I was up at the library the other day, and I was having a heck of a time picking out a new book. My eyes happened upon this Jon Krakauer book, but the subject matter didn't do a whole lot for me. I'm not much into the whole war thing, and so I was afraid that this particular book would only upset me. However, I've really enjoyed all of the author's other books. Hmmmm. Since I was unable to locate anything else that struck my fancy, I decided to give it a whirl. Wow, was I happy to have taken the chance. Jon's writing, as per the usual, was wonderful. He does a great job with the whole non-fiction thing, weaving together a great story that is clearly well researched. For those not in the know, this story revolves around Pat Tillman, and the profound effect that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 had on him. An effect so profound in fact that he walked away from a multi-million dollar contract as an NFL defenseman in order to enlist in the army. Jon's main focus of the book, other than background on Tillman's life leading up to his enlistment, is on the armed forces. Specifically, he targets their blatant under-reporting of "friendly fire" incidents and the common breakdown of communications between those on the front lines and those calling the shots from headquarters. I didn't have a particularly high opinion of the military as it was, and I'm sad to say it's even worse now. Still, the great writing and facsinating story of Pat Tillman made it hard for me to put this one down. If you're in the market for a good read, check it out.
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No surprises in Krakauer's book for those who have closely followed the Tillman story over the past five years.
If you would like to learn more, I believe the single best short introduction to the Tillman story is Gary Smith’s Sports Illustrated’s (9-11-06) cover story “Remember My Name.” I’ve placed a link to that article in my document “Remember the Iconoclast, Not the Icon” at http://www.feralfirefighter.blogspot.com
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In his book, “Where Men Win Glory,” Jon Krakauer blamed the Bush administration and the Army for the whitewash of Pat Tillman’s death. However, the cover-up has actually been a thoroughly bi-partisan affair.
In particular, the Democratic Congress and the Obama Presidency have protected General Stanley McChrystal from scrutiny and punishment for his central role in the handling of the aftermath of Pat Tillman’s friendly-fire death.
I’ve posted several detailed documents to the Feral Firefighter blog that focus especially on the actions taken to protect General Stanley McChrystal from punishment by Congressman Henry Waxman, Senator James Webb (along with Senators Carl Levin and John McCain), the New York Times Pentagon Reporter Thom Shanker, and the Washington think-tank Center for a New American Security’s (CNAS) Andrew Exum.
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And,the binder “Battle for the Truth” discusses the parallels between Pat Tillman and Jonathan (Yoni) Netanyahu who died at the Raid on Entebbe in 1976.
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