Kibi W. (Kibi) reviewed The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel, the Novel as History on + 582 more book reviews
Should be required reading in history courses, September 28, 1997
Reviewer: Michael Battaglia
I was never around for the events that were described in this book, so I wasn't sure how I would react to them. I shouldn't have worried. Mailer describes everything perfectly in the best third person narration I've ever seen. The way he talks about himself and others is so objective at some times, brutally honest at others, that you wouldn't even know Mailer is writing the book. Of course, knowing that he is the author and that is saying some not very nice things about himself makes it even more fun.
But the true character in this book is not Mailer but the American people, shown here in all their squalor and glory. Mailer treats everyone the same, from celeberties to the common protesters that he sees with their quiet bravery. Before this book, I had never heard of the march on the Pentagon, but after it I am quite certain that it was a pivotal moment in American history with repercussions beyond the Vietnam War, some which we can still feel today.
Reviewer: Michael Battaglia
I was never around for the events that were described in this book, so I wasn't sure how I would react to them. I shouldn't have worried. Mailer describes everything perfectly in the best third person narration I've ever seen. The way he talks about himself and others is so objective at some times, brutally honest at others, that you wouldn't even know Mailer is writing the book. Of course, knowing that he is the author and that is saying some not very nice things about himself makes it even more fun.
But the true character in this book is not Mailer but the American people, shown here in all their squalor and glory. Mailer treats everyone the same, from celeberties to the common protesters that he sees with their quiet bravery. Before this book, I had never heard of the march on the Pentagon, but after it I am quite certain that it was a pivotal moment in American history with repercussions beyond the Vietnam War, some which we can still feel today.
