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Eddie

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Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman

by Jon Krakauer (Goodreads Author)

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read in December 2013

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Eddie said:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

" Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer, a story about the heroic tale of Pat Tillman, a legend who walked away from a multimillion dollar NFL contract to do what he thought was right. Although his death was a tragic one, it marked the birth of a new ins Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer, a story about the heroic tale of Pat Tillman, a legend who walked away from a multimillion dollar NFL contract to do what he thought was right. Although his death was a tragic one, it marked the birth of a new inspiration. It paved a path of inspiration for me and I was able to really enjoy his story. It encourages me to pursue my goal and do what I think is right. One thing I was surprised about, was how real the events actually were. If i didn’t know that this story was based on a real person’s life, I would’ve never guessed it. One thing that did throw me off was the constant switch between his life as a ranger and his life in highschool. As I have read more and more books with this type of style, I have gradually gotten used to the switch, however I believe that it may be difficult for some readers who aren’t used to this style.The only thing that I disliked about this book was the spoiler in the beginning that showed how he had died. At first, I thought about putting the book down because I believed that the author had already spoiled the book, but as I read further on i slowly understood why.
What people have a hard time understanding, is why Pat Tillman threw away his multimillion dollar NFL contract. Although not completely accurate, Jon krakauer does a great job in explaining Pat Tillman’s reason and feelings behind his decision. As one reads further, the reason’s of Pat Tillman slowly get revealed over time. In this book, I had the constant feeling of Man v. Society. In today’s society, the government tends to hide the truth. The government tried to hid Tillman’s death by using him as a patriotic symbol. They transform Tillman into a poster boy, the opposite of which he had wished. Krakauer does a great job in explaining everything through his descriptive writing style. Krakauer did a really good job, leaving no stone unturned, “The mountains that stirred him were some of the lesser summits of the hindu kush, which nevertheless rise fifteen thousand feet above sea level from the edge of the Shomali Plain.” (Krakauer 267). Krakauer goes so far as to even mentioning the height above sea level. While reading I also noticed that Pat Tillman wasn’t perfect. Although his intentions were true, he is still human. While taking fire, a teammate accidently shoots and almost hits Tillman. Tillman proceeds to shout, “ What are you shooting at ?! I’m Pat Tillman! I’m Pat fucking
TILLMAN!”(315). I feel like Tillman showed one of human’s true trait’s, Arrogance. Being a person who could’ve had a multimillion dollar contract, gave Tillman a moment of disbelief, as he started to wonder why he was being shot at, and how he could even be shoot at.
In Conclusion, I believe Krakauer’s main message was that Happiness is the key to living a good life. Although Tillman had forfeited his NFL contract for the army, He felt happy. The importance is that we live our live pursuing what we want to do, instead of what society wants. Krakauer’s theme is one that should not be forgotten. ...more "

Dec 17, 2013 08:30PM · see review