Guy Lochhead, 30/08/10
Paralysed Vietnam veteran turned prominent American anti-war activist. Kovic’s autobiography ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ was turned into a Hollywood feature with Tom Cruise. The book manages to champion pacifism whilst consistently engaging its reader with its accessibility and all-American-ness. It is an anti-war autobiography, but it is as much about Kovic’s disillusionment with his childhood ideals of Christianity, war heroes and John Wayne. Include the autobiography.