Anthony Swofford

Swofford was born into a military family in California, growing up on a military base with a father who endured brutal combat during the Vietnam War. Incensed by the terrorist bombings of a Marine Barracks in 1984, Swofford was interested in serving from a young age. He joined the marines at the age of 18, and at age 20 served as a combat sniper during the Gulf War. After he returned to the United States, Swofford earned a Bachelor's from UC Davis and a Masters of Fine Arts from the Iowa...See more

Swofford was born into a military family in California, growing up on a military base with a father who endured brutal combat during the Vietnam War. Incensed by the terrorist bombings of a Marine Barracks in 1984, Swofford was interested in serving from a young age. He joined the marines at the age of 18, and at age 20 served as a combat sniper during the Gulf War. After he returned to the United States, Swofford earned a Bachelor's from UC Davis and a Masters of Fine Arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. His gritty and sardonic first book, Jarhead, earned both critical and commercial success. Swofford's personal yet raw style of writing suits McGinniss' project perfectly, and his input helped make this book the pulp nonfiction hit that no one saw coming. See less