Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman

In 2002, Pat Tillman left a multimillion-dollar NFL contract to join the Army. When he was killed in Afghanistan two years later, he became a symbol of American patriotism. However, the real Tillman was more complex than the public understood. Tillman was sent first to Iraq, which he called "illegal as hell," and then to Afghanistan. He was motivated by notions of duty, honor, justice, and masculine pride, and committed to completing his three-year service. On April 22, 2004, he was killed by bullets fired by soldiers in his own platoon. Though this was apparent to the two dozen soldiers present, the Army withheld this information from Tillman's family and the public for five weeks. During this period, President Bush invoked Tillman's name to support his administration's foreign policy. The Army later told Tillman's relatives he had "probably" been killed by friendly fire while continuing to obscure details about his death. Using Tillman's journals, letters, interviews, and extensive research in Afghanistan, Jon Krakauer documents Tillman's life and death in detail, examining the circumstances surrounding his killing and exposing truths about men and war. This updated edition includes new material obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.