["Johnny Got His Gun"] is one of the most horrifying books ever written….

You have heard of the "basket cases" that are a byproduct of war. Perhaps you have seen one, and if you have you have almost certainly asked yourself, as you looked at the armless, legless object: What is it thinking and feeling? How can it go on living? The obvious answer to the second question is that a basket case has no power of self-destruction. The answer to the first question is the story of "Johnny Got His Gun."…

[As] Dalton Trumbo writes the tale, the poignancy of [the past memories of Joe Bonham] matches and complements the poignancy of [his present condition]….

Joe Bonham awoke to a timeless world, and his first need was to recapture time. "If you can keep track of time you can get a hold on yourself and keep yourself...