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Billy Don, Basic and Me (Billy Don Basic and Me)

by:
Michael Rabon (Author)

ISBN: 0-7414-6007-6 ©2010
Price: $16.95
Book Size: 5.5'' x 8.5'' , 289 pages
Category/Subject: FICTION / War & Military

I knew when Billy Don told me that he was going to eat a Baby Ruth candy bar out of the commode in front of Sergeant Luna, he was serious about a Section Eight. He wanted out.

Abstract:

Billy Don Basic and Me----fact based fiction. Its 1961, and skinny little eighteen-year old Michael L. Donovan, has never been out of his home state of Oklahoma until he arrives at basic training reception at Fort Jackson SC. As the platoon roll is called, he learns there is a trainee in the company’s midst that hails from Tulsa, Oklahoma! Michael and big Billy Don Couch become the perfect buddies. One has the brain the other brawn. But basic training soon turns toxic in the form of letters from home. Tragically, they didn’t realize that the real danger was always just down the hall…

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Customer Reviews

  A great read , 06/22/2010
Reviewer: Joe Harwell
This is one of the most honest looks into the times of the early 1960's I've ever read. Mike really plugged into the way things really were for young military recruits. I recommend it to every guy, and women should read it too.

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  , 06/30/2010
Reviewer: john durrill
Really enjoyed this book....Mike had a wonderful sense of the times in his writing, and I can't wait until writes his next story.........a great read for anyone..JDurrill

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  Great start for first time author! , 07/08/2010
Reviewer: Sharon Ashley
I was thoroughly entertained with this new author’s writing style. It’s a salty, true grit accounting of the author’s experiences in Army’s Basic Training. I was skeptical, being a woman, that I wouldn’t get “it”. However, the book entertained me throughout! Not only is it about basic training but about how guys from different walks of life come together and bond in a situation where they are thrown together to survive the sometime horrific experiences of boot camp.

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  A great start for a new author , 07/08/2010
Reviewer: Sharon G Ashley
I was throughly entertained by this new author's writing style. Its a salty true grit accounting of the author's experiences in the Army's basic training. I was skeptical being a woman that I wouldn't "get it." However the book enterained me throughout. Not only is it about basic training but about how guys from different walks of life come together and bond together in a situation where they are thrown together to survive the sometimes horrific experiences of boot camp.

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  Awesome Story! , 07/10/2010
Reviewer: Christopher Bihrle
This was an extraordinary book! I was hooked from page 1 and I couldn't put it down! I would LOVE to see this story come to life in a movie. It was that good. Great job, Michael Rabon!

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  Like Reading a Flashback , 07/12/2010
Reviewer: Tony Leslie
For those of us that went through basic training during the sixties this book will bring back the smells, sounds and the feelings that permeated every inch of our lives. I had forgotten a lot of that stuff until Michael Rabon brought it back. Interesting that he remembered, and even more so that he is able to add the drama and storyline to make this a great novel that you just can't put down for very long. How many of us remember a big old Billy Don from basic training?

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  Two Thumbs Up!! , 07/13/2010
Reviewer: Gary Gustafson
I enjoyed reading this book so much that I have already started it again. This story reads much like the diary of a young man, Michael Donovan, going through basic training in the early 60s. At 18 and somewhat naive, he enlists into the army. The story recounts the many instances (some funny, some not so funny) that take place during basic training. In 8 weeks, he experiences and learns more than many people do in a lifetime. I found this book to be humorous in some parts (similar to "Private Benjamin")and very touching and emotional in others (similar to "An Officer and a Gentleman.") I look forward to more publications from Michael Rabon.

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  Outstanding Read , 07/21/2010
Reviewer: Mike Looney
For reasons I do not understand or can’t explain, I’ve long been attracted to stories set in the past that deal with friendship. So, I was attracted to Mike Rabon’s new book, Billy Don, Basic and Me since the story revolves around two Oklahoma kids trying to make it through boot camp in 1961. Rabon’s attention to dialogue, is remarkable, as if he held a recorder during his own boot camp experience in ’61. I do not remember the last time that I laughed so loud while reading a book. Billy Don, Basic and Me manages to do something few books can: to be both touching and hilarious at the same time. It’s well worth the read. Mike Looney

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  Great Read! , 07/22/2010
Reviewer: John Hamilton
Mike Rabon is a talented musician/songwriter, but he is a great story teller as well. "Billy Don, Basic, and Me" is an intimate look at Army basic training life in the early '60's. It is also a tale of friendship, survival, and tragedy. I had trouble putting the book down at times, because I always wanting to see what would happen next. The salty language that is used by the book's characters, is not for the squeamish....but neither is US Army boot camp. Just ask any veteran, they'll tell you! If you want real adventure, and a great read, then "Billy Don, Basic, and Me" is the book for you.

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  Super Read , 07/29/2010
Reviewer: Don Brewington
Got book yesterday and read it last night,great depiction by author of the way it was in military,brought back memories to me. Thought it was well written and anyone should enjoy this read.

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  60's Basic Training , 09/20/2010
Reviewer: gerene taylor
Inside the pages of "Billy Don Basic and Me" you will find information that can only lead to one amazing conclusion: Both men in this book spent their time in basic training focusing on their fears, emotions, needs and hopes. The page layout of the book made for easy reading/understanding for this writer who finished it in a 18 hr. setting.......and I'm a slow reader. Evidence of a complicated "Friendship" unfolds while the writer uses his willingness to share the many lessons of their ordeal in Ft. Jackson SC during their Basic Training. This is the kind of book you give your friends for their amazement.........and for their lives.

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  Great Read , 09/29/2010
Reviewer: Dorsey Jack Reirdon
Mike Rabon's book "Billy Don,Basic and Me" is a book that I found to be most enjoyable. The book told of what life was like for young men going through basic training in the US Army, friendships formed by people from different backgrounds, bullies and life in general. It is a well written story, which show emotions of happiness,saddness and the results of some choices made by individuals. I highly recomend this book to anyone who enjoys reading a good book. Sincerely, Dorsey Jack Reirdon Kerrville, TX

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  Really good , 10/30/2010
Reviewer: deb bruce
I loved this book...mostly because I recognized these characters immediately. As one would expect in a book about basic training, the language was graphic. But, the picture the author painted will stay with me for a long time. He finished writing...and I wasn't finished reading!

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