The Book: Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, by Jon Krakauer

The Story: This was a story that was all over the news a couple of times.  First, Pat Tillman made the news by giving up his easy-peasy life as a pro football player to join the Army after 9/11.  Later, it was all over the news that he died in Afghanistan and he, for a time, became a war hero.  Still later, his family was in the news as they ordered investigations into his death after learning that he was a victim of “friendly fire,” and the government cover-up that went into this story.

Even knowing all of this going into it does not ruin the story.  This book really gets into who Pat Tillman was as a person and what he stood for.  It follows him from being a young kid, growing up in a home where it was encouraged that he think for himself.  So, when there was a call for men to join the military after the world trade center attacks, he did his research and joined the Army.  His younger brother, Kevin, joined right along with him.

Woven in with Tillman’s story, Jon Krakauer spells out what was happening in American politics and the politics in Afghanistan at this time.  I’ve read a lot of books and followed the news in this area, but this really laid it out in an easy-to-follow way that I was really comfortable with.  There was history there that I think most Americans are probably not aware of that is actually really important to know when we look at what is happening over there even today.

Anyway, it’s pretty amazing because through is time in the Army- even up until a few days before he died, Pat Tillman was keeping meticulous journals.  These journals were given to his wife after he died and she shared them with Jon Krakauer as he was writing the book.  They are amazing pieces to read and just watch Pat Tillman’s mind change about if this war was “justified” and watch him explore what his part there was.

Besides Pat Tillman’s life and football and military careers, the biggest focus here seems to be on the blunders and missteps that was made by the military during just the brief time that Tillman was on the ground in Afghanistan.  It is staggering.  The story of Jessica Lynch, another “war hero” that was straight up created by Bush’s posse, several stories of American planes flying over and killing large groups of Americans on the ground… and then the men in Pat Tillman’s own company who gunned him down while he was waving his arms to let them know that he was not “the enemy.”

What I thought: It has been a long time since a book effected me like this one has.  I finished it a couple of days ago and just can’t seem to get it out of my head.

There was a lot of history here that I was vaguely familiar with but didn’t really know.  The parts I didn’t know are what enraged me.  One thing that just blew me away was that when they decided to invade Afghanistan, Bush and his cabinet created a new position with the solitary job of distorting how Americans saw the war.  It was written in the job description that was agreed on and signed that facts, ideas, and pictures could be altered or completely fabricated to give to the press.  After other people heard about this, the position was taken away, but Donald Rumsfeld straight up said, “you can take away the position, but we’re still going to operate this way.” What?! How is that allowed?  Crazy.

I really fell in love with Pat Tillman and his wife.  I just loved reading about their life together and the respect and love that they had for each other.  I was really glad that she was open to Jon Krakauer writing this book and it seems like she was very open with all of the information that she had to give him.

I have read all of Jon Krakauer’s other books and have liked them all, but none of them got me fired up like this one did.  He did a great job of explaining without dumbing stuff down and of providing a fairly balanced view of Pat Tillman.

Conclusion: I wouldn’t read this if you are in a volatile mood. It got me really worked up.  That being said, it really is a great book.  It is current, especially as the new administration is still fighting the same war, and sending more men over every day.  Really good stuff.  This is one I will be recommending for a long time.