Total Page : 416
Publisher : Doubleday
Publication Date : 2009 09 15
>> An Important Account
This is a well written book that covers the details of Pat Tillman s life and eventual death the history of Afghanistan and the political climate around the war the US is fighting I like how Krakauer switches between those narratives
>> Where Men Win Glory
I had read this author prior to this and looked forward to the factual you are there style he had given us in the Everest story But the author makes the mistake of most celebrities or near celebrities and assumes that we give a rat s rear about the author s not the subject s politics He allows his narrative to devolve into an opinion laden political hatchet job the purpose of which seems to be to heap abuse on the 2nd Bush s administration I m no fan of the war but I wanted to hear what Tillman might have thought or felt and what his motivations might have been To the author I might say that you are entitled to your opinion but I really don t care to hear it Give us what the cover promises or take up fiction I would not recommend this book unless you really enjoy anything scathing regarding the 2nd Bush s presidency Unlike the author I will admit that this is just MY opinion
>> A Good Empathetic Narrative that Loses Sight of What it is Trying to Accomplish
Krakauer is an excellent journalist who is incapable of writing a bad book and this book is no exception While some have criticized Krakauer for spending most of the book on Tillman s childhood and life before Afghanistan I think the context this provides is a strength of the book Without all this prior exposition the tragedy of Tillman cannot truly be appreciated Krakauer s heartbreaking description of the bullets that deflated Tillman s head like a basketball is all the more haunting given the reader s understanding of all the contradictions strengths and quirks of Tillman s personality
The supreme irony is that Tillman s politics were far different from the right wing political hacks who attempted to exploit his tragedy And the background Krakauer provides permits one to understand the extent of the injustice done the Tillman family and the depth of their rage
But Krakauer does lose his way in the writing of book because he forgets what he is trying to accomplish His conclusion dwells on philosophical issues about alpha males and wimps and the winnabilty of a war in Afghanistan And much of the book consists of taking potshots at Rumsfeld and Bush All of this misses the point
What we have here is a striking instance of a man walking away from a highly lucrative football contract and from a happy homelife and sacrificing everything in favor of the ideal of military service What can the military do to tap into this kind of ideal and to honor this ideal Instead of loving the military Tillman is disillusioned by its hierarchy of rigid rank as opposed to merit Many of the men he serves with are weak louts and many officers are insufferable I would like to have seen more about the background of the other men entering the service and what could be done to reform the military so that the best and the brightest and the most patriotic serve
Is it truly necessary to have such a rigid rank system What can be done to make senior officers more accountable Would making the military more open to outside review destroy it as feared by the military or could it somehow make the military stronger How could it be possible to structure a military where merit and willingness to serve on the front lines is more rewarded
Tillman s story allows an exploration of all these issues But Krakauer does not follow through in this respect
