Another Book Review

Well, I just finished Where Men Win Glory - The Odyssey of Pat Tillman in the wee hours of this morning. I have read a couple of Krakauer's previous books and had high expectations for this one. Krakauer did not disappoint. It is spectacularly well written and drew me in with the first few pages. Krakauer seems to have two goals for this book: to paint a full and honest portrait of Pat Tillman's life and death and to educate his readers on the background of conflict in Afghanistan. He achieved both of these goals.

If you have an appreciation for Pat Tillman's, or any soldier's for that matter, decision to walk away from normal life and defend freedom - well, this book can only deepen that appreciation. Pat Tillman was often painted by the media as a cowboy-type hero who left the NFL to go fight the enemy after 9/11. That is a one-dimensional view of Mr. Tillman, however, and he was a much more complex man than that. I don't think that Pat Tillman saw his sacrifice (NFL contract and career) as any greater than the sacrifices made by his fellow soldiers who had also left behind families and lives of comparative comfort. Mr. Tillman was a Renaissance man of sorts. Well-read and sensitive, intelligent and respectful of people and ideas, and guided by a personal moral directive to live a good life. He loved his wife and family. He was a remarkable man by all accounts. Krakauer undertakes to show the fullness of Pat Tillman, and he succeeds.

Krakauer must have waded through waist-deep piles of documents in order to discern what actually happened during the firefight that killed Pat Tillman. The Army and the government engaged in a massive cover up to hide the fact that Pat Tillman was killed by "friendly fire." It took extraordinary efforts on the parts of Dannie and Kevin Tillman, Pat's mom and brother to finally get to the truth about what happened. It is shameful what the family was put through following Mr. Tillman's death and I can only imagine that it must have felt like they lost him over and over again.

As for Krakauer's second goal to educate the reader about the history and background of conflict in Afghanistan he hits a homerun on that front as well. Krakauer gives a detailed and highly-nuanced description of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan that reaches back to the Carter administration. He gave me a new understanding of our actions there and why many of them were doomed to fail from their beginning. The U.S. government seems to take a simplistic view of politics in that region and continues to make mistakes that will potentially haunt us for decades to come unless some very dramatic changes are made very quickly.

A great book I would recommend to anyone. Entertaining and educational. Well-written. Many thanks to my brother for the recommendation.