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Shep's Army: Bummers, Blisters and Boondoggles
No U.S. Military Personnel were harmed during the making of these fictional reminiscences. No warrior is more forgotten than he who has been left behind by the war department. Most men who have never tasted combat beyond the occasional fistfight on poker night quickly learn to lay low and zip the lip when battlefield stories are unfurled by the Purple Hearters at the dinner table. Except, of course, for our man Jean Shepherd. Fearless in his uncombativeness, he manfully fought his dearth of frontline duty with the weapons he wielded unmatched by even the most decorated rapid-fire griping and explosive laughter.
Jean Shepherd was, and remains, a pervasive part of American culture. His quirky individuality was portrayed for posterity by Jason Robards in the play and film, A Thousand Clowns , written by Shep's close pal, Herb Gardner. Jack Nicholson embodied a Shepherd-like late-night radio talker in The King of Marvin Gardens . While in Network , by Paddy Chayefsky (another of Shep's comic cohorts), the television newscaster beseeches his listeners to open their windows and yell, “I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore ” an unmistakable echo of Shepherd's radio habit of “hurling an invective” like a hand grenade out into the nation's air waves. Shepherd was a spiritual father to Garrison Keillor, Daniel Pinkwater, Bill Harley, Paul Krassner and Joe Frank.
Tens of thousands of rabid fans stayed up past their bedtime with transistor radios stashed under their pillows to follow Shep's always unpredictable, usually extemporaneous, verbal forays into current events, social mores, idle thoughts, stories about his childhood in northern Indiana (“I was this kid, see...”), his army days, and his idiosyncratic take on his world-wide travels. Shepherd once bamboozled an innocent public, and gullible publishing world, by promoting a non-existent book ( I, Libertine ) and author (Frederick R. Ewing), then co-writing it with sci-fi author Theodore Sturgeon. It sold in best-seller numbers. Shepherd wrote nearly two dozen stories for Playboy and even interviewed the Beatles for the magazine. He published several best-selling books of his stories and articles; he appeared at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and in hundreds of jam-packed college auditoriums.
Shep's Army is the first volume of new Shepherd tales to be published in a quarter century.
Shep's Army is the first volume of new Shepherd tales to be published in nearly a decade.
Jean Shepherd was, and remains, a pervasive part of American culture. His quirky individuality was portrayed for posterity by Jason Robards in the play and film, A Thousand Clowns , written by Shep's close pal, Herb Gardner. Jack Nicholson embodied a Shepherd-like late-night radio talker in The King of Marvin Gardens . While in Network , by Paddy Chayefsky (another of Shep's comic cohorts), the television newscaster beseeches his listeners to open their windows and yell, “I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore ” an unmistakable echo of Shepherd's radio habit of “hurling an invective” like a hand grenade out into the nation's air waves. Shepherd was a spiritual father to Garrison Keillor, Daniel Pinkwater, Bill Harley, Paul Krassner and Joe Frank.
Tens of thousands of rabid fans stayed up past their bedtime with transistor radios stashed under their pillows to follow Shep's always unpredictable, usually extemporaneous, verbal forays into current events, social mores, idle thoughts, stories about his childhood in northern Indiana (“I was this kid, see...”), his army days, and his idiosyncratic take on his world-wide travels. Shepherd once bamboozled an innocent public, and gullible publishing world, by promoting a non-existent book ( I, Libertine ) and author (Frederick R. Ewing), then co-writing it with sci-fi author Theodore Sturgeon. It sold in best-seller numbers. Shepherd wrote nearly two dozen stories for Playboy and even interviewed the Beatles for the magazine. He published several best-selling books of his stories and articles; he appeared at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and in hundreds of jam-packed college auditoriums.
Shep's Army is the first volume of new Shepherd tales to be published in a quarter century.
Shep's Army is the first volume of new Shepherd tales to be published in nearly a decade.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Jean Shepherd
41 books144 followersWas an American raconteur, radio and TV personality, writer and actor who was often referred to by the nickname Shep. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is best known to modern audiences for the film A Christmas Story (1983), which he narrated and co-scripted, based on his own semi-autobiographical stories.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 3, 2017
Enter the storyteller. It is his job to remember not merely great events or funny punchlines; but also to make real the common events that remind the old and illuminate for the young what the business of living is about. This is the role that Jean Shepherd took up and in which he excelled. Most people met Jean Shepherd via his very successful movie Christmas Story A Christmas Story . The movie is drawn from several of his published short stories and is narrated by Jean AKA "Shep".
