Title of the Book: Born on the Fourth of July
Author:Ron Kovic
# of Pages: 224
Star Rating: 4☆


Review: In his autobiography, Born on The Fourth of July, Ron Kovic tells us about the hardship and pain he has struggled through his entire life. He starts by talking about what it was like being in World War II, and then continually shifts back and forth between his life before and after the war. Before the war there really was no struggle for him though, as he was just any ordinary kid that hung out with his friends, played baseball, and pretended being American war heroes defeating communist enemies. The book then shifts to show what the war has really done to him after being in combat, by writing about his excruciating difficulty of being paralyzed from the chest down. Aside from that, he then begins to take a stand against the war and protests ensue. This book is an account of freedom, and the pain that comes from fighting for it.

It might be hard for one to see this book as anything but just another war book that glorifies the United States and their wins. I was surprised to find out that this book is anything but that. Although Ron Kovic does love the United States, he had been mistreated greatly by it. After the war he was alienated from the rest of the world be being buried in V.A. hospitals that didn’t care one bit for him. There were many painful, sleepless nights he had gone through in which I had became emotional because to read that a man that fought for his country was being mistreated was hard to understand. I don’t know how, but through all of that he stayed positive and that’s why at the point he became an inspiration.

What I found not as well written in the book was when Kovic talked about when he started to protest the war. He had gone across the country to protest the war because of what it had done to him. From then on it became a little difficult to understand how much of a difference it was really making then what he was actually writing. For instance, he had gone to a Nixon campaign rally, and he had shouted out protesting against Nixon. Kovic says he obtained Nixon’s attention, and was then wheeled out by secret service, but he never talks about if that actually made a difference and if Nixon even really acknowledged what he was doing. That could of course just be me having a picky taste in writing styles also.

From then on, this is a book worth reading that I did really enjoy. It’s not just some heroic war story; it’s a story about heroics on and off the battlefield and the battle that continues even after the war. It served as inspiration to me to stay positive in any situation I may be in, because this man managed to through the roughest of scenarios. This book was definitely worth the read.