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Available
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Publication
Anchor (2010), Edition: Rev Rep, Paperback, 480 pages
Description
Irrepressible individualist and iconoclast Pat Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract in May 2002 to enlist in the United States Army. Deeply troubled by 9/11, 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 Afghanistan. Though obvious to most 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 family and the American public for five weeks following his death, while President Bush repeatedly invoked Tillman's name to promote his administration's foreign policy. Biographer Krakauer draws on his journals and letters, interviews with his wife and friends, conversations with the soldiers who served alongside him, and extensive research in Afghanistan to render this driven, complex, and uncommonly compelling figure as well as the definitive account of the events and actions that led to his death.--From publisher description.… (more)
Media reviews
Mr. Krakauer cobbled together his book in a spirit of desperation. Though he set out in search of Mr. Tillman’s whole story, he didn’t find what he was looking for.
There is a master’s hand evident in this particular depiction of events in a life that will end too soon, meticulously built of pieces carefully chiseled from recent international history, political intrigue, first-hand reporting, thoughtful reading, and a feel for what is most human. The
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author, like his subject, purposefully strides out on his great battlefield too. Show Less
Those who have spent time in the military and have seen it struggle not just with war but with everyday barracks life tend to err on the side of incompetence, while those who never have -- such as Krakauer -- tend to suspect conspiracy.
The best-selling author Jon Krakauer has now told the full story in “Where Men Win Glory.” The combination of Krakauer and Tillman seems hard to resist: Krakauer is a masterly writer and reporter; “Into Thin Air,” his account of a disastrous climbing expedition on Mount Everest, is as
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riveting and harrowing a book as I’ve ever read. With Tillman, you would think he’d have all he needed to fashion an epic narrative. Unfortunately, he fails to pull it off. Show Less
Krakauer -- whose forensic studies of the Emersonian Man in books such as "Into Thin Air" and 'Into the Wild" yield so much insight -- has turned in a beautiful bit of reporting, documenting Tillman's life with journals and interviews with those close to him.
The outline of Tillman's story is well-known, but the details Krakauer tallies, based on reporting trips to Afghanistan and interviews with many of the soldiers who participated in the fratricidal firefight that killed Tillman, give this story the weight it deserves.
User reviews
LibraryThing member msf59
Pat Tillman had it all. He was a star NFL football player. He was smart, gregarious, newly married and his future was looking even brighter. Then 9/11 struck! As his fellow teammates beat their chests and howled revenge, Tillman stepped out and actually did something. He dropped his lucrative
iconoclast. Highly recommended!
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career, against immense family opposition and joined the Army Rangers. He turned down officer school because he wanted to be on the front lines in Afghanistan, serving his country and fighting the enemy. He eventually got his wish and was unfortunately killed a short time later. Was he a war hero, as the U.S. Army professed or was he fatally injured by friendly fire? Why were there blatant lies and chilling cover-ups? Caught in the middle of this quagmire were his loving wife and his courageous parents. Krakauer has constructed an incredible portrait of a true American iconoclast. Highly recommended!
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LibraryThing member rivkat
I realized while reading this book that I read all those other behavioral economics books to give myself some sense of control in this incredibly screwed-up world. Krakauer here tells the personal story of Pat Tillman, a football player with an active intellectual/moral life recorded in his
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journals, who decided to enlist in the Army after 9/11. Though he hated the separation from his wife, and thought the war in Iraq was a terrible mistake, he believed that he’d done the right thing; when he was killed by “friendly fire” or fratricide in Afghanistan, the Army immediately began a coverup that stretched far up the chain of command. His memory was badly abused by the Bush administration and only the perserverance of his family revealed the facts—long after it had been widely reported that he was killed by hostiles in an ambush. Krakauer intertwines Tillman’s biography with some history of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, emphasizing how we have repeatedly misconstrued, mismanaged, and otherwise screwed up our policies in the region. It’s a profoundly depressing story, top to bottom, and Krakauer argues that Tillman’s death was the kind of thing that is (1) inevitable in war, which we need to remember, and (2) even more likely when we are in wars that are themselves confusing, with objectives not tied to any reality (Tillman died because, against the advice of everyone actually in the area, HQ ordered his platoon to split up and proceed during the day in an exposed fashion, which itself was only considered necessary because—due to the war in Iraq—there weren’t enough helicopters to come take a disabled vehicle out of the area. It was a mess from top to bottom.) Show Less
LibraryThing member brianinbuffalo
If I had any doubts that Jon Krakauer was my favorite non-fiction author of all time, "Where Men Win Glory" dispelled them. He married two genres that I typically loathe -- war stories and sports sagas -- creating a compelling narrative that I thoroughly enjoyed. I previously knew little about
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Tillman's odyssey beyond the basics that had been reported in the media. While Krakauer doesn't manage to answer every question regarding Tillman's complex character, he comes close. The story bogs down a bit in the middle as the author grapples with military protocols, etc. What's more, some reviewers' complaints that Krakeur shows a bias are warranted beefs. Still, the book is an exceptional work that I would highly recommend. Show Less
LibraryThing member rdwhitenack
Not the typical Krakauer I'm used to. Found his research spurious, at best. Had no consent from the Tillman family for the material within the book. Relied on Tillman's widow predominantly for information on all parts of Pat's life. Provided history of Afghanistan is excellent, succinct yet
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thorough. However, the historical piece are tediously spliced with background on Tillman using awkward and abrupt transitions. Most concerning are the in-your-face political opinions (not that I disagree with them, necessarily) that serve only to show the sizable agenda that Krakauer wanted to address. Important to do, I guess, but takes away from the incredible story of Pat Tillman. Show Less
LibraryThing member BookWallah
The story of the life of Pat Tillman interspersed with a painstakingly articulate account the Iraq war, the Afghan war (2001), the military’s need for heroes and willingness to use propaganda to deliver them. This is still the typical Krakauer page-turner we have come to expect, but with a twist
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– it includes a better explanation of al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Afghanistan tribal culture than found elsewhere. Highly recommended regardless of your political persuasions. Show Less
LibraryThing member Niecierpek
I am very glad that I decided to read this book. At first, a combination of professional football and war didn’t seem very enticing, but Krakauer does not disappoint and delivers scathing criticism of the Bush regime and the way his military propaganda was concocted and delivered.
