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
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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
In the memoir Within Reach: My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer and Jack Galvin, the author Mark Pfetzer is faced with an extremely amazing yet scary challenge of climbing Mount Everest. Each event is the story has something to do with the nature that is around them at that moment but Pfetzer shows the readers that nature can be a way of life.
Jon Krakauer is a very unique author which his story creates many emotional and valuable lesson throughout the story.
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.
Tim O’Brien’s ultimate purpose is to detract the fine line between fiction and reality. In order to fully grasp what a true war story consists of, the definition of true must be deciphered. O’Brien seems to believe that it does not need to be pure facts. Instead, it is mostly found in the imagination of the individual. Readers need to receive a story based on the truth in its overall purpose and meaning. It just needs to feel true. The author implies that it is not important whether the event actually occurred or not, because if the reader wants to believe it that badly, the feeling of truth will always be present.
... I was exposed to this book. Being a school assignment, I thought that Where Men Win Glory would be another ho-hum tale about the typical hero in a typical conflicted situation. I was fortunately proved wrong because this was one of the most moving books I have read. Although it consisted of more politics than I would like and the writing technique of Jon Krakauer uncreative, the journal entries from the hero himself and statements from those who knew Pat Tillman best pulled on my heart strings and made this an emotional, inspirational story that I will not soon forget. I would absolutely recommend this book. I think that everyone should read this book at some point in their life because everyone has a different idea of what “glory” is. Where Men Win Glory takes the reader through Pat Tillman’s, NFL star turned fallen comrade, unquestioned success in achieving Glory.
Pat Tillman lived a glorious life. His daily drive and demeanor, exceptional to be sure, put him a notch above the rest of us. His drive made him successful. Through high school he was a football sensation, with personal stats that would have been impressive as a team’s. His demeanor earned him respect. He attended college on a football scholarship and earned a 3.84 GPA to avoid the ‘jock’ stereotype. Eventually becoming a star NFL defensive back, it was his sense of duty that would lead him from the goal lines of the football field to the front lines of the battle field. He would die on duty, but his death would not be his undoing. The flagitious stream of lies fed by the U.S. Government following his death, revealed by John Krakauer in Where Men Win Glory, belittled the man who had so valiantly walked away from the American Dream in order to die for it. The way our government dealt with his controversial death viciously struck against everything Pat stood for, and I walked away with a sour taste in my mouth about our “greatest country on earth.”
Black soldiers were among the bravest of those fighting in the Civil War. Both free Blacks in the Union army and escaped slaves from the South rushed to fight for their freedom and they fought with distinction in many major Civil War battles. Many whites thought Blacks could not be soldiers. They were slaves. They were inferior. Many thought that if Blacks could fight in the war it would make them equal to whites and prove the theory of slavery was wrong. Even though Black soldiers had to face much discrimination during the Civil War, they were willing to fight to the death for their freedom. In the movie “Glory“ the director focused on the African Americans in the north that fought in the 54th regiment led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. During the time of the Civil War, the African Americans that fought in the 54th regiment were often treated unfairly but there were always nice people that backed them up.
The Vietnam War in the late 1960’s was described as a tragedy, a victory, a win, and a loss, but for whom? The millions of people who loss their lives or the millions of people who fought to save others or is it for the millions of people who had to make that decision every time that they were in battle, but as for Richard Perry, a seventeen-year-old, African American just out of a Harlem High School, had to ask that question solely to himself. Perry, a talented and bright young man put away his dreams of college and becoming a writer because of the unfortunate circumstance he is in. He lives in poverty in the slums of Harlem. His single mother is abandoned by her husband and this leaves Perry and his younger brother Kenny without a father and a second income. Therefore, Perry’s mother does not have enough money to send him to college and the money they did have went to her alcohol problem. Although Perry has the grades and potential to go to a community college he is unsure about his plans in life and feels that money is the source of all his problems (Myers 15). Perry believes he should join the army to escape his future, to get money and to make it up to his younger brother and mother, and he does just that, He gets enlisted in the Army in the summer of 1967, due to a failure to process his medical file correctly leading him to not receive a medical discharge, Perry gets an unexpected ticket to the Vietnam War. In Fallen Angels, the major subjects include the history in The Vietnam War and war itself, Perry’s self discovery in war and the moral vagueness of war is represented. The themes of Friendship, Innocence and Racism are all reflected in the book. Friendship reflects the bond that Richie makes with Peewee Lobel, Lieutena...
