Velshi Banned Book Club: ‘The Things They Carried’ with Tim O’Brien

Inspired by his real experiences as a young soldier in the Vietnam War, Tim O’Brien’s widely acclaimed 1990 book “The Things They Carried” is an engrossing collection of stories about the varied experiences of war, from its violent horrors to heart-wrenching moments of friendship, sacrifice, and beauty. O’Brien’s writing is equal parts hallucinatory and concrete, surreal and corporeal, as the novel’s chapters vary in time period and perspective, to fully explore the futility of war, the power of friendship, and the motivating effect of death, shame, morality, isolation, and survival. “Part of the job of the writer is to be an iconoclast,” says O’Brien, and to tell the public the things it may not want to hear. 



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[betsy]

I would have never picked this book up on my own, the synopsis was so different than anything I'd ever read, but it was required reading my freshman year of HS. I ended up falling in love with it, bought my own copy, and still own it. Thank you for writing it, Mr. O'Brien.

[deborahrivera]

I am reading this. Thank you for this segment. and heartfelt honest interview with this author who speaks truth to the fairy tales we are being sold.. May it help me to better understand my late husband, a US Army Purple Heart Vietnam combat veteran and the demons he never spoke about but broke him and so affected our life together. War affects everyone. What I experienced with him made me more anti-war than anything else. This is visceral.

[alanaltimont]

I teach this great book at the university level on a regular basis. You do a fine job communicating its essence and harsh beauty.

[evalawler]

It's an insult that this book is on any banned book list. Both my father and father-in-law served in Vietnam. After reading this book I was able to talk to them in ways I was not able to them before. Like the author said, books allow you to walk in other people's shoes. People who have never experienced war will glorify it - because they have never experienced the fear, smell, discomfort, agony and pain of war.

[runyon]

This entire book is almost poetry. Read it twenty times. Every single high school should have several copies in the library.

[lisareed]

You are a treasure. Thank you for your consistently superior work.

[DianeDrake-vwbn]

Brilliant writer -- incredible, heartbreaking book. As is another of his, GOING AFTER CACCIATO. Passages of that have stayed with me ever since I read it so very many years ago. "Keep your eye on Paris." It was, indeed, good advice. Thank you, Tim O'Brien, and thank you Ali for sharing this.

[wjhrazorsedge]

I had watched Ken Burns Vietnam documentary a few yrs ago with Tim. Thank you for the recommendation & reminder. I went out to the mall bookstore & bought the only copy I saw on hand. I have read many things online the last several years, not books though. It was thoroughly tear jerking & great. It was great prose & empathetic & non stop reading. I spent 9 hrs reading it, this includes re-reading many passages. I plan on putting it in my neighbor's book box after my sister reads it. I'm also a Veteran in KS & hopefully some of my neighbors may wake up. I voted badly in 2016. In 2018 I changed & voted with my heart in 2020. Hopefully, Tim sees this comment & I'm glad to support your writing & love of "Linda" & others.

[MyShyCats]

I can hardly comprehend that this was banded! It’s an incredible moving transformational book.

[simonthebear]

Great idea for a series and an excellent episode. Thank you Ari. I grew up in the 60’s so this has lots of resonance.

[DavidJ]

Without ever setting foot on a battlefield, Trump said he received a Purple Heart medal at his rally in Ashburn, Virginia, from a retired Lieutenant Colonel and supporter.
"That’s my real Purple Heart. I have such confidence in you" the veteran said.
“And I said, ‘Man, that’s like big stuff. I always wanted to get the Purple Heart, ” Trump said. “This was much easier.”

Let that sink in for a moment.

The fact that Trump even accepted the veteran's Purple Heart tells you eve-ry-thing you need to know about him.

Semper Fi.. 🇺🇸

[Marty_Wanlass]

Mr O'Brien is a poet also. Thanks to both men for this discussion. Our local Barnes and Noble, set up a special round table and exhibited "banned books." I had to find the manager, and thank him.

[donaldkelly]

Why remove a book like The Things They Carried from high schools?

The control of historical memory.

[debwalters]

I read this book years ago. It had a huge impact on me. I have reread it. It is one of the best I've ever read.

[jimhazel]

This book was banned? I read this book back 20 years ago. I don't remember particulars but I remember how it made me feel more than anything else. That's Art.

[amyrugala]

One of my all time favorite books. How dare they take it off the shelves. What is to come of our children that need to learn about history and what empathy is? I am scared of what children will become in the future without these experiences lived through books.

[shoshanahalle]

The only Vietnam war novel you ever need. Comparable to All's Quiet on the Western Front

[gregvondare]

Ali, you have risen to the heights of literary and political commentary with this episode. Wow. Thanks for spotlighting this essential book and it's amazing author. It is a shame and a miracle that great books come out of wars, especially in the 20th Century, when it seemed that we were always at war somewhere -- and none of them were heroic or good. Although we celebrate WWII as a just and necessary war, remember that it also gave us nuclear weapons and the fear of them that we live with today. Banning books is another symptom of our unravelling Democracy and the increasing, insane, desire for a king in America. Don't let it happen!

[carllittle]

Such a great segment. Love that book and "The Red Badge of Courage."

[terihallenbeck]

I cannot read military books or what most movies. I LOVE this book. Incredible author.