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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
I was moved, inspired, and outraged reading this book. I love everything Krakauer has written, especially Into Thin Air, and this ranks right up there with that. We were lead to believe so many misleading things about Pat Tillman, and it turns out that the true man was far more interesting and worthy of being called a hero than even the spinspters and storytellers would have had us believe. And the way the Bush administration tried to use his death to drum up support for the war is beyond despicible.
I've enjoyed everything I've read by Krakauer, and this book keeps with that tradition. I think Krakauer has the ability to keep a story interesting regardless of the topic. I don't read many books about the US military but this is one I strongly recommend.
The tragedy of this book brought me to tears and the seeming pointlessness of it was extremely frustrating, but in the end I just felt depressed. I do think I learned a bit about the history of conflict in Afghanistan, but everything just feels hopeless about it. Not that Jon Krakauer could solve the region's problems. I just wish there'd been some redemption in his conclusion, at the very least.
Genuinely stunning piece of investigative journalism. Krakauer is a master of his craft.
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Astonished at the differences between the way Tillman is often portrayed in popular media versus Krakauer's profile of him. He breaks every stereotype we have of professional athletes and of soldiers. Which makes the war he volunteered for, and the government's treatment of the war and his death, that much more depressing. Worth a read for anyone, no matter where you sit on the spectrum of life.
Yet again another great book by Krakauer. The story is phenomemal alone, but the way he tells it makes your heartache for Pat Tilman's family and make you want to be a better person.
Decent enough telling of the life and tragic death of football player and soldier Pat Tillman. It never really gets gripping until the last quarter of the book where Krakauer really gets his gumption up and engages with the material.
The story is about Pat Tillman, a life loving, hard living but well-read, loving and protective young man who works to become a great football player and ends up enlisting after 9/11 feeling that he needs to do something important and valuable.
Tillman himself is an impressive young man, but Krakauer works him up to be almost a superhuman example of what a man should be. He contrasts the story of Tillman's life and example of his strong moral character with the (according to Krakauer) decidedly less honorable Bush administration. The problem is he overstates his case on both ends. Tillman is, as I said, impressive. But I gather there are plenty of very impressive people serving in the military. What makes Tillman interesting is he gave up a very lucrative career to join. In the land of capitalist America, that is a big deal and does mean something. Also, I am a big fat lefty, and I naturally agree with Krakauer's take on the buildup to Operation Freedom. But, in order to bolster his case on how the Bush administration was obfuscating awkward situations like Tillman's death by friendly fire, he shows how the same happened to Jessica Lynch, but her takes about two full chapters to do so. A lot of ink is spilled before we get to the truly enraging incident of Tillman's death and the subsequent coverup. Here, Krakauer unleashes his righteous fury and you are right there with him. What the US government did was completely unforgivable. But that's the last quarter of the book. The first three quarters of the book is set up that's far less interesting than the payoff.
It's a decent enough book but it could have been better if Krakuaer were more focused on the incident itself. That incident is enough to get the blood boiling on it's own.
The story is about Pat Tillman, a life loving, hard living but well-read, loving and protective young man who works to become a great football player and ends up enlisting after 9/11 feeling that he needs to do something important and valuable.
Tillman himself is an impressive young man, but Krakauer works him up to be almost a superhuman example of what a man should be. He contrasts the story of Tillman's life and example of his strong moral character with the (according to Krakauer) decidedly less honorable Bush administration. The problem is he overstates his case on both ends. Tillman is, as I said, impressive. But I gather there are plenty of very impressive people serving in the military. What makes Tillman interesting is he gave up a very lucrative career to join. In the land of capitalist America, that is a big deal and does mean something. Also, I am a big fat lefty, and I naturally agree with Krakauer's take on the buildup to Operation Freedom. But, in order to bolster his case on how the Bush administration was obfuscating awkward situations like Tillman's death by friendly fire, he shows how the same happened to Jessica Lynch, but her takes about two full chapters to do so. A lot of ink is spilled before we get to the truly enraging incident of Tillman's death and the subsequent coverup. Here, Krakauer unleashes his righteous fury and you are right there with him. What the US government did was completely unforgivable. But that's the last quarter of the book. The first three quarters of the book is set up that's far less interesting than the payoff.
It's a decent enough book but it could have been better if Krakuaer were more focused on the incident itself. That incident is enough to get the blood boiling on it's own.
Overall this was not my favorite [a:Jon Krakauer|1235|Jon Krakauer|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1199903308p2/1235.jpg] book. Like all of his books it was meticulously researched and did a great job of tying the story he was telling to a concrete and reasoned assessment of this historical and societal context of the events in question. However, I'm not a huge fan of football or football culture so I think some of the innate heroism of Pat Tillman was lost on me. I also think that, being the liberal that I am, I was fairly well informed about the circumstances of Tillman's death going into the book. Perhaps Krakauer is best read without any preconceptions.
All that being said, Where Men Win Glory is a great read and does a good job of shedding light on the Bush administration drive for war and the consequences of those actions.
All that being said, Where Men Win Glory is a great read and does a good job of shedding light on the Bush administration drive for war and the consequences of those actions.