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Quick answer: If you loved The Things They Carried, try Going After Cacciato, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Matterhorn, Dispatches, A Rumor of War and Born on the Fourth of July. Each one offers an honest and unforgettable look at war, memory or the soldiers who come home.
Tim O'Brien's linked stories follow a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. They carry weapons and letters, grief and fear, and O'Brien blurs the line between fact and fiction as he tells their stories, including a character who shares his name. Readers love the opening list, the honesty and the question of what makes a war story true. These books share its moral seriousness and its fresh way of telling war.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | War | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Going After Cacciato | Tim O'Brien | Vietnam | readers who want more O'Brien |
| If I Die in a Combat Zone | Tim O'Brien | Vietnam | readers who want O'Brien's real memoir |
| Matterhorn | Karl Marlantes | Vietnam | readers who want a big, realistic novel |
| Dispatches | Michael Herr | Vietnam | readers who want wild reporting |
| A Rumor of War | Philip Caputo | Vietnam | readers who want a classic memoir |
| Born on the Fourth of July | Ron Kovic | Vietnam | readers who want a veteran's story |
| The Sympathizer | Viet Thanh Nguyen | Vietnam | readers who want the Vietnamese side |
| Tree of Smoke | Denis Johnson | Vietnam | readers who want a big, strange novel |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | Erich Maria Remarque | World War I | readers who want the classic |
| Slaughterhouse-Five | Kurt Vonnegut | World War II | readers who like fractured storytelling |
| Catch-22 | Joseph Heller | World War II | readers who want dark humor |
| Regeneration | Pat Barker | World War I | readers who like war and psychology |
| Redeployment | Phil Klay | Iraq | readers who like short war stories |
| The Yellow Birds | Kevin Powers | Iraq | readers who want lyrical war writing |
| Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk | Ben Fountain | Iraq | readers who want satire |
1. Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
A soldier walks off from Vietnam, heading for Paris, and his squad follows.
Best for: readers who want more O'Brien.
2. If I Die in a Combat Zone by Tim O'Brien
O'Brien tells of his actual year in the war.
Best for: readers who want O'Brien's real memoir.
3. Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
A young Marine lieutenant fights for a remote hilltop.
Best for: readers who want a big, realistic novel.
4. Dispatches by Michael Herr
A correspondent tells of his time with the soldiers in Vietnam.
Best for: readers who want wild reporting.
5. A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo
A young Marine describes his first eager, then terrible year.
Best for: readers who want a classic memoir.
6. Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic
A wounded Marine becomes an antiwar activist.
Best for: readers who want a veteran's story.
7. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
A communist spy flees Saigon with the South Vietnamese general he watches.
Best for: readers who want the Vietnamese side.
8. Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
A young CIA officer gets lost in the Vietnam War.
Best for: readers who want a big, strange novel.
9. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
A young German soldier faces the trenches.
Best for: readers who want the classic.
10. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
A soldier comes unstuck in time after surviving Dresden.
Best for: readers who like fractured storytelling.
11. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
A bomber pilot tries to escape the absurd rules of war.
Best for: readers who want dark humor.
12. Regeneration by Pat Barker
A doctor treats shell-shocked officers in a Scottish hospital.
Best for: readers who like war and psychology.
13. Redeployment by Phil Klay
Stories about Marines in Iraq and their return home.
Best for: readers who like short war stories.
14. The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
A young soldier returns from Iraq, burdened by a promise.
Best for: readers who want lyrical war writing.
15. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
A young soldier is celebrated at a football game back home.
Best for: readers who want satire.
How to Choose
Go with Going After Cacciato if you want more of O'Brien's imagination, and with If I Die in a Combat Zone if you are curious about what really happened to him. For a full novel about Vietnam, Matterhorn is one of the most realistic ever written. Dispatches and A Rumor of War are the classic nonfiction accounts. To see the war from another side, read The Sympathizer. If you loved the blurring of memory and fiction, Slaughterhouse-Five does something similar, and Catch-22 tackles absurdity. Redeployment and The Yellow Birds bring these same questions to the Iraq War, and they are great next reads for younger audiences.
Related: The Things They Carried Book Club Discussion Questions (With Summary and Themes) · The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz: Summary and Key Takeaways
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Things They Carried about?
Linked stories follow American soldiers during and after the Vietnam War.
Is The Things They Carried a true story?
It is fiction, although O'Brien served in Vietnam and uses his own name, which intentionally blurs the line.
Is it a novel or short stories?
It is usually described as a collection of linked short stories, though many read it as a novel.
What age is The Things They Carried for?
It is commonly taught in high school, usually for ages 15 and up.
What did the soldiers carry?
They carry weapons and supplies, but also memories, fear and guilt.