Reviews for Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey Of Pat Tillman: Jon Krakauer: Books

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Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey Of Pat Tillman

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group | October 13, 2011 | Hardcover

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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.

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Found in: History

All reviews of Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey Of Pat Tillman

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Interesting, Informative, Inspiring, ...and sad
by Stephen G. Largy
8 months ago

I knew of the Pat Tillman story as a professional athlete / patriot who died tragically and, possibly, unnecessarily. This book, which I happened to pick up as a spur of the moment read, was riveting. There was as much to Pat Tillman as a man, a son, and a husband as there was to Pat Tillman as an athlete and soldier. His death was a great loss to his wife, his family, his sport, the Army, and possibly society in general. The actions of the US Government and the Army immediately following Tillman's death were shameful and deplorable. I find myself believing more and more that the greatest threat to world peace in 2012 is the neo-conservative government of the United States and the information in this book certainly reinforces that belief. Still, at the end of the day, this was a very interesting story of a promising young man whose life was wasted by war. How many more will there be?
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Recommended
by Kristi Reilly

Indigo Employee

3 years ago
It took me 3 weeks to get through the first 3/4 of this book, and one night to finish the last 1/4. When Krakauer examines the night of Pat Tillman's death and the subsequent investigations into the fratricide that caused it, his use of careful detail is necessary and welcomed. However, much of the book is clogged with meticulous notes about the character of Tillman, which seemed unnecessary given his obviously honorable life path. I did really enjoy how Krakauer broke down what is going on during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as he made it easier to understand for those who are not exactly politically minded.
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ABSOLUTELY INSPIRING
by Mel McINTOSH
3 years ago

Jon's review of this amazing story was spell binding. I could not put it down. If I had one criticism it would be the lack of photos. I wanted to meet Marie and Kevin and seeing their faces would have accomplished a small part of the book.
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Mission (Redacted)
by Jeff Kluckner
3 years ago

The latest Jon Krakauer title tells the story of Pat Tillman, the NFL player who left behind a multi-million dollar contract to do what he felt was right: join the Army after 9/11. After he was killed by friendly fire, the army/government made every effort to cover up this fact and make him into a hero. The story of Pat Tillman in Afghanistan is riveting but unfortunately the book takes time to get there. We start with an unnecessary history lesson about Afghanistan going back to the Soviet invasion, as well as stories about Tillman that start to feel like padding (did we really need to know about the time he beat a guy up at a pizza joint?) Once we get to Iraq (where Tillman went first, something he hated) and then Afghanistan, you become riveted with fascinating accounts of battles where, more often that not, army forces are killed by their own people. The tale of the soldiers being strafed and bombed by their own planes will completely unnerve you. The efforts that the army and government go through to cover up what really happened will horrify you the most. Krakauer does an excellent job putting all the pieces together, including all the rules that the Army broke (such as burning Tillman's personal property) as well as all the lies they told to his family and friends. All in all, despite a slow start, this is a fascinating book.