The Things They Carried is written from the perspective of the author, Tim O'Brien. The book is a compilation of his stories and experiences relating to the Vietnam War. It encompasses the events and lives of himself, the other members of his company, and the war as a whole. Tim O'Brien, of no important rank, is a solider in the Alpha Company that heads out most operations of Nam. They are the first troop to stake out land, the first to raid the villages, the trailblazers through the minefields. They are the best of the best. As the story is told, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross heads his troops across the marshes and paddies of Vietnam. It is in him the men must trust.

             As war for me goes, I had no foundation for what to expect. Being that I have never seen any war movies or read anything like this before, this, in essence, was my first realistic exposure to war. In my choosing this book, what I did expect was to have a book that I could relate to, as well as one that was written about someone's personal experience. And that is exactly what I got.

             Many stories, written as second-hand experience of O'Brien, take place before many soldiers are placed in or called to Alpha. They also reflect on how O'Brien interprets them. No war story is told without a twist or turn of the truth. Details are imagined, and dreamed up to how the teller finds most appropriate.

             "Vietnam was full of strange stories, some improbable, some well beyond that, but the stories that will last forever are those that swirl back and forth across the border between trivia and bedlam, the mad and the mundane." (O'Brien, pg. 89).

             This bias is the basis to a war story. Stories come from speculation, some from absolute fact, others from pure lies. From their origin on, truth relies on the eye of the beholder.

             "In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It's a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true, and the normal stuff isn't, because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness.