Book Description
The bestselling author of Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, and Under the Banner of Heaven delivers a stunning, eloquent account of a remarkable young man’s haunting journey.
Like the men whose epic stories Jon Krakauer has told in his previous bestsellers, Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11, and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in southeastern Afghanistan.
Though obvious to most of the two dozen soldiers on the scene that a ranger in Tillman’s own platoon had fired the fatal shots, the Army aggressively maneuvered to keep this information from Tillman’s wife, other family members, and the American public for five weeks following his death. During this time, President Bush repeatedly invoked Tillman’s name to promote his administration’s foreign policy. Long after Tillman’s nationally televised memorial service, the Army grudgingly notified his closest relatives that he had “probably” been killed by friendly fire while it continued to dissemble about the details of his death and who was responsible.
In Where Men Win Glory, Jon Krakauer draws on Tillman’s journals and letters, interviews with his wife and friends, conversations with the soldiers who served alongside him, and extensive research on the ground in Afghanistan to render an intricate mosaic of this driven, complex, and uncommonly compelling figure as well as the definitive account of the events and actions that led to his death. Before he enlisted in the army, Tillman was familiar to sports aficionados as an undersized, overachieving Arizona Cardinals safety whose virtuosity in the defensive backfield was spellbinding. With his shoulder-length hair, outspoken views, and boundless intellectual curiosity, Tillman was considered a maverick. America was fascinated when he traded the bright lights and riches of the NFL for boot camp and a buzz cut. Sent first to Iraq—a war he would openly declare was “illegal as hell” —and eventually to Afghanistan, Tillman was driven by complicated, emotionally charged, sometimes contradictory notions of duty, honor, justice, patriotism, and masculine pride, and he was determined to serve his entire three-year commitment. But on April 22, 2004, his life would end in a barrage of bullets fired by his fellow soldiers.
Krakauer chronicles Tillman’s riveting, tragic odyssey in engrossing detail highlighting his remarkable character and personality while closely examining the murky, heartbreaking circumstances of his death. Infused with the power and authenticity readers have come to expect from Krakauer’s storytelling, Where Men Win Glory exposes shattering truths about men and war.
Amazon Exclusive: Jon Krakauer in Afghanistan Click on thumbnails for larger images  |  |  | Krakauer and First Lieutenant Eric Hayes on a foot patrol along the Afghanistan Pakistan border.
(Photo © Dennis Knowles) | Krakauer doing Humvee maintenance, 2007.
(Photo © Eric Hayesy) | Observation Post, Forward Operating Base Tillman |
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 A book that changed my perspective. |
| Review Date: September 17, 2009 |
| Reviewer: C. Jewell, |
| I was originally not very impressed by Pat Tillman's sacrifice. I believe our culture it too quick to call someone a hero. Most people use the expression to counterbalance their own insecurity of not serving in the military. After serving 6 years in the army including tours in Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq, I can honestly say I did not meet one hero--including myself. I now believe Pat Tillman's life was heroic. I say this because he was truly cognizant of America and its misgivings and yet he still willingly served. I did not become aware until about halfway through my tour in Iraq. Once I became aware, rage consumed me. Rage is a normal reaction when one realizes halfway through an act that what they are doing is morally reprehensible. Tillman could have easily escaped combat duty if he wanted. He refused to be used by the Bush regime and the military industrial complex, but still performed the duties that he believed to be right. I cannot express how unique of a person he was. He was a rarity in our world. The narrative on how the military brass and the Bush regime tried to use him and then cover up how he died made the rage come back all over again. I had to walk away from the book several times. The politics behind the story is vital to the context of the story. It's what makes him a tragic hero. A story that only romanticizes his sacrifice so we Americans can thump our chests in pride would be a disservice to his life. Those who are truly aware will appreciate this book. Those who wish to be in the dark will not. |
Krakauer's subjects defy convention
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| Review Date: September 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Bobby D., Cerritos, CA |
Pat Tillman went from playing in the NFL to giving up a
multi million dollar contract to become a "friendly fire" statistic
in Afghanistan. Krakauer says thus far in the current Iraq War 41
percent of U S casualties are by "friendly fire". The number was 39
percent in Vietnam and 52 percent the first Iraq war. Tillman's
widow Marie was the only family member to contribute "on the record"
for Krakauer's book. Political alert: Since most of my conservative
friends see anything that challenges their orthodoxy and world view
as unworthy of attention I don't think they will like or appreciate
this book. Why? Because we learn that Pat Tillman and his family do
not reinforce the stereotype of a fallen American Military hero.
Tillman questioned the Iraq war, opposed the Bush administrations
conduct of the war, was an atheist who did not wish to have a
religious or a military service if he died and all the same was a
reluctant hero who gave up much to volunteer along with his brother
to fight after 9/11. Why did Tillman join the Army and want to be an
enlisted man? Tillman kept a very detailed and personal journal and
Krakauer is an excellent writer who seems to find these unusual
individuals that defy convention (such as in his books Into the Wild
and Into Thin Air which is still his best work). Here Krakauer jumps
back and forth between recent events to focus on Tillman's life,
marriage, and friends concluding with how it was possible for him to
be shot by an individual from his own platoon with three .223-caliber
bullets tightly grouped together as they entered the right side of
Tillman's forehead. His brain to be found days later in the dirt near
where he died and it was later lost as a result of one of many
strange Army snafus. How could this event happen? Why when it did
happen did the Army cover it up? Did they cover it up? Why did the
Army provide false testimonial evidence to support a silver star for
Tillman? Why did they order members of Tillman's platoon not to
provide accurate information on the events of the shooting,
especially to Tillman's brother who was a member of that very same
platoon? And why was manufacturing pro war propaganda so important to
those in the Bush administration? And lastly, how many Americans
today even know the truth about Tillman after all these years
(Tillman was killed in 2004)? This is a sad and disturbing book that
leads one to think about what it means to fight and die for one's
country. This is also an important book, if only to insure we obtain
a better understanding of what happened to someone who marched to his
own personal beliefs no matter the risk. And how his government
betrayed his memory. (Note: Krakauer's book reminded me, in part, of
the excellent 1976 book about Vietnam by C.D.B. Bryan, titled
"Friendly Fire". That book is about one of the individuals who became
part of the 39 percent statistic that Krakauer quotes for that war.) |
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