About Face
The Odyssey of an American Warrior
by Colonel David H. Hackworth
Reading Profile
Should I read this?
This is a forthright, detail-rich portrait of a man who devoted his youth to the US Army, heavy on front-line moments, chain-of-command friction, and the author's insistence on patriotism and duty. What works best is its textured, on-the-ground scenes and a commanding narrative voice that conveys military life up close. The main limitation is repetition and a defensive streak: episodes are often replayed and outside perspective or systematic analysis is scarce. Best for readers wanting color and conviction rather than detached synthesis.
Read this if...
- •graduate student in military history writing a seminar paper on US Army culture and command dynamics with a deadline in a few weeks — needs scene-level, first-person anecdotes to illustrate everyday life and to ground an argument against purely institutional accounts.
- •active-duty officer or recently separated enlisted member weighing whether to tell their own story publicly or engage in veterans’ advocacy — wants a candid example of how a personal narrative handles frontline detail, leadership conflict, and the tradeoffs of an unapologetic voice.
- •reporter or feature writer preparing a long piece about a local base leadership controversy who needs quotable, concrete scenes and a strong first-person voice to use alongside official statements and interviews for texture and contrast.
Skip this if...
- •You’ll likely put it down when the same incidents and grievances are retold several times; the mid-section can feel repetitious and defensive.
- •Annoying if you prefer balanced synthesis or outside analysis — the narrative privileges the author's perspective over corroborating context.
- •Not a match if you want hands-on exercises, neutral scholarship, or a lightly tempered memoir — this is anecdote-heavy and opinionated rather than analytical.
Called “everything a twentieth century war memoir could possibly be” by The New York Times, this national bestseller by Colonel David H. Hackworth presents a vivid and powerful portrait of a life of patriotism.From age fifteen to forty David Hackworth devoted himself to the US Army and fast became a living legend. In 1971, however, he appeared on t...
Before You Buy
Reading Specifications
Difficulty:hard
Audience Fit
- graduate student in military history writing a seminar paper on US Army culture and command dynamics with a deadline in a few weeks — needs scene-level, first-person anecdotes to illustrate everyday life and to ground an argument against purely institutional accounts.
- active-duty officer or recently separated enlisted member weighing whether to tell their own story publicly or engage in veterans’ advocacy — wants a candid example of how a personal narrative handles frontline detail, leadership conflict, and the tradeoffs of an unapologetic voice.
- reporter or feature writer preparing a long piece about a local base leadership controversy who needs quotable, concrete scenes and a strong first-person voice to use alongside official statements and interviews for texture and contrast.
- You’ll likely put it down when the same incidents and grievances are retold several times; the mid-section can feel repetitious and defensive.
- Annoying if you prefer balanced synthesis or outside analysis — the narrative privileges the author's perspective over corroborating context.
- Not a match if you want hands-on exercises, neutral scholarship, or a lightly tempered memoir — this is anecdote-heavy and opinionated rather than analytical.
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Why recommended
Recommended by 2 sources and appears in Most Recommended Books, History, and Nonfiction.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Jocko Willink
Retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer and author
“I had About Face next to my bed in Ramadi. I literally read it every night. That’s how I'd fall asleep.”
Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider Accidental Presidents by Jared Cohen. Recommended by 10 sources.
“Accidental Presidents offers eight narrative portraits of men who succeeded to the U.S. presidency without election, using anecdote-rich scenes and readable context to show how personality and circumstance interact with office power. It’s strongest as a set of self-contained stories that make succession stakes concrete for non-specialist readers; it does not prioritize dense archival argument or exhaustive methodology, so expect some interpretive generalizations and repeated themes across cases. Use it for fast historical orientation rather than scholarly deep-dives.”
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How recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.