Krakauer looks
Pat Tillman comes across as an extraordinary individual- a combination of a superb athlete and a very thoughtful, principled, compassionate, diary keeping, book reading and quotes writing individual. Krakauer delivers a well researched and very detailed account of his life using his diaries, family accounts, interviews with army soldiers and officials, on site research- including spending time embedded in the Army in Afghanistan- and Congress hearings accounts. Krakauer’s working title of the book was Hero, and I think that it would be befitting Pat Tillman, but I suppose he decided against it as Pat Tillman’s heroic image was used by the Bush administration for all the wrong reasons.
Krakauer looks
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at the life of Pat Tillman, a professional football player who rejected a multimillion contract and volunteered to fight in Afghanistan after being shocked and moved by the 9/11 events, and who was subsequently killed by the friendly fire. He examines American involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as Pat Tillman is deployed there, and then focuses on the government’s cover up and its twisted propaganda use of Tillman’s death. He also discusses other instances of friendly fire cover ups and the government’s fabulous fabrication of Jessica Lynch’s heroic behavior.Pat Tillman comes across as an extraordinary individual- a combination of a superb athlete and a very thoughtful, principled, compassionate, diary keeping, book reading and quotes writing individual. Krakauer delivers a well researched and very detailed account of his life using his diaries, family accounts, interviews with army soldiers and officials, on site research- including spending time embedded in the Army in Afghanistan- and Congress hearings accounts. Krakauer’s working title of the book was Hero, and I think that it would be befitting Pat Tillman, but I suppose he decided against it as Pat Tillman’s heroic image was used by the Bush administration for all the wrong reasons.
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LibraryThing member BrianaHoven
Absolutely wonderful. Krakauer does justice to Tillman and exposes some sobering realities of the "War on Terror." I was deeply moved by this story and could not recommend it highly enough.
LibraryThing member terbby
Krakauer is my favorite author in the mountaineering genre. Recently he has expanded his purview to investigative journalism with Under the Banner of Heaven, in which he revealed his talents as a top rate and courageous reporter of sensitive subject matter. In tackling the Tillman death, he is less
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successful; although the reader is left with the conviction that the case is thoroughly investigated and explained in the book, the style is less gripping than usual, partly because Krakauer is forced to rely on extensive quotes from historical or official documents. The book tells an important story, presents it fairly (although not without reaching some compelling and controversial conclusions), but lacks the gripping storytelling quality that one has come to expect from the author. Show Less
LibraryThing member theanalogdivide
This is probably a 3.5 star book. Any other author I'd give the benefit of the doubt; given that it's Captain Swarthy himself I have to reserve a bit harsher judgment. When this book is on, it's really on. I read it in 3 sittings, swept up in a narrative I already knew the conclusion to (and hoped
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would turn out otherwise). The prose left me breathless, and with an overwhelming sense of righteous indignation at 6 years of unjust war and outright lies from those perpetrating it. But - and this book would have received many more stars if there weren't a but - this book was supposed to be about Pat Tillman, a character ripe for the Krakauer treatment ("Kraking," in my personal parlance). All the elements were there: an exceptional individual governed by an unassailable moral code. Thoughtful and intense, a peaceful warrior driven by an inherent sense of mission, and led to an unfortunate end by a world far more susceptible to petty hubris. But Krakauer never really gets into Tillman's head. He's a character in the story, but we never get to know him like we did Chris McCandless or the Lafferty brothers. It's no surprise publication was delayed a year while the author retooled the book. I'm not sure if further delay would have fixed things, but as it stands this is a good book that misses becoming a great book. Show Less
LibraryThing member SamSattler
I suspect that most Americans are still confused about Pat Tillman’s death because of how that tragic event was reported. Early reports stated that Tillman had been killed in an enemy ambush and that his heroic actions during the firefight earned him a posthumous Silver Star. A few weeks later,
Those who still wonder how something like this could happen, how the truth about Tillman’s death could have been withheld from his family for five weeks, can finally find their answers by turning to the new Jon Krakauer book "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman." What Krakauer describes in the book is as understandable as it is disheartening. Human nature being what it is, almost from the moment Tillman’s body was recovered, some on the ground seem to have been more concerned with covering up the poor tactical decisions that contributed to his death than they were about reporting the truth. Others, much higher up in the chain-of-command, saw an opportunity to use Pat Tillman’s image as a morale booster for the entire country and, for that to happen, his death had to be a heroic one. This perfect storm of a cover-up would ultimately mean that Tillman’s family would have to challenge both the Army and the U.S. government if they were ever to know how their son, brother and husband really died.
