The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel, the Novel as History (Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award Winner)

Most interesting to me, being a rather apolitical person, was the way Mailer described his "image" as a being completely outside of himself, and how the character "Mailer" in the book can be seen as his image, while the Narrator can be seen as the real Mailer. Mailer is an enjoyable author to read, as his utterly opinionated and iconoclastic personality cannot be kept apart from his subject matter, a fact that is all the more true for ARMIES OF THE NIGHT. I was surprised how much self-awareness he actually possesses... writing in the third person allowed him to step outside himself and observe some of his more unusual personality traits. I also enjoyed the books BARK OF THE DOGWOOD and the new novel KITE RUNNER-----that is, if you're looking for something really different and great to read.

Mailer's 1968 account of the march on the Pentagon is something of a great and sweeping read where all of Mailer's skittish brillance falls into place. With nearly every facet of the counter culture gathering in Washington DC to give voice the commanding idea that the Viet Nam War was a folly that is at heart evil --antiwar protestors, Yippies, Quakers, poets, beats, rock stars, various drugged out crazies, nuns and ministers--Mailer was the superb witness to the events as they unfolded. The book is cranky, spirited, rolling with the metahors and acid insights that the mature Mailer manages; he is a subtle and rich noticer of small things, bits of business, gestures, facial expressions. Indeed, "Armies of the Night" is as much a comedy of manners as it is literary journalism. The shrewd and blunt estimations of Robert Lowell and Dwight MacDonald are wonders of the whole-honed phrase.

Those of you who are already familiar with the work of Norman Mailer don't need much of an introduction to the man who could perhaps be the most transcendant egoist of the century. For those of you who haven't read Mailer, know this: he writes unlike anyone of his peers, he can turn a phrase as well as Fitzgerald, he is a profound and unusual thinker, and has a great sense of humor.In this, the book that won him his first Pulitzer Prize, Mailer gives us what he likes to think of as two books. First comes "History As A Novel," in which Mailer describes his experience (in the third person) participating in the largest anti-Vietnam War rally to have occured by 1967 when this book was published. In traditional fashion, a somewhat besotted Mailer makes rousing and unsettling remarks at a theater based event, lends his support to draft-card burners (actually, the group of protesters were to turn in their cards, rather than burn them), and walk in the historically significant march on the Pentagon. At the Pentagon, Mailer manages to get himself arrested (a goal he had previously set for himself), and spends the weekend in jail. He describes all of this with such wit and insight that Mailer himself becomes as much the subject matter as the march itself.In the second book, "The Novel As History," Mailer gives us a historical perspective on the march and describes its genesis, reason for existance, movers and shakers, and then describes the march as it might have been seen by an unbiased reporter (although Mailer admits that no unbiased reports of this event could ever be given).Mailer is an enjoyable author to read, as his utterly opinionated and iconoclastic personality cannot be kept apart from his subject matter, a fact that is all the more true for Armies of the Night. I was surprised how much self-awareness he actually posesses... writing in the third person allowed him to step outside himself and observe some of his more unusual personality traits.You do not need a heavy interest in the Vietnam War to enjoy this book (although I suppose it may help)... all you need is your sympathy, intelligence, and sense of humor.

I checked this book out from the public library because it was short and looked interesting. I found one of, if not the best book I have ever read. This gives an excellent account on the March on the Pentagon and is definitely worth reading. Buy it today.

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.