Book Review: Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer

When I was looking for a new book to read, I looked up Krakauer because I had read two of his previous books – Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, and really just enjoyed them both. This, and the fact that I was somewhat aware of who Pat Tillman was and had interest in finding out more compelled me to read this. I was looking for entertainment, thrills and information. What I got was a whole lot more.

Pat Tillman, a California kid, gave up a growing, lucrative NFL career to join the US Army after the terrorist attack in New York City. By the time I was into the third chapter of the book, I was realizing this was not only a biography about Tillman, it was an expose, an indictment of so many and so much of the system, it was difficult to keep it all straight in my own head. This is a story of an innocent, one who is caught up and spit out by a system he trusted. It betrayed him and the American people at every turn. We are shown the incompetence of command, the lack of leadership, the casual nature toward the causalities of war, the unjust system of beliefs that got us to Afghanistan, the history ignored time and time again, the prediction of failure and all of the consequences. We are privy to the lies and deceit, to Tillman, to his family, and to the American people. We see the White House attempt to make his enlistment, a political chip, to make his death, a political motivator and the cover-up, a political inconsequence. We see investigation after investigation whitewashed beyond recognition. We see falsified reports, propaganda for political gain and cover-ups at every level.

When it is all over, we see a grieving wife, brother and mother, an unrepentant military and a distanced set of government officials, all the way to the very top of the White House. What we don’t see is apologies, genuine concern by officials or any commitment to changing the way the business of the military or government is conducted.

What I learned is that it is now almost impossible to believe anything our government says. This book left me feeing sad for the family, contempt for the military and angry at our so called political leaders. It has left me speechless.

I give this book 5 penguins. It is a must read for everyone because, until we all read it and understand how we werwe lied to, they will do it to us again and again…