Pat Tillman, a California native, was a complicated young man whose ability to play football at the highest level provided him with a measure of fame and a comfortable life. Tillman had a passionate love for his family, especially for his mother and his wife, and he was as close to Kevin Tillman as any two brothers could possibly be. But Tillman always envisioned himself as a defender of those incapable of defending themselves and, in May 2002, he decided to walk away from his $3.6 million NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army. He believed it to be his duty to help defeat those responsible for the 9-11 murders. Kevin Tillman, who felt the same obligation, enlisted at Pat’s side and the two served together right up to the moment of Pat’s death.
The manner of Pat Tillman’s death does not make him less a hero than if he had died at the hand of the enemy. The way he died is, beyond a doubt, a tragedy but American soldiers know that fratricide, death at the hand of a brother-in-arms, is nothing new in the heat of battle. Krakauer, in fact, points out that “21 percent of the casualties (both wounded and killed) in World War II were attributable to friendly fire, 39 percent of the casualties in Viet Nam, and 52 percent of the casualties in the first Gulf War.” To date of the book’s publication, Iraq and Iran casualties from friendly fire are 41% and 13%, respectively.
"Where Men Win Glory" uses an excellent group of simple maps to illustrate exactly what Tillman’s unit was trying to accomplish on the day he was killed and exactly how things went so wrong. Pat Tillman’s story is legend – Jon Krakauer shows us just how extraordinary the real man was.
Rated at: 5.0
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the truth about Pat Tillman’s death began to trickle out and the public learned that he had actually been killed by friendly fire. Conspiracy theories became common and now, more than five years later, some people still believe that Tillman was murdered by one of his fellow soldiers.Those who still wonder how something like this could happen, how the truth about Tillman’s death could have been withheld from his family for five weeks, can finally find their answers by turning to the new Jon Krakauer book "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman." What Krakauer describes in the book is as understandable as it is disheartening. Human nature being what it is, almost from the moment Tillman’s body was recovered, some on the ground seem to have been more concerned with covering up the poor tactical decisions that contributed to his death than they were about reporting the truth. Others, much higher up in the chain-of-command, saw an opportunity to use Pat Tillman’s image as a morale booster for the entire country and, for that to happen, his death had to be a heroic one. This perfect storm of a cover-up would ultimately mean that Tillman’s family would have to challenge both the Army and the U.S. government if they were ever to know how their son, brother and husband really died.
Pat Tillman, a California native, was a complicated young man whose ability to play football at the highest level provided him with a measure of fame and a comfortable life. Tillman had a passionate love for his family, especially for his mother and his wife, and he was as close to Kevin Tillman as any two brothers could possibly be. But Tillman always envisioned himself as a defender of those incapable of defending themselves and, in May 2002, he decided to walk away from his $3.6 million NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army. He believed it to be his duty to help defeat those responsible for the 9-11 murders. Kevin Tillman, who felt the same obligation, enlisted at Pat’s side and the two served together right up to the moment of Pat’s death.
The manner of Pat Tillman’s death does not make him less a hero than if he had died at the hand of the enemy. The way he died is, beyond a doubt, a tragedy but American soldiers know that fratricide, death at the hand of a brother-in-arms, is nothing new in the heat of battle. Krakauer, in fact, points out that “21 percent of the casualties (both wounded and killed) in World War II were attributable to friendly fire, 39 percent of the casualties in Viet Nam, and 52 percent of the casualties in the first Gulf War.” To date of the book’s publication, Iraq and Iran casualties from friendly fire are 41% and 13%, respectively.
"Where Men Win Glory" uses an excellent group of simple maps to illustrate exactly what Tillman’s unit was trying to accomplish on the day he was killed and exactly how things went so wrong. Pat Tillman’s story is legend – Jon Krakauer shows us just how extraordinary the real man was.
Rated at: 5.0
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LibraryThing member Grandeplease
Ultimately, a worthy read, although I found it annoying at times.
Pat Tillman was a hero who served his country and made the ulitmate sacrific. I have the utmost respect for Pat Tillman and anybody who serves his or her country in the armed forces. That noted, on to the story . . .
Author Krakauer
Author Jon Krakauer admires (worships) extreme risk taking and maybe borish behavior as well. He writes about Tillman's cliff jumping and excessive public drinking with near glee.
In the end I was pleased to have finished Where Men Win Glory as Pat Tillman's story deserves an audience - not because he gave up millions to become a soldier, but because he became a soldier.
Pat Tillman was a hero who served his country and made the ulitmate sacrific. I have the utmost respect for Pat Tillman and anybody who serves his or her country in the armed forces. That noted, on to the story . . .
Author Krakauer
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clearly has an ax to grind regarding President Bush. It is unfortunate. Much too much ink is devoted to the Gore / Bush ballot recount legal proceedings. Krakauer's unabashed unhappiness with Bush and the war(s) came very close to causing me to stop reading about Pat Tillman - and I largely agree with Krakauer's unhappiness.Author Jon Krakauer admires (worships) extreme risk taking and maybe borish behavior as well. He writes about Tillman's cliff jumping and excessive public drinking with near glee.
In the end I was pleased to have finished Where Men Win Glory as Pat Tillman's story deserves an audience - not because he gave up millions to become a soldier, but because he became a soldier.
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LibraryThing member madcatnip72
Excellent investigative journalism work covering the life of Pat Tillman, the NFL safety who left a seven-figure salary to join the US Army in the wake of 9/11. Idealistic, complex, sensitive, stubborn and an amazing athlete, Tillman's life and tragic "blue on blue" death are covered in great
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detail. Krakauer also investigates the circumstances of the US Army's cover-up of Tillman's death, and the Bush Administration's use of his sacrifice as a propaganda tool in the GWOT. Sometimes, men are better than the empires they serve. Show Less
LibraryThing member tmstimbert
A workmanlike effort, not as good as "Under the Banner of Heaven". Long winded, difficult story to keep interesting and stretched for 300+ pages
LibraryThing member svillanu
Good book. Sometimes author's political views come out a little too much, but otherwise a very well written and investigative journalistic piece of work.
