The Things They Carried. Tim O’Brien

      The Things They Carried

      Tim O’Brien

      

       Copyright

      Of these stories, five first appeared in Esquire: ‘The Things They Carried’, ‘How to Tell a True War Story’, ‘Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong’, ‘The Ghost Soldiers’ and ‘The Lives of the Dead’. ‘Speaking of Courage’ was first published in The Massachusetts Review, then later, in a revised version, in Granta. ‘In the Field’ was first published in Gentlemen’s Quarterly. ‘Style’, ‘Spin’ and ‘The Man I Killed’ were first published, in different form, in The Quarterly. ‘The Things They Carried’ appeared in The Best American Short Stories 1987. ‘Speaking of Courage’ and ‘The Ghost Soldiers’ appeared in Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards (1978 and 1982). ‘On the Rainy River’ first appeared in Playboy.

      The author wishes to thank the editors of those publications and to express gratitude for support received from the National Endowment for the Arts.

      Fourth Estate

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      Published by Flamingo 1991

      First published in Great Britain by Collins 1990

      Copyright © Tim O’Brien 1990

      The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      Author photograph © Jerry Bauer

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      Source ISBN: 9780006543947

      Ebook Edition © AUGUST 2010 ISBN: 9780007386802 Version: 2015-07-03

      This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      This book is lovingly dedicated to

       the men of Alpha Company, and in particular to Jimmy Cross, Norman Bowker, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Henry Dobbins, and Kiowa

      Table of Contents

       Cover Page

       Title Page

Copyright

Author’s Note

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

LOVE

SPIN

ON THE RAINY RIVER

       ENEMIES

       FRIENDS

       HOW TO TELL A TRUE WAR STORY

       THE DENTIST

       SWEETHEART OF THE SONG TRA BONG

       STOCKINGS

       CHURCH

       THE MAN I KILLED

       AMBUSH

       STYLE

       SPEAKING OF COURAGE

       NOTES

       IN THE FIELD

       GOOD FORM

       FIELD TRIP

       THE GHOST SOLDIERS

       NIGHT LIFE

       THE LIVES OF THE DEAD

       Keep Reading

       Acknowledgments

       About the Author

       Praise

       By Tim O'Brien

       About the Publisher

       Author’s Note

      This is a work of fiction. Except for a few details regarding the author’s own life, all the incidents, names and characters are imaginary.

       THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

      FIRST LIEUTENANT JIMMY CROSS carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey. They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross