Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Staff Review by Kelly Donovan-DiVirgilio
More than a review of the biography Where Men Win Glory: the Odyssey of Pat Tillman, this is a thank you note to author Jon Krakauer for introducing me to a modern-day version of Nietzche's Übermensch: Pat Tillman. Krakauer blends his account of Tillman's life in professional football and his death in Afghanistan with comprehensive information about the Taliban, al-Qaida, and Afghanistan's complex political history. He explores instances of friendly fire, media manipulation and systemic attempts to conceal the true details of Tillman's death.
Not a household name in my house, I was only peripherally aware of Tillman, his enlistment in the Army after September 11, 2001, and his death as a victim of fratricide in Afghanistan in 2004. Any assumptions I had about Tillman's character based on his abandonment of a successful and promising NFL career to join the military were obliterated by Krakauer's narrative and by lengthy excerpts from Tillman's journals. In life and war, Tillman comes across as loyal (he turned down a $9.6 million offer from the St. Louis Rams to stick with the Arizona Cardinals and his league minimum salary of $512,000) and staunchly independent (he absolutely refused to become the Bush Administration's "poster boy" for the U.S. invasion of Iraq).
Krakauer earns his "bestselling non-fiction author" status. He masterfully weaves together the elements of his narrative: Tillman's youth, adolescence, and tragically short adulthood; his relationships with family, friends, teammates, and fellow soldiers; and the social and political forces at work against each other and the truth.
Where Men Win Glory is a heartbreaking and inspiring story.
The books reviewed each week by a member of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library staff are all available at the Downtown Central Library (or through the system of 37 libraries located within Erie County). Your free Library card is the ticket to millions of books, CDs, DVDs, and downloadables; free use of library computers; extensive databases for additional research on jobs, the region, funding sources, schools, and homework help; access to resources at other libraries; and the convenient way to renew books or request new ones. Check out all the activities, exhibits, courses and programs offered at your Public Library at www.buffalolib.org.
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
1 Lafayette Square
Buffalo, NY 14203
(716) 858-8900
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More than a review of the biography Where Men Win Glory: the Odyssey of Pat Tillman, this is a thank you note to author Jon Krakauer for introducing me to a modern-day version of Nietzche's Übermensch: Pat Tillman. Krakauer blends his account of Tillman's life in professional football and his death in Afghanistan with comprehensive information about the Taliban, al-Qaida, and Afghanistan's complex political history. He explores instances of friendly fire, media manipulation and systemic attempts to conceal the true details of Tillman's death.
Not a household name in my house, I was only peripherally aware of Tillman, his enlistment in the Army after September 11, 2001, and his death as a victim of fratricide in Afghanistan in 2004. Any assumptions I had about Tillman's character based on his abandonment of a successful and promising NFL career to join the military were obliterated by Krakauer's narrative and by lengthy excerpts from Tillman's journals. In life and war, Tillman comes across as loyal (he turned down a $9.6 million offer from the St. Louis Rams to stick with the Arizona Cardinals and his league minimum salary of $512,000) and staunchly independent (he absolutely refused to become the Bush Administration's "poster boy" for the U.S. invasion of Iraq).
Krakauer earns his "bestselling non-fiction author" status. He masterfully weaves together the elements of his narrative: Tillman's youth, adolescence, and tragically short adulthood; his relationships with family, friends, teammates, and fellow soldiers; and the social and political forces at work against each other and the truth.
Where Men Win Glory is a heartbreaking and inspiring story.
The books reviewed each week by a member of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library staff are all available at the Downtown Central Library (or through the system of 37 libraries located within Erie County). Your free Library card is the ticket to millions of books, CDs, DVDs, and downloadables; free use of library computers; extensive databases for additional research on jobs, the region, funding sources, schools, and homework help; access to resources at other libraries; and the convenient way to renew books or request new ones. Check out all the activities, exhibits, courses and programs offered at your Public Library at www.buffalolib.org.
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
1 Lafayette Square
Buffalo, NY 14203
(716) 858-8900
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