LibraryThing member thelestonian
Great storytelling, as usual, from Krakauer. This renewed my dislike for the GW Bush administration. Such a waste of a life. Tillman was an honorable man who was treated dishonorably in life and then in death by the government.
LibraryThing member dcoward
Better than your average book, but still a disappointment considering Krakauer's earlier works. Still, as another reviewer noted, this was an ambitious book that weaves in the story of the United States current war in Afghanistan with the life of Pat Tillman and the military's attempts to conceal
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that Tillman was killed by friendly fire. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jenners26
It is appropriate to write this book review on the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. After all, if 9/11 hadn’t occurred, this book would have never been written and Pat Tillman would probably still be alive.
Does the name Pat Tillman ring any bells for you? When I first saw the subtitle of the
Deeply troubled by the events of 9/11 (as so many of us were), Tillman did what he felt was right and honorable: join the Army to fight for and defend his country. Although 9/11 inspired many Americans to do the same thing, I suspect that most post-9/11 military recruits didn’t leave behind a $3.5 million football career. Tillman’s decision wasn’t done for public relations reasons either. He never publicly addressed his decision to join the Army—despite the Bush Administration’s desire to use him as a poster boy—and turned down all media requests regarding his enlistment and military service.
I mention the subtitle for another reason too—the use of the word odyssey. “Odyssey” is such an appropriate word to describe Pat Tillman’s story. Not only do the definitions of odyssey aptly describe Tillman’s life…
1: a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune
2: an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest
…but it is also a nod to the Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Although Tillman’s journey does not mirror Odysseus’s journey, Krakauer quotes a variety of Greek tragedies and philosophical works (including Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra) at the start of the book’s various sections. As the book developed, I began finding these quotes almost prescient—as if they had been written specifically about Tillman.
Of course, that last statement sounds like hyperbole … because it is. Pat Tillman wasn’t a god or a mythical figure. He was a man with virtues and flaws like everyone else. However, to say that Tillman was “ordinary” doesn’t do him justice. He lived life on his own terms—following his internal moral compass and beliefs. He didn’t always play by the rules or follow the pack. This strong internal drive led to his success on the football field and his enlistment in the Army, a decision that caused him much angst. His journals reveal his struggles with his enlistment decision, leading as it did to his separation from his beloved wife Marie and bouts of frustration, disgust and anger at the Army and its practices.
The book isn’t a simple telling of Pat Tillman’s story however. It also provides a fairly concise history of the conflict in Afghanistan, the formation of the Taliban, the rise of Osama Bin Laden and why the events of 9/11 came to pass. By alternating Tillman’s personal history with the history of the conflict in Afghanistan/Iraq, the reader starts to feel a sense of inevitability as events that will slowly and inexorably lead to Tillman’s horrible death unfold … because as much as this book is about Tillman’s life, it is also very much about his death.
Pat Tillman’s death in Afghanistan was the result of friendly fire (what the Army terms “fratricide”). In other words, Tillman was killed by his fellow Army Rangers. Although fratricide is a fact of life in war (and, as Krakauer discusses, much more frequent than most of us probably realize), the Army chose to cloud the circumstances of Tillman’s death with cover-ups, fabrications and outright lies. Krakauer makes a good case that Tillman’s death was used to distract the American public from the public relations nightmare of Abu Ghraib. (In much the same way it used the Jessica Lynch story to distract Americans from how poorly the war in Iraq was progressing.) However, the truth of Tillman’s death didn’t make for a good enough story. After all, friendly fire doesn’t sound so heroic… but getting killed while fighting the Taliban does. So that was the initial story that the Army put out—both to the public and Tillman’s family. Until, of course, the truth came out and the powers that be needed to be protected and distanced from the cover-up.
As you can tell from the length of this review, this book affected me quite deeply. I found Tillman’s story to be so tragic. He tried so hard to do the right thing and made the ultimate sacrifice, yet the Army and the U.S. government pissed all over it. It sickened me to read about the Army’s actions, and the lies and misdirection that the Bush Administration practiced throughout the conflicts that followed 9/11. In addition, the seeming futility of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan (recent events notwithstanding) is disheartening and upsetting. This was a thought-provoking and upsetting read…and exactly why I think that people ought to read it. (Although I suspect that supporters of George W. Bush and his administration will not find much to like in this book.)
A word about the audiobook narration: I finally listened to a book narrated by Scott Brick—the “voice crush” of quite a few book bloggers. I can see why Brick is a popular narrator. His voice is easy on the ears, and his reading of what was sometimes a technical book was flawless. I was riveted by his narration… particularly the sections in which Krakauer describes the events that led to Tillman’s death as well as the firefight in Nasiriyah that happened after Jessica Lynch’s rescue. I was on-the-edge of my seat listening to these sections, and it made the chaos and confusion of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan feel very real. After listening to the book, I’m glad I opted for this format over the printed copy.
