First Blood

by David Morrell

Book 1 in the First Blood series (1972)

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

From New York Times bestselling author David Morrell comes the novel upon which the box office superhit Rambo was based.

First came the man: a young wanderer in a fatigue coat and long hair. Then came the legend, as John Rambo sprang from the pages of FIRST BLOOD to take his place in the American cultural landscape. This remarkable novel pits a young Vietnam veteran against a small-town cop who doesn’t know whom he’s dealing with — or how far Rambo will take him into a life-and-death struggle through the woods, hills, and caves of rural Kentucky.

This time when Johnny comes marching home be afraid. Be very afraid.

In a small American town without history, the Sheriff Teasle calls a young vagabond and, after a few hours of a muscular interrogation, orders him to leave the city. But the young man does not intend to be treated in this way and the policeman discovers at his expense that this veteran of Vietnam knows how to respond to the threat.

Millions saw the Rambo movies, but those who haven’t read the book that started it all are in for a surprise — a critically acclaimed story of character, action, and compassion.