I had first come to know of Jean Shepherd either through his brief television show Jean Shepherd's America or the WOR New York portion of his radio days. His was a time when talk radio did not have to be shock jock or political storm and thunder. The great skill of Jean Shepherd both in his published works and in his live radio broadcasts was not merely that he placed you into a world you may not have known but you share his passion for that world.
Shep's Army is a set of transcripts from Jean Shepherd's radio shows focused on his Army experiences in World War II. He served as an enlisted man about as far from the fighting front has anyone stationed in America could be. Transcript editor Eugene B. Bergmann writes the introduction Shep's stories are not to be read as strictly autobiography. Even so the apparent confusion over whether Shepherd served in the Army Signal Corps or the occasionally mentioned `mess kit repair company' is clearly confusion on the editors part. Anyone with direct military experience would recognize that the mess kit repair company was an inside joke invented by someone in his company to cut off the repetitive questions civilians might ask of a Signal Corps Radar operator.
In roughly 30 stories Shep relates the boredom, the largely unwanted alternatives to boredom and the arbitrary existence of a war time EM (enlisted man). Because these were radio broadcasts he works hard to avoid the authentic crude language of that life. Even so you come to feel the cold and the tension of his experience.
Shep's Army is not humor. It can be funny, it is also disconcerting. The two things come across consistently . Firstly, how completely different being in uniform is from being out. Secondly, Shep's loneliness. Nowhere in here is the talk of instant, lifelong comradeship. This is not the stuff of typical military hi-jinks that might lampoon his disordered experiences. This is the panoply of human reactions to a highly ordered life that was meant to prepare you for unexpected events.
Shep's Army allows you to experience the humorous and the ordinary. Lighter stories tend to be highly detailed and explained. Tragic and near tragic events tend to be more simply described, allowing you to see them in stark contrast. This is good story telling. These are the honest tales of an observant story teller.
I had first come to know of Jean Shepherd either through his brief television show Jean Shepherd's America or the WOR New York portion of his radio days. His was a time when talk radio did not have to be shock jock or political storm and thunder. The great skill of Jean Shepherd both in his published works and in his live radio broadcasts was not merely that he placed you into a world you may not have known but you share his passion for that world.
Shep's Army is a set of transcripts from Jean Shepherd's radio shows focused on his Army experiences in World War II. He served as an enlisted man about as far from the fighting front has anyone stationed in America could be. Transcript editor Eugene B. Bergmann writes the introduction Shep's stories are not to be read as strictly autobiography. Even so the apparent confusion over whether Shepherd served in the Army Signal Corps or the occasionally mentioned `mess kit repair company' is clearly confusion on the editors part. Anyone with direct military experience would recognize that the mess kit repair company was an inside joke invented by someone in his company to cut off the repetitive questions civilians might ask of a Signal Corps Radar operator.
In roughly 30 stories Shep relates the boredom, the largely unwanted alternatives to boredom and the arbitrary existence of a war time EM (enlisted man). Because these were radio broadcasts he works hard to avoid the authentic crude language of that life. Even so you come to feel the cold and the tension of his experience.
Shep's Army is not humor. It can be funny, it is also disconcerting. The two things come across consistently . Firstly, how completely different being in uniform is from being out. Secondly, Shep's loneliness. Nowhere in here is the talk of instant, lifelong comradeship. This is not the stuff of typical military hi-jinks that might lampoon his disordered experiences. This is the panoply of human reactions to a highly ordered life that was meant to prepare you for unexpected events.
Shep's Army allows you to experience the humorous and the ordinary. Lighter stories tend to be highly detailed and explained. Tragic and near tragic events tend to be more simply described, allowing you to see them in stark contrast. This is good story telling. These are the honest tales of an observant story teller.
November 7, 2023
He was in the same class as Mark Twain!
September 18, 2015
Well, this was a surprise. And not a great one. I LOVE Jean Shepherd. Love him. Everything I've read of his so far has just killed me and I adore "A Christmas Story" to a somewhat obsessive degree. So naturally the first book in years published of Shepherd's stories was a big deal, and I saved it to read for when I thought I'd like it most (as in now, as an antidote to a sad book I read recently).
But this book wasn't great. Shep's stories about his time in the army were a little too short on whimsy and a little too long on cynicism. Which I get - I mean, the army isn't a barrel of laughs. But I'd read one short story about his army days in one of his other books that WAS awesome, so I expected a little more from this book. I liked some of it, but those moments were few and far between.
His other books are absolutely worth reading, but this one I'd say skip. The lack of lovable secondary characters like his foul mouthed father took a lot away from these stories. Boo.
But this book wasn't great. Shep's stories about his time in the army were a little too short on whimsy and a little too long on cynicism. Which I get - I mean, the army isn't a barrel of laughs. But I'd read one short story about his army days in one of his other books that WAS awesome, so I expected a little more from this book. I liked some of it, but those moments were few and far between.