Does the name Pat Tillman ring any bells for you? When I first saw the subtitle of the
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book—The Odyssey of Pat Tillman—the name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it. Upon reading the book description, I realized that he was the NFL player who had enlisted in the Army after 9/11 and was killed in action. I didn’t recall any specifics though, other than marveling that someone could have made that choice.Deeply troubled by the events of 9/11 (as so many of us were), Tillman did what he felt was right and honorable: join the Army to fight for and defend his country. Although 9/11 inspired many Americans to do the same thing, I suspect that most post-9/11 military recruits didn’t leave behind a $3.5 million football career. Tillman’s decision wasn’t done for public relations reasons either. He never publicly addressed his decision to join the Army—despite the Bush Administration’s desire to use him as a poster boy—and turned down all media requests regarding his enlistment and military service.
I mention the subtitle for another reason too—the use of the word odyssey. “Odyssey” is such an appropriate word to describe Pat Tillman’s story. Not only do the definitions of odyssey aptly describe Tillman’s life…
1: a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune
2: an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest
…but it is also a nod to the Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Although Tillman’s journey does not mirror Odysseus’s journey, Krakauer quotes a variety of Greek tragedies and philosophical works (including Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra) at the start of the book’s various sections. As the book developed, I began finding these quotes almost prescient—as if they had been written specifically about Tillman.
Of course, that last statement sounds like hyperbole … because it is. Pat Tillman wasn’t a god or a mythical figure. He was a man with virtues and flaws like everyone else. However, to say that Tillman was “ordinary” doesn’t do him justice. He lived life on his own terms—following his internal moral compass and beliefs. He didn’t always play by the rules or follow the pack. This strong internal drive led to his success on the football field and his enlistment in the Army, a decision that caused him much angst. His journals reveal his struggles with his enlistment decision, leading as it did to his separation from his beloved wife Marie and bouts of frustration, disgust and anger at the Army and its practices.
The book isn’t a simple telling of Pat Tillman’s story however. It also provides a fairly concise history of the conflict in Afghanistan, the formation of the Taliban, the rise of Osama Bin Laden and why the events of 9/11 came to pass. By alternating Tillman’s personal history with the history of the conflict in Afghanistan/Iraq, the reader starts to feel a sense of inevitability as events that will slowly and inexorably lead to Tillman’s horrible death unfold … because as much as this book is about Tillman’s life, it is also very much about his death.
Pat Tillman’s death in Afghanistan was the result of friendly fire (what the Army terms “fratricide”). In other words, Tillman was killed by his fellow Army Rangers. Although fratricide is a fact of life in war (and, as Krakauer discusses, much more frequent than most of us probably realize), the Army chose to cloud the circumstances of Tillman’s death with cover-ups, fabrications and outright lies. Krakauer makes a good case that Tillman’s death was used to distract the American public from the public relations nightmare of Abu Ghraib. (In much the same way it used the Jessica Lynch story to distract Americans from how poorly the war in Iraq was progressing.) However, the truth of Tillman’s death didn’t make for a good enough story. After all, friendly fire doesn’t sound so heroic… but getting killed while fighting the Taliban does. So that was the initial story that the Army put out—both to the public and Tillman’s family. Until, of course, the truth came out and the powers that be needed to be protected and distanced from the cover-up.
As you can tell from the length of this review, this book affected me quite deeply. I found Tillman’s story to be so tragic. He tried so hard to do the right thing and made the ultimate sacrifice, yet the Army and the U.S. government pissed all over it. It sickened me to read about the Army’s actions, and the lies and misdirection that the Bush Administration practiced throughout the conflicts that followed 9/11. In addition, the seeming futility of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan (recent events notwithstanding) is disheartening and upsetting. This was a thought-provoking and upsetting read…and exactly why I think that people ought to read it. (Although I suspect that supporters of George W. Bush and his administration will not find much to like in this book.)
A word about the audiobook narration: I finally listened to a book narrated by Scott Brick—the “voice crush” of quite a few book bloggers. I can see why Brick is a popular narrator. His voice is easy on the ears, and his reading of what was sometimes a technical book was flawless. I was riveted by his narration… particularly the sections in which Krakauer describes the events that led to Tillman’s death as well as the firefight in Nasiriyah that happened after Jessica Lynch’s rescue. I was on-the-edge of my seat listening to these sections, and it made the chaos and confusion of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan feel very real. After listening to the book, I’m glad I opted for this format over the printed copy.
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LibraryThing member mpontius
This book is the recounting of the life of Pat Tillman: From childhood, through his professional football career, and his untimely death by friendly-fire from a fellow Army Ranger in Afganistan. It certainly made me wonder how often these tragic events come to pass. Well written and an interesting
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read. Show Less
LibraryThing member co_coyote
I've been a long time fan of Jon Krakauer's. His books are always thoroughly researched and well written. This book is no exception. And, it is not the book I expected it to be. Pat Tillman turns out to be a much more interesting person than I expected him to be. And my government turns out to be a
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great deal more cynical and manipulative that I, even with my usual low expectations, expected it to be. At books end, I felt sad not only for Pat Tillman and his friends and family. I felt sad for all the rest of us, too. Show Less
LibraryThing member maritimer
This is a painful story to read. Pat Tillman was so worthy and the US military proved so stunningly unworthy - ultimately failing him utterly. Krakauer's account works best in covering Tillman's life leading up to his military service and in his description of the aftermath of his death. It bogs
While much has been written about Pat Tillman and his life much celebrated (over 20,000 people completed the annual "Pat's Run" last April in Tempe Arizona), there was a second soldier killed in the friendly fire incident that took Tillman's life. He was Afghan and it was more than a year before the US military even released his name, and then when they did, according to a footnote in Jon Krakauer's book, they got it wrong.
