Where Men Win Glory

Jon Krakauer        Anchor Books, July 2010.

 4.0 /5.0

Photo credit Amazon.com 2011.

Where Men Win Glory is a heartbreaking story; upsetting on many levels.

I will not do too much analysis here.  I don't want to critique a life, and in commenting on this book I think it would be easy to stray into that area.

This is John Krakauer's fifth book.  Like he was able to with Into the Wild, the author has chosen a subject that shared his idealism and zeal for life.  Specialist Pat Tillman was killed on April 22, 2004, in Afghanistan during his first mission in that country.  He was posthumously promoted to Corporal and given the Silver Star for bravery in battle.  Tillman, an accomplished NFL safety, became even more famous when he walked away from his career with the Arizona Cardinals to join the US Army in 2002.

From the beginning, military and government leaders saw an excellent publicity opportunity in Tillman's decision.  However, Pat and his brother Kevin granted no interviews nor media appearances after signing up for the Army's Special Operation Forces, the Rangers.  After his death and against his stated wishes and those of his family, Tillman received a highly publicized military funeral and a hero's treatment in the press.  It was not until over a month later that details of the events in Afghanistan were released, revealing that Tillman died at the hands of his comrades in Second Platoon, Alpha Company, Second Ranger Battalion.

Krakauer alternates his narrative between the growth in Tillman's life in the late 20th century and the changes going on in Central Asia during the same period.  Thus we are carried along from both sides as Tillman and mountains of Eastern Afghanistan rush toward their fateful moment together.  As I read the account of April 22, I came to the same conclusion that Krakauer leaves us with at the end of the book:  It was Pat's idealism that defined him.  It influenced the way he lived and where he went to die.  It is even there, evident, in his last moments.

I hope our countrymen will not be put off from reading this story because of  the principles of the author/subject team.  Krakauer and Tillman's overlapping positions on many subjects put them in a small segment of the population - atheist/agnostic, skeptical, relentless with a philosophy of life closest to existentialism and a special vibrancy that many would consider reckless.  Most potential readers will disagree with them at some turns, but shouldn't miss out on the truths in this story of an American life and death.