Description

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This edition marks the 40th anniversary of the original publication of Kovic's American antiwar classic.

“Classic and timeless!” —New York Times

“As relevant as ever, this book is an education. Ron is a true American, and his great heart and hard-won wisdom shine through these pages.” —Oliver Stone, filmmaker

This New York Times best seller (more than one million copies sold), presented here in a special fortieth-anniversary edition with a brand-new foreword by Bruce Springsteen, details the author’s life story (portrayed by Tom Cruise in the Oliver Stone film)—from a patriotic soldier in Vietnam, to his severe battlefield injury, to his role as the country’s most outspoken anti–Vietnam War advocate, spreading his message from his wheelchair.

About the Author

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RON KOVIC served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. He was paralyzed from his chest down in combat in 1968 and has been in a wheelchair ever since. Along with Oliver Stone, Kovic was the coscreenwriter of the 1989 Academy Award–winning film based on Kovic’s best-selling memoir Born on the Fourth of July (starring Tom Cruise as Kovic). Hurricane Street (2016) detailed Kovic’s efforts to organize the American Veterans Movement in 1974, fighting for better treatment of injured and disabled veterans. His latest work is A Dangerous Country.

Praise For…

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The book details Kovic’s entering of the Vietnam War as a fierce, pro-war patriot before becoming an outspoken peace activist after an injury paralyzed him and he returned home to a cold reception.
— Rolling Stone

Born on the Fourth of July tells the story of its author’s transition from war hawk to protestor after being paralyzed in Vietnam, and coming home to a lukewarm reception. It’s no coincidence that ‘Born in The U.S.A.’ tells very much the same tale.

— Billboard

Kovic’s book follows him from star high school wrestler to a patriotic American inspired by John F. Kennedy to join the marines to the traumatic 1968 wartime injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down to his emergence as an outspoken anti-war activist.
— Hollywood Reporter

The 1976 book, which was made into an Oscar winning film starring Tom Cruise in 1989, details Kovic’s period in the Vietnam War as a fierce, pro-war patriot before he became an outspoken peace activist after an injury paralysed him and he returned home to a cold reception.
— NME

Forty years ago the Vietnam vet from Massapequa—wounded in combat and in a wheelchair ever since—published his classic war memoir, later made into a film with Tom Cruise. The anniversary edition features a foreword by Bruce Springsteen. Kovic’s new book, Hurricane Street, chronicles the 1970s activism of the American Veterans Movement.

— Newsday

Born on the Fourth of July brings back the era of the Vietnam War at a time when the Establishment is trying to make the nation forget what they call the “Vietnam syndrome.” Ron Kovic’s memoir is written with poetic passion and grips your attention from the very first page to the last. It is a classic of anti-war literature and I hope it will be read by large numbers of young people, who will be both sobered and inspired by his story.

— Howard Zinn