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down in the detail about the context and action in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" and "Into the Wild" his narrative pulls us along despite our knowing how dismally these stories end. Somehow though, he cannot pull this off in "Where Men Win Glory". I struggled to finish it, but the book was worth reading if just to learn about this rare and original man who defied expectations at every turn. While much has been written about Pat Tillman and his life much celebrated (over 20,000 people completed the annual "Pat's Run" last April in Tempe Arizona), there was a second soldier killed in the friendly fire incident that took Tillman's life. He was Afghan and it was more than a year before the US military even released his name, and then when they did, according to a footnote in Jon Krakauer's book, they got it wrong.
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LibraryThing member foof2you
A powerful book about Pat Tillman and how his death was one of many lies that the Army manufactured about what was going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book challenges many beliefs that I held about the military, our leaders and the fog of war.
I have many mixed emotions while reading this book.
This is a must read for any parent who has a child about to enlist into any of the Armed Services
I have many mixed emotions while reading this book.
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This is a must read for any parent who has a child about to enlist into any of the Armed Services
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LibraryThing member jcbrunner
I read Jon Krakauer's tribute to Pat Tillman some time ago. The book is a mixed bag: It is too blandly hagiographical, reminding me of some life of a Catholic saint. Pat the All American boy, the sportsman, the devoted husband, the patriot who goes abroad to serve his country and then discovers
Overall, the final account of the bright shining lies of Bush's (and increasingly Obama's) wars remains to be written. Krakauer's venture into war and politics is not a success.
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that it is all based on a lie. Krakauer then breaks this frame in his account of the murder of Pat Tillman, told in a neutral and inconclusive way that fails to drive the points home. Krakauer's account also vastly differs from the clear fratricide presented in the documentary The Pat Tillman Story. Friendly fire is inevitable in war (although US forces have a sad history of being vastly more trigger happy in firing on their own and their allies than most other nations' forces). What deserves condemnation is a) the propaganda about the heroic death of Pat Tillman, b) the fake Silver Star and c) the bungled investigation about the real events of Pat Tillman's death. Just as Colin Powell's whitewash of My Lai, the big beneficiary of the affair was Stanley McChrystal who fell upwards.Overall, the final account of the bright shining lies of Bush's (and increasingly Obama's) wars remains to be written. Krakauer's venture into war and politics is not a success.
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LibraryThing member kraaivrouw
I am a big fan of Jon Krakauer and have read everything he's written. He writes well about interesting subjects and interesting people. I always learn something from his books, too. Given my fandom it was natural that I would pick up Where Men Win Glory, but sad that it was so disappointing I just
I'm not saying Tillman was or wasn't a hero, but there was something a bit too fawning about this book and the portrayal of Tillman, including a rather stilted attempt to compare him to Achilles. Ultimately I didn't get a sense of Pat Tillman the person, but rather a sort of flat portrayal of a football player who volunteered to go to the Mideast after 9/11.
There's a picture on the back of the book - a publicity-type photo that looks like a cardboard cutout - there's no access to the person portrayed through the photo. It's a one-off picture of a good looking football player and that's it - it's the perfect metaphor for this book. Flat, glossy, no people here. I kept reading because I wanted things to get better, but after many descriptions of football games and descriptions I found that I just couldn't care. I think Pat Tillman and his family got royally screwed over, but I wish someone could find a way of talking about him as a person - I'm pretty sure he was one.
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couldn't bring myself to finish. Maybe it's the nature of such a biography - is there really any way to write this without telling a hero's story? I'm not saying Tillman was or wasn't a hero, but there was something a bit too fawning about this book and the portrayal of Tillman, including a rather stilted attempt to compare him to Achilles. Ultimately I didn't get a sense of Pat Tillman the person, but rather a sort of flat portrayal of a football player who volunteered to go to the Mideast after 9/11.
There's a picture on the back of the book - a publicity-type photo that looks like a cardboard cutout - there's no access to the person portrayed through the photo. It's a one-off picture of a good looking football player and that's it - it's the perfect metaphor for this book. Flat, glossy, no people here. I kept reading because I wanted things to get better, but after many descriptions of football games and descriptions I found that I just couldn't care. I think Pat Tillman and his family got royally screwed over, but I wish someone could find a way of talking about him as a person - I'm pretty sure he was one.
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LibraryThing member Unkletom
I usually read any new book by Jon Krakauer as soon as it comes out. They are, without exception, interesting, insightful and well researched.
With his latest book, ‘Where Men Win Glory’, I took longer than usual before reading it. The reason I was in no hurry to read the book is that I
We know that Pat set aside a lucrative NFL contract to join the Army after the attacks on 9/11. Even though he never spoke publicly about his decision, his motives were obvious to anyone who read or watched news reports at the time. After all, as mentioned above, football players are “aggressive, not very cerebral, and quick to seek a physical, rather than, solution to any challenge.” Besides, who didn’t want to go kick Osama bin Laden’s ass back then?
When we first heard accounts of his death, we weren’t really surprised because, after all, Pat Tillman dropped everything to join the Army to go after the terrorists. It stands to reason that such a person (see ‘quick to…’ reference above) would die while rashly charging into the fray.
And when we finally learned that his death was the result of friendly fire we still weren’t surprised. By then we had become inured by stories out of Iraq. We had read about Abu Ghraib and the missing weapons of mass destruction. We learned that eleven soldiers from Jessica Lynch’s lot convoy had died due to navigational incompetence and 19 Marines had been killed by friendly fire in an attempt to reach the convoy. The whole war was one big ‘charlie foxtrot’.*
(*charlie foxtrot: military term describing a low level of efficiency that I can’t translate here. Clue: charlie stands for ‘cluster’.)