His other books are absolutely worth reading, but this one I'd say skip. The lack of lovable secondary characters like his foul mouthed father took a lot away from these stories. Boo.
May 8, 2020
I have read and reread all of Shepard's books but once was enough for this one. I found this work to be dark , dreary, and altogether maudlin. If there was any humor here, I could not find it.
I will not dead it again. Having been in the service myself, I too bad some bad moments but Shepard's account was, to me, one!not nd drawn out wail.
it again. This book seems, at times, to have been written by the
I will not dead it again. Having been in the service myself, I too bad some bad moments but Shepard's account was, to me, one!not nd drawn out wail.
it again. This book seems, at times, to have been written by the
August 11, 2016
I am a huge Jean Shepherd fan and have read all his books.This book took his radio show stories about the army, and transcribed them into this book. What a mistake. It's unfunny, poorly written, and should be avoided at all costs by Shep fans. The attempt had good intentions. but we all know what road is paved with them.
April 2, 2014
I LOVE Jean shepherd's books!
Well, normally I love Jean Shepherd's books. This one is not one of my favorites. I guess I'd rather read Shepherd's family stories. This book felt disjointed and I didn't find it amusing at all.
Well, normally I love Jean Shepherd's books. This one is not one of my favorites. I guess I'd rather read Shepherd's family stories. This book felt disjointed and I didn't find it amusing at all.
November 10, 2023
This is not a collection of humorous Jean Shepard stories. It is instead a collection of transcribed radio shows from the 1960s through the 1970s about Shepard’s time as a soldier during World War II. As the editor says, some of the stories are true, some are anecdotal. Some also happen to contain funny bits. But most reflect the despair and terror of waiting to be shipped off to the front, along with the inductive insanity of many military machinations.
Do not expect the humor of Christmas Story or Wanda Hickey or Ferrari in the Bedroom. Real wars suck.
Do not expect the humor of Christmas Story or Wanda Hickey or Ferrari in the Bedroom. Real wars suck.
December 28, 2017
Should appeal to fans of "A Christmas Story" (the screenplay was adapted by Shepherd from his book "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash"), although it is darker and more grown-up.
March 17, 2018
If you like the Army story's that where shared on the radio, magazines, and live you will love reading this. I hear Jean's voice throughout this book.
March 19, 2022
Jean Shepherd is known for humor writing. This book consisted of absolutely no humor. Not one of these stories were funny. Many were sad.
November 10, 2023
excellent
Fun read and interesting insight into Shep’s Army life. Would recommend to anyone interested in Jean Shepherd. Very enjoyable read
Fun read and interesting insight into Shep’s Army life. Would recommend to anyone interested in Jean Shepherd. Very enjoyable read
June 7, 2024
This book is for anyone who listened to Jean Shepherd's humorous radio broadcast in the past even if you were not in the military.
February 22, 2014
I listened to Jean Shepherd on the radio. He was on a station in Cincinnati at that time, with his free-floating monologues about whatever struck his fancy. Occasionally he's play a record -- it was generally jazz, by an unidentified band. On one night he spoke of "the people, coming out into the city, of hearing the clatter of wooden shoes on the cobblestones." Well,, that was it for Jean in Ohio. I had no taste for the pop music of the mid 50's or much of anything else that came over the airwaves in Columbus. When I heard Shepherd was back on the air in New York, I bought 16-tube Hallicrafters radio and put up an outdoor antenna to get WOR.
I've read all of his books. "Shep's Army", sadly will be the last. It was put together by Eugene Bergmann from existing radio tapes of Shepherd reminiscing about his days in the army. It's vintage Shepherd -- the loner fighting for his identity, demanding a "D' on his dog tags for Druid. Shepherd finds himself in the signal corps. As expected the stories are filled with enough truth to keep you believing they really happened exactly this way.
I've read all of his books. "Shep's Army", sadly will be the last. It was put together by Eugene Bergmann from existing radio tapes of Shepherd reminiscing about his days in the army. It's vintage Shepherd -- the loner fighting for his identity, demanding a "D' on his dog tags for Druid. Shepherd finds himself in the signal corps. As expected the stories are filled with enough truth to keep you believing they really happened exactly this way.
November 24, 2020
Amusing as to be expected from Jean Shepherd, circumloquacious as one expects from a collection not written but rather culled and transcribed from old radio broadcasts, and sadly obscure as the in jokes offhand references and vague descriptions imposed by broadcast regulations become less decipherable and relevant or comprehensible with the passing years.
August 12, 2016
Just rambling hodgepodge of stores none of which are funny.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews