Where Men Win Glory

2036 Words5 Pages

Mylz Voss
Mr. Wallace
Asian Studies, Section 4
15 January 2017
Analytical Book Review The story, Where Men Win Glory, written by Jon Krakauer, is a powerful biography about an American Football player named Pat Tillman, who abandoned his professional football career and walked away from a 3.6 million dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals and enlisted himself into the United States Army after facing the tragedy that occurred on nine-eleven. Pat Tillman was seen as a person with a old fashioned way of thinking and a man that held a ton of masculine pride for his country and himself. Pat Tillman truly believed that after the tragic event that took place on nine-eleven, he felt a strong obligation to serve his country and fight against …show more content…

Jon Krakauer is famously known for his books and articles about mountaineering and narrative non-fiction books. At the age of eight years old, Krakauer was introduced into the sport of mountaineering by his father. When Jon was in his late twenties, early thirties, he worked as a carpenter, fishermen, and a writer. Many of Jon's articles about mountain climbing appear to show up in many of his publications including, Rolling Stone, National Geographic, and The New Yorker. Jon Krakauer is the best selling author of Where Men Win Glory and many other bestselling non-fiction books such as, Into Thin Air, Into the Wild, and Under the Banner of Heaven. All of these books portray an extraordinary, revealing portrayal of a young man's haunting expedition. John received a degree in environmental science from Hampshire college in Massachusetts in 1976. A few days after graduating, Jon Krakauer spent around three to five weeks alone in the wilderness of Alaska and climbed a new route called the Devil's Thumb, his experiences were well described in previous books like, Into the Wild and Eiger Dreams. Jon Krakauer's most knowledgeable mountain climb was the directed climb to Mount Everest which was greatly known as the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. The truthful memory of this event would be told in the book "Outside", and continued in the book Into Thin Air, in which I read last year for a book report. In saying …show more content…

In the book, Where Men Win Glory, Jon Krakauer summarizes Pat Tillman’s mesmerizing tragedy of a journey in captivating detail which emphasizes Pat Tillman’s heartbreaking way of death. The readers expect Jon Krakauer to give them a powerful and well written storytelling book, Where Men win Glory, which explains the entire truth about men in the world and war on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Within each chapter, the author gives us more and more detail about Pat Tillman’s life and the journey leading up to his death in a platoon due to friendly fire. In the beginning of the book the author talks about Pat Tillman’s baseball career in middle school, which lead him to play football in high school. Pat Tillman was an all-around athlete and was very good at baseball but wanted to pursue his football career, which eventually lead him into the NFL. Pat Tillman rejected his million dollar contract offer and enlisted as a private into the United States of America Army, due to the viscous nine eleven attacks in New York. After the movement of troops to Afghanistan, Pat Tillman was shot by one his his teammates on the battlefield, which was reported as friendly

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Pat Tillman's Story No one knows the real story of Pat Tillman. On April 23, 2004 news headlines filled the air waves with tragic news that Pat Tillman was killed in action yesterday, fighting in Afghanistan. While on a patrol with his detachment through eastern Afghanistan, the detachment was ambushed. When the ambush was quelled, sadly, Pat Tillman was dead.
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Throughout the ages, men and women have been the center of myths and legends, becoming tragic heroes in large part due to the embellishment bestowed upon them over the ages. Perhaps, though, truth can be stranger than fiction. Pat Tillman was a man of many talents and virtues, never satisfied by the mediocre, striving for more excitement, more meaning, in his tragically short time on Earth, and lived out the phrase carpe diem to the letter. Even Pat Tillman had tragic flaws; his unwillingness to be average, his undying loyalty to family and country, and his unusually concrete set of morals all eventually led to his death. These, whatever the outcome might have been, are not, by any means, archetypical tragic flaws. They are, as Jon Krakauer later described, “tragic virtues.” Where Men Win Glory is not solely a tribute to Pat Tillman. What makes it truly unique is its exhaustively comprehensive history leading up to Pat’s death, and just as important, the events that took place after his death, including the cover-ups, scandals, corruption, falsified documents, and lies that helped, also, to emphasize the themes, of which Pat was the epitome. Pat’s loyalty and devotion to the things that he loved, the use of misinformation surrounding his death, and others’ reactions to what Pat considered paramount in his life all played a key role in the tragedy of a man that won glory.
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Where Men Win Glory is an ironic euphemism for war. The title is ironic because there is nothing glorious about war or the way it ended Pat Tillman’s beautiful life. Jon Krakauer orchestrates this masterpiece with his diligently, articulated descriptions and with a timeline sewn together from the threads of two worlds. The author’s style can best be characterized by his challenging, precise diction and his ability to fluently intervene pertinent quotes and facts that further persuade the reader toward his cause. Throughout the book, the author’s tone harnesses resentment towards the militant hierarchy; for through its ingenuousness, deceit, and manipulation, the military uses Pat’s death as propaganda to bolster the war’s support. Furthermore, the military covers up the fact that Tillman was a victim of fratricide, and it deceives the nation into believing Tillman’s end was a valiant fight against insurgents. When the truth is exposed and pursued by Dannie - Pat’s mother - the army destroys evidence and pleads guilty to ignorance as a rebuttal. This book is molded by three prodigious aspects that help to illustrate Pat’s life story. The carelessness of war, importance of family, and enhancement through change were all important ingredients that created a virtuous life. Each theme, in addition, challenges me personally to reassess the facts I have been fed and the reality that I have been presented. By doing so, I can achieve a sound base of knowledge and an intellectual prowess capable of challenging all facts presented.
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Throughout the ages, men and women have been at the heart of myths and legends, evolving into tragic heroes in large part due to the embellishment bestowed upon them over the ages. From Odysseus and Achilles to Brutus, Hamlet, and King Lear, epic poems have revolved around the tragic hero. Pat Tillman was a man of many aptitudes and virtues, never satisfied by the mediocre, striving for more adventure, more meaning, in his tragically short time on Earth, and personifying the phrase carpe diem. Even Pat Tillman had tragic flaws; his unwillingness to be typical, his undying loyalty to family and country, and his curiously concrete set of morals amalgamated to set in motion Tillman’s eventual death. These, whatever the outcome might have been, are not by any means, the archetypical tragic flaws. They are, as Jon Krakauer later described, “tragic virtues.” Where Men Win Glory is not solely a tribute to Pat Tillman. What makes it truly unique is its exhaustively comprehensive history preceding Tillman’s death, and equally essential, the events that transpired following his death, including the cover-ups, scandals, corruption, falsified documents, indignities, and lies that facilitated, also, in emphasizing the core themes, of which Tillman was the epitome. Tillman’s fidelity and devotion to the people whom he loved, the use of misinformation and cants surrounding his death, and others’ responses to what Tillman considered paramount in his life all played a key role in the tragedy of a man who won glory.
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