All of what I have written above is the story I thought I knew before I began reading ‘Where Men Win Glory’. Most of it is total horsepucky.
With his usual skill, Jon Krakauer has told the story of a life, not of a death. To this end, he interviewed at length friends, family members, classmates, coworkers (both in the Army and the NFL), and even people with whom he had been at odds. The end result is a remarkable story of a man who, in every aspect of his unfinished life, defied all expectations.
As a football player he showed remarkable integrity and loyalty by rejecting multi-million dollar offers from successful teams to stay with the Cardinals and the coaches who had seen potential in him when others didn’t. This flies in the face of the ‘show me the money’ mentality that we have come to expect. When he decided to join the Army, he displayed none of the chest-beating jingoism that one would expect. The patriotism he exhibited was not the ‘America, love it or leave it’ kind but a solemn, quiet sense of duty. And when he died, his actions were neither ill-considered nor overly heroic. He was a soldier doing his duty.
Sadly, tragic incidents such as Tillman’s death by fratricide are to be expected when unseasoned troops find themselves in an adrenaline-charged ambush situation. What changes this story from a tragedy to an outrage is that the government Tillman died serving would highjack his life and legacy and rewrite history to further their own political agenda. Explicit rules regarding handling of soldiers’ remains and the investigation of suspected cases of fratricide were blatantly disregarded. Orders were given from above ordering nominations for a Silver Star before any investigation into the events had even been begun.
The real tragedy is that someone who strived through his entire life to defy all stereotypes and live life as a unique individual should, at the moment of his death, be turned into the very caricature of himself that he so despised. In the congressional investigation into Tillman’s death, Rep. Henry Waxman said “The least we owe to courageous men and women who are fighting for our freedom is the truth.”
The truth about Pat Tillman is that he was a hero not for the way he died, but for the way he lived his life. As readers, it is up to us to learn that truth.
Listeners to the audio version of this book will enjoy listening to the narration by Scott Brick, one of the best readers in the business. His calm, measured tone is well suited to this story.
With his latest book, ‘Where Men Win Glory’, I took longer than usual before reading it. The reason I was in no hurry to read the book is that I
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believed I already knew the story. After all, Pat Tillman was an NFL football player. We all know, or at least think we know, the kind of people football players are: vain, arrogant, aggressive, not very cerebral, and quick to seek a physical, rather than intellectual, solution to any challenge.We know that Pat set aside a lucrative NFL contract to join the Army after the attacks on 9/11. Even though he never spoke publicly about his decision, his motives were obvious to anyone who read or watched news reports at the time. After all, as mentioned above, football players are “aggressive, not very cerebral, and quick to seek a physical, rather than, solution to any challenge.” Besides, who didn’t want to go kick Osama bin Laden’s ass back then?
When we first heard accounts of his death, we weren’t really surprised because, after all, Pat Tillman dropped everything to join the Army to go after the terrorists. It stands to reason that such a person (see ‘quick to…’ reference above) would die while rashly charging into the fray.
And when we finally learned that his death was the result of friendly fire we still weren’t surprised. By then we had become inured by stories out of Iraq. We had read about Abu Ghraib and the missing weapons of mass destruction. We learned that eleven soldiers from Jessica Lynch’s lot convoy had died due to navigational incompetence and 19 Marines had been killed by friendly fire in an attempt to reach the convoy. The whole war was one big ‘charlie foxtrot’.*
(*charlie foxtrot: military term describing a low level of efficiency that I can’t translate here. Clue: charlie stands for ‘cluster’.)
All of what I have written above is the story I thought I knew before I began reading ‘Where Men Win Glory’. Most of it is total horsepucky.
With his usual skill, Jon Krakauer has told the story of a life, not of a death. To this end, he interviewed at length friends, family members, classmates, coworkers (both in the Army and the NFL), and even people with whom he had been at odds. The end result is a remarkable story of a man who, in every aspect of his unfinished life, defied all expectations.
As a football player he showed remarkable integrity and loyalty by rejecting multi-million dollar offers from successful teams to stay with the Cardinals and the coaches who had seen potential in him when others didn’t. This flies in the face of the ‘show me the money’ mentality that we have come to expect. When he decided to join the Army, he displayed none of the chest-beating jingoism that one would expect. The patriotism he exhibited was not the ‘America, love it or leave it’ kind but a solemn, quiet sense of duty. And when he died, his actions were neither ill-considered nor overly heroic. He was a soldier doing his duty.
Sadly, tragic incidents such as Tillman’s death by fratricide are to be expected when unseasoned troops find themselves in an adrenaline-charged ambush situation. What changes this story from a tragedy to an outrage is that the government Tillman died serving would highjack his life and legacy and rewrite history to further their own political agenda. Explicit rules regarding handling of soldiers’ remains and the investigation of suspected cases of fratricide were blatantly disregarded. Orders were given from above ordering nominations for a Silver Star before any investigation into the events had even been begun.
The real tragedy is that someone who strived through his entire life to defy all stereotypes and live life as a unique individual should, at the moment of his death, be turned into the very caricature of himself that he so despised. In the congressional investigation into Tillman’s death, Rep. Henry Waxman said “The least we owe to courageous men and women who are fighting for our freedom is the truth.”
The truth about Pat Tillman is that he was a hero not for the way he died, but for the way he lived his life. As readers, it is up to us to learn that truth.
