Book Review by The Yard
This is the book that introduced Rambo to the world.
It was first published in 1972 by David Morrell.
He was fresh out of college and saw how the Vietnam War impacted the soldiers who returned. He also saw how hippies were treated in various parts of the country at the time.
He decided to mix a Special Forces soldier with PTSD, and a hippy being harassed in small town post war America.
The author states that when the book came out it caused a storm. It became required reading in some high schools and colleges during the 70s.
It was turned into a screenplay that floated around Hollywood for about 10 years. There was a slew of famous leading men pegged to play the part of John J. Rambo.
It was finally made into an action movie, which was a different slant than the original intention of the book.
Then, it was connected with Ronald Reagan and the warfare industry.
This ended the books status as a story about freedom, protest, PTSD, warfare, and how people are treated.
The book is different from the movie in several ways.
Rambo is called kid. And seems to be a young early 20s soldier back from Vietnam.
It takes place in rural Kentucky, not in the northwest like the movie.
There are several things that are different from the movie. Enough that reading it was a pleasure in trying to find the differences.
Some of the differences are spoiler alerts, so we won’t go there.
The fact that it’s a book, allows you to see into the mind of both Rambo and Teasle. It shows their thoughts and feelings. It shows the problems in life outside of the actual story.
First Blood, the book. Is not the movie. Don’t think, “Oh it’s a Rambo book.”
It’s not.
We thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Rambo character and seeing a little more of the world he inhabits.
It was a quick read. Short chapters are great, especially when it flows and you don’t want to put it down.
Check it out.
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Bio: The Yard: Crime Blog is an online magazine of Crime Fiction, True Crime and all things crime. You can read Flash Fiction. You can read about Serial Killers. There’s something on The Yard for you.
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