If there is anything positive that can be said about the second coldest winter in Tampa’s history it is affording me the opportunity to get caught up on my reading list. Besides, the mustard greens, collards, Swiss chard, and daikon radishes seem to be getting along just fine without me. The ingrates!
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured author Jon Krakauer a few weeks ago. Krakauer’s latest book, Where Men Win Glory, The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, sounded intriguing, so I picked up a copy.
That Tillman could walk away from a multi-million dollar pro-football career to enlist in the Army piqued my interest. I am not going to question his decision or analyze Tillman’s motives. We all have our reasons for doing what we do. I enlisted in the Army in ’68 to put as much space as possible between me and a nasty divorce. The specter of Viet Nam wasn’t nearly as scary as staying put. What glued me to the pages and repulsed me at the same time were the graphic depictions of fratricide, political and military incompetence, and cover-ups at all levels.
In Where Men Win Glory, Krakauer documents the true story of the Jessica Lynch debacle, the slaughter of U.S. Marines by a couple of U.S. Air Force A-10 gunships, and the events surrounding and leading up to Tillman getting his brains blown out (literally) by his fellow Rangers. What was even more gut-wrenching were the cover-ups orchestrated by the chain of command all the way up to the Bush White House.
If you are interested you can find this book on Amazon.com.
Click the link and it will take you to Where Men Win Glory.
0 comments:
Post a Comment