Summary
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Story 1: “Redeployment”
Story 2: “Frago”
Story 3: “After Action Report”
Story 4: “Bodies”
Story 5: “OIF”
Story 6: “Money As a Weapons System”
Story 7: “In Vietnam They Had Whores”
Story 8: “Prayer in the Furnace”
Story 9: “Psychological Operations”
Story 10: “War Stories”
Story 11: “Unless It’s a Sucking Chest Wound”
Story 12: “Ten Kliks South”
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaEssay Topics
What is the connection between the book’s title and the stories within?
Why does the narrator of “Bodies” keep the rock he finds in the dead Marine’s hand?
Why do you believe the author chose to write a book of short stories instead of a novel? Do you believe a novel would have worked as well? Why or why not?
