges, three raised bands on spine, silk ribbon marker. Marbled endpapers. Two page color frontis. SIGNED by the author on front end paper. 273 pages. Original publisher's card to subscribers laid in.
Add this copy of The Things They Carried: Advance Chapters. (Not the to cart. $200.00, like new condition, Sold by Waverley Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Monica, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY..
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine with no dust jacket. Promotional item. SIGNED by Tim O'Brien. Fine in printed stapled wrappers. (48pp. ) An uncommon prepublication piece presenting 2 stories from the collection of the same title. Not the complete book.
Add this copy of The Things They Carried to cart. $235.00, like new condition, Sold by J Mercurio Books Maps & Prints rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Garrison, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Houghtn Mifflin.
It's been over 40 years since I humped the Central Highlands of Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Tim O'Brien's account of those who served in the infantry coincided with many of my experiences and how I remembered feeling at the time of my service. It didn't glorify the life of an infantryman which is not glorious on a day to day basis, rather it described the experience in a way a true grunt can relate to.
nevermind
Aug 30, 2014
The best writing about Vietnam I know
I've known O'Brien's work for years, and used it in English courses. I ordered this copy for a friend who served with the Maine Corps at Khe Sanh.
Karen H
Apr 4, 2014
Excellent war tale
Many times while reading this book, I had to check to make sure this was not non-fiction. It was written so well and so believably. Having grown up during this period it made me understand the other side of the war and the veterans that came back. I didn't think I would like a book of this genre but it was quite fascinating.
JLH
Jun 20, 2013
Amazing
Very well written book that many should read to better understand the Vietnam war, because we sure didn't get the support then that all vets seem to get these days.
Robert
Jan 17, 2013
War seen from a different viewpoint
The book is an interesting perspective on the emotions at play in soldiering.The writer leads us to understand people through their possessions rather than their actions. This device more than compensates for a somewhat thin story line.