The film Glory depicts the action of the Massachusetts 54th and all the black regiment and their role in the war. The Massachusetts 54th was created by Governor Andrews and was helped by Frederick Douglas. This film tells us the story about the regiment from the beginning of their training until their actual participation in the battle. The civil war was a memorable event for many people especially African Americans. In Glory we watch as these men are forced into slavery and the torturous training they were put through to become soldiers for their country. The film talks about many inspirational leaders and their part in the Civil War. The Massachusetts 54th Regiment was the first regular army regiment of black soldiers appointed in the Civil War trying to fight to gain freedom.
...ust deal with similar pains. Through the authors of these stories, we gain a better sense of what soldiers go through and the connection war has on the psyche of these men. While it is true, and known, that the Vietnam War was bloody and many soldiers died in vain, it is often forgotten what occurred to those who returned home. We overlook what became of those men and of the pain they, and their families, were left coping with. Some were left with physical scars, a constant reminder of a horrible time in their lives, while some were left with emotional, and mental, scarring. The universal fact found in all soldiers is the dramatic transformation they all undergo. No longer do any of these men have a chance to create their own identity, or continue with the aspirations they once held as young men. They become, and will forever be, soldiers of the Vietnam War.
The book Outlaw Platoon written by Sean Parnell is a soldiers’ tale of his platoon in one of the most dangerous places on earth. This book is a non-fiction riveting work that tells the story of a platoon that spent sixteen months on an operating base in the Bermel Valley, the border of Pakistan. This mission the men were sent on was part of a mission called Operation Enduring Freedom. This book is extremely relevant to the war that we are still fighting in Afghanistan and the humanitarian work that continues. We still have men in this area fighting and losing their lives everyday. It is the focus of ongoing political debates and the purpose of our involvement there is an ongoing question in the minds of many Americans. In writing this book, Parnell makes it clear in his author’s notes that he indeed was not trying to pursue one political agenda over another. His goal as not to speak of all members of the platoon and expose their identities and the types of soldiers they were but instead to showcase some of the men’s bravery and abilities during the war. Parnell believed that he owed it to the men to write something that would show the world what these men go through during combat in an honest and raw account. Another purpose of Parnell’s in writing this book is an attempt at making sure these men are given a place in American war history.
Tim O'Brien, a Vietnam war vet, had similar experiences as the soldier above. Even though O'Brien didn't die, the war still took away his life because a part of him will never be the same. Even in 1995, almost thirty years after the war, O'Brien wrote, "Last night suicide was on my mind. Not whether, but how. Tonight it will be on my mind again... I sit in my underwear at this unblinking fool of a computer and try to wrap words around a few horrid truths" (Vietnam 560). 1 think that O'Brien is still suffering from what he experienced in Vietnam and he uses his writing to help him deal with his conflicts. In order to deal with war or other traumatic experiences, you sometimes just have to relive the experiences over and over. This is what O'Brien does with his writing; he expresses his emotional truths even if it means he has to change the facts of the literal truth.
Into Thin Air begins with author Jon Krakauer being hired to write for a magazine about the commercialism on Mount Everest. While researching, Krakauer’s curiosity and courage gets the best of him, and he decides to climb the mountain. After staying at the Base Camp for weeks, Krakauer and his group still have difficulty adjusting to the altitude and living conditions. Little do Krakauer and his teammates know, but the original adjustment to the mountain is going to be the least of their problems. During the journey up and down the mountain, the weather, altitude, physical exhaustion and climbing mistakes get the best of the group. In an effort to keep everyone safe, the climbers established a “turn around time” stating that any climber that
It is the evening before a powerful and epic battle with more than victory at stake. Tomorrow, the 54th regiment will forever stamp themselves as a symbol of hope and freedom in a new world during an attack on Fort Wagner as soldiers for the North. Dozens of men with young children, wives, and an idealistic dream of a free world will die in a matter of hours. As the Northern soldiers gather on this night before war, there are no tears of fear to be shed. The din in the air is that of song and the feeling is that of an inspirational victory. On this night before their death, slaves turned soldiers have put aside their personal differences and become one; a metaphoric battle has been won. This is one of the final scenes from the movie Glory, a power depiction of the heroic efforts of the first African American regiment during the Civil War. The deep, multiple plot layers, and moving acting performances in Glory create a captivating viewing experience.
...im to write about his platoon members. Because Tim O’Brien goes to Vietnam and faces the stress and deals with the trauma his character is forever altered. This is the Tim O’Brien who discovers that one can never die.