Colby Buzzell

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Fear & Loathing in the US Army. A self-proclaimed Hunter S. Thompson fan, as well as a once-aimless GenX-er, Colby Buzzell makes his own loathing of many things obvious from the get-go. The fear comes later, and is most vividly expressed nearly 200 pages into this memoir of the Iraq war. Here's his delayed reaction after being in one of the most hard-fought and fierce fire-fight he'd ever encountered on the streets of Mosul -

"I was smoking show more like a chimney, one right after another. My nerves were completely shot and I was emotionally drained and I noticed that my hands were still kinda shaking ... I was thinking how lucky I was to be alive. I've never experienced anything like the fear I felt today ..."

Stryker machine-gunner Buzzell is a curious character in his own story. Intelectually curious, he is a voracious reader of good books, yet he seems to find little to like in this world. Possessed of a wicked and ironically sly sense of humor, he uses it repeatedly to jab at our country's leaders, the war, politics, the media - just about everything, in fact, including himself. I found myself liking the guy in spite of myself. He made me laugh and he made me wince in recognition. His narrative, with its casual attitude towards porno, "spank" mags and masturbation among the troops, brought to mind Tony Swofford's book about the first Gulf war, JARHEAD - although Buzzell himself dismisses that book scornfully, and that first "war" as well. It was also very like Johnny Rico's fine memoir of the current war in Afghanistan, BLOOD MAKES THE GRASS GROW GREENER. It also flashed me back to my own war, the Cold War. Soldiers are the same, regardless of the setting or the era, it would seem. Nothing much changes. Buzzell's choice of a title for his memoir-cum-blog, MY WAR, is certainly not unique. It is the third military memoir I have read with this title. The others were both WWII memories from journalist Andy Rooney and artist Tracy Sugarman, both fine books. And so is this one. The army tried to call Buzzell back to active duty in 2008, but he was found to be unfit for service - PTSD. The physical, mental and emotional casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan continue to mount and multiply, and the ends to these wars are still not clearly in sight. Perhaps books like Buzzell's will help speed their resolutions. I hope so. show less

Having picked up a used copy of this one from a charity stall, I hadn't intended to read it immediately but got sucked in and finished it ahead of the other two or three books I was half way though. I won't say that I couldn't put it down but I didkeep picking it up.

The book has three particularly appealing elements. The first is the description of the trajectory of military life. This fairly reflects my own experience as a (more or less) peacetime conscript of long periods of total boredom show more followed by short bursts of insanity.

The second element is the way it reflects the American attitude to the Iraq war. Buzzell is there on the spot and trying to find out what for himself what it is all about but the only Iraqis he can talk to are the interpreters risking their lives to help the US forces. All credit to him for the insight he gains given this handicap.

The third, and most interesting aspect of the book is the insight into Buzzell himself. He comes (one presumes) from a middle class family but has opted out of the materialist ethic to become a punk rock fan and skater so when he gets onto the army the surprise is more how well he fits in than the fact that he gets into trouble for his blog. Fascinating.

A random thought after finishing the book is what light this throws on Vietnam where one has the impression that things were even tougher than in Iraq. In any case, I've just ordered a copy of his later book, "Lost in America". Let's see what he did for an encore... show less

Lost in America: A Dead-End Journey is Colby Buzzell’s response to his publisher’s pitch to update an American classic. Instructed to “retrace Kerouac’s footsteps and paint a contemporary portrait of America” and to write “a love letter to Kerouac”, Buzzell wholeheartedly agrees and immediately cashes the advance check. And also immediately lets the reader know “Like hell I am.” This is no homage to Kerouac or classic American literature.

The book opens with a quote from show more Kurt Cobain and each succeeding chapter opens with yet another in the same nihilistic vein. Very little of the book has to do with the trip Buzzell took across the country. It is more of a travel guide on his road to some semblance of grown-up life as well as a meditation on family. Twin earthquakes struck in quick succession: his mother’s death and his son’s birth. He chose to delay the trip for the first, but not the second. Buzzell remarked on several occasions that he needed to find the plot. Where would the book go? What was the hook? It is easy to see and surmise that this applied to his life as well as to the writing assignment.

For all intents and purposes, the six-month trip ended in Detroit. For Buzzell, this city is Ground Zero for the disaffected and disowned. Suicide is mentioned more than once, and one could argue that his actions in Detroit were a form of passively attempting such. He also used the city to draw a parallel between Kerouac’s Beat Generation and today’s beat down generation. He repeatedly referred to the city, the buildings and occupants as looking as though they had recently suffered a scud missile attack.

Ostensibly travelling across the country looking for and working odd jobs, Buzzell spent a great deal of the book drinking, drunk or hung over. It is hard to imagine that this is the approach someone would take if they were actually trying to pay the rent. In some ways, he’s a very unlikable character. It’s not just the alcohol; this world does that to people. It’s not that he ran from his responsibilities; many have run far further from far less. Perhaps it’s his constant over-justification. A common theme throughout the book is his lack of self-confidence, yet he seems absolutely confident, righteous even, in justifying his actions. None of this makes Lost in America a bad book. After all, America loves her villains almost as much as she loves her heroes.



Available 23 August 2011 show less

An interesting look at the current Iraq catastrophe from the point of a view of a machine gunner in a Stryker brigade. Buzzell takes his readers from the time right before he enlisted through boot camp and the various levels of training to his being sent to Iraq--the subsequent setting up of his own blogsite there--the harrassment by at least some of his superiors immediate or otherwise that culminates as that site becomes more and more popular--to his final honorable discharge when his term show more is up. The portraits of his fellow soldiers are very striking and well done--a kind of assortment of metalheads, rap lovers and punk rockers working together wheeling around the streets of Mosul looking for insurgents and sometimes finding them. On base--we learn a grunt can legally purchase Cuban cigars there--though no alcohol--we see them fighting off boredom listening to music, playing video games, fooling around with digital cameras, standing in long lines to call loved ones at home or to go on-line, smoking endless amounts of cigarettes and perusing porn magazines. Occasionally they even smuggle a little booze on base. Buzzell's--as a representative of the skateboarding punk rock world--prose is decidedly anti-PC--as are many of his observations. It might be called proudly profane. His descriptions of Iraqi's tend to be sympathetic--though there is no mistaking that a rather wide divide exists between the worldview of an American soldier and that of an Iraqi citizen. The main battle scene taken from the book he gleans from his own website was written on the spot and gives a palpable sense of chaos and his own fear. I'd like to particularly note that he tore up his election ballot when he found out that Ralph Nader wasn't on the California ticket. Go Colby. In any case I found this book entertaining despite the serious subject matter--much of the reason can be attributed to Colby's laconic and oftentimes sardonic outlook on life. It is at times even a very funny book. I would recommend it. show less