Listeners to the audio version of this book will enjoy listening to the narration by Scott Brick, one of the best readers in the business. His calm, measured tone is well suited to this story.
Show Less
LibraryThing member dougcornelius
I sat down to watch The Tillman Story after Netflix gave it high marks as a recommendation. It was a blistering story about the cover-up of Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire in Afghanistan.
"In war, truth is the first casualty." - Aeschylus
I wanted to learn some more and remembered that Jon
What the movie failed to portray was Tillmana person. That was the focus of the book. What I didn't realize was the intellectual prowess of Tillman. He is portrayed not as a meathead jock who wants to shoot things. He comes across as thoughtful and introspective.
Besides the portrayal of Tillman as a person, Krakauer spends large chunks of the book setting the background on other key players. There is great background on history of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan going back to the Soviet invasion. Many of the weapons used against US soldiers likely came from U.S. funding of the Mujahideen during their battle against the Soviets. Then there is the rise of Osama bin Laden and his desire to draw the Unites States into Afghanistan. There were plenty of missed opportunities during the Clinton administration to counter the rise of bin Laden. Perhaps he was distracted by the Lewinsky scandal?
With the bloodshed in Iraq and Afghanistan, along came propaganda to support the war effort. The prelude to the Tillman incident was the Jessica Lynch incident. She was initially portrayed as a hero, firing her weapon until she ran out of ammunition, fighting to death and taking multiple gunshot wounds and stab wounds. Later, a Special Operations force swept in and rescued her from torture and abuse by her captors.
Unfortunately, the truth is that she sustained her wounds when her Humvee crashed into another truck in her convoy. She never fired a single shot because her gun jammed. During her stay in Saddam Hussein General Hospital she was treated as any other patient. The doctors were the ones who told US forces that Lynch was in the hospital. When the huge Special Operations force arrived at the hospital, they met no significant resistance.
Tillman played a very minor role in the Lynch "rescue." But the propaganda success of the Lynch incident played a big role in what happened after Tillman was killed by friendly fire thirteen months later.
Tillman's enlistment generated good headlines for the war effort. The military leaders and the White House assumed that painting his death as the saga of a fallen hero would create a media frenzy. Tillman was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and promoted to corporal for his bravery in the combat that took his life.
A commanding officer assured Tillman's brother that whoever was responsible would pay dearly. "This would turn out to be the first in a long string of broken promises and self-serving lies proffered to the Tillman family by commissioned officers of the U.S. Army."
Having read Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, I expected some solid writing. Krakauer has proven he can craft a true story into a page-turner of a book, bringing depth to the participants and providing insights to their motivation. He delivers again.
Where Men Win Glory is worth your reading time.
"In war, truth is the first casualty." - Aeschylus
I wanted to learn some more and remembered that Jon
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Krakauer had written Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. Tillman was the starting free safety for the Arizona Cardinals when he decided to enlist in the army. Although he didn't want the attention, he was transformed into an icon of 9-11 patriotism. A legend, foregoing millions to serve his country. Neither the movie nor this book squarely address why Tillman decided to enlist. It seems clear that it was very personal decision, only truly know by Mr. Tillman and his wife.What the movie failed to portray was Tillmana person. That was the focus of the book. What I didn't realize was the intellectual prowess of Tillman. He is portrayed not as a meathead jock who wants to shoot things. He comes across as thoughtful and introspective.
Besides the portrayal of Tillman as a person, Krakauer spends large chunks of the book setting the background on other key players. There is great background on history of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan going back to the Soviet invasion. Many of the weapons used against US soldiers likely came from U.S. funding of the Mujahideen during their battle against the Soviets. Then there is the rise of Osama bin Laden and his desire to draw the Unites States into Afghanistan. There were plenty of missed opportunities during the Clinton administration to counter the rise of bin Laden. Perhaps he was distracted by the Lewinsky scandal?
With the bloodshed in Iraq and Afghanistan, along came propaganda to support the war effort. The prelude to the Tillman incident was the Jessica Lynch incident. She was initially portrayed as a hero, firing her weapon until she ran out of ammunition, fighting to death and taking multiple gunshot wounds and stab wounds. Later, a Special Operations force swept in and rescued her from torture and abuse by her captors.
Unfortunately, the truth is that she sustained her wounds when her Humvee crashed into another truck in her convoy. She never fired a single shot because her gun jammed. During her stay in Saddam Hussein General Hospital she was treated as any other patient. The doctors were the ones who told US forces that Lynch was in the hospital. When the huge Special Operations force arrived at the hospital, they met no significant resistance.
Tillman played a very minor role in the Lynch "rescue." But the propaganda success of the Lynch incident played a big role in what happened after Tillman was killed by friendly fire thirteen months later.
Tillman's enlistment generated good headlines for the war effort. The military leaders and the White House assumed that painting his death as the saga of a fallen hero would create a media frenzy. Tillman was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and promoted to corporal for his bravery in the combat that took his life.
A commanding officer assured Tillman's brother that whoever was responsible would pay dearly. "This would turn out to be the first in a long string of broken promises and self-serving lies proffered to the Tillman family by commissioned officers of the U.S. Army."
Having read Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, I expected some solid writing. Krakauer has proven he can craft a true story into a page-turner of a book, bringing depth to the participants and providing insights to their motivation. He delivers again.
Where Men Win Glory is worth your reading time.
Show Less
Awards
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2009)
Village Voice Favorite Books (2009)
Oregonian Top Ten Book (2009)
Language
Original publication date
2009
Physical description
480 p.; 5.08 x 1.06 inches
ISBN
030738604X / 9780307386045