Tim O'Brien books in order

Q: "What is Tim O'Brien's most famous book?"

"'The Things They Carried' (1990) is his best-known work. It is a collection of linked short stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it has become required reading in high schools and colleges across the country."

Q: "Is 'The Things They Carried' fiction or nonfiction?"

"The book blurs the line between fiction and memoir. O'Brien uses his own name as the narrator and draws on real experiences from his time in Vietnam, but he has said many of the events are invented. He calls it a work of fiction, though it reads like autobiography in places."

Q: "What order should I read Tim O'Brien's books?"

"His books are all standalones, so you can start anywhere. Most readers begin with 'The Things They Carried' or his memoir 'If I Die in a Combat Zone.' 'Going After Cacciato,' which won the National Book Award in 1979, is another strong starting point."

Anthologies

Title	Published	Buy on Amazon
Ploughshares Spring 1976 Guest-Edited by Tim O’Brien with DeWitt Henry and Henry Bromell	1976	Buy
The Literary Ghost: Great Contemporary Ghost Stories	1991	Buy
The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction	1999	Buy
The Putt at the End of the World	2000	Buy
40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology	2000	Buy
The Eloquent Short Story: An Anthology of Narrative Styles	2004	Buy
Selected Shorts: Wartime Lives	2007	Buy
On War: The Best Military Histories	2013	Buy

Non-Fiction

Title	Published	Buy on Amazon
If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home	1973	Buy
The Things They Carried - Levels of Understanding	2012	Buy
Dick Kinzel	2015	Buy
Inner Story	2015	Buy
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Baseball Oddities & Trivia - Ball Two!	2016	Buy
Buzz Stories at Thirty Thousand Feet	2018	Buy
Dad’s Maybe Book	2019	Buy
Tim O’Brien’s Roadside Pics & Picks	2020	Buy
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Amusement Park Oddities & Trivia	2020	Buy

Standalone Novels

Title	Published	Buy on Amazon
Northern Lights	1975	Buy
Going After Cacciato	1978	Buy
The Nuclear Age	1985	Buy
The Things They Carried	1990	Buy
In the Lake of the Woods	1994	Buy
Tomcat in Love	1998	Buy
July, July	2002	Buy
America Fantastica	2023	Buy

Tim O’Brien was born in Austin, Minnesota, in 1946. After graduating from Macalester College in 1968, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam with the 198th Infantry Brigade. That experience became the foundation for nearly all of his fiction and nonfiction.

His first book, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home (1973), is a memoir of his year in Vietnam. He followed it with the novel Northern Lights (1975) and then Going After Cacciato (1978), which won the National Book Award. The Things They Carried (1990) became his defining work and is widely considered one of the greatest books about the Vietnam War.

O’Brien has also written novels outside the war genre, including The Nuclear Age (1985), In the Lake of the Woods (1994), and Tomcat in Love (1998). After a long gap following July, July (2002), he returned with America Fantastica in 2023. He has taught creative writing at Texas State University and received the Pritzker Military Museum & Library Literature Award for lifetime achievement in military writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Tim O'Brien's most famous book?

‘The Things They Carried’ (1990) is his best-known work. It is a collection of linked short stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it has become required reading in high schools and colleges across the country.

Is 'The Things They Carried' fiction or nonfiction?

The book blurs the line between fiction and memoir. O’Brien uses his own name as the narrator and draws on real experiences from his time in Vietnam, but he has said many of the events are invented. He calls it a work of fiction, though it reads like autobiography in places.

What order should I read Tim O'Brien's books?

His books are all standalones, so you can start anywhere. Most readers begin with ‘The Things They Carried’ or his memoir ‘If I Die in a Combat Zone.’ ‘Going After Cacciato,’ which won the National Book Award in 1979, is another strong starting point.

Anthologies#

Non-Fiction#

Standalone Novels#

Frequently Asked Questions

Anthologies

Non-Fiction

Standalone Novels