I wasn't gonna read the new Krakauer book, mostly because the topic didn't really interest me, but then it was picked for the book group book and I have to lead it this month, so here we are. And I should have known better than to doubt Krakauer.
This book is 90% interesting. It details the life (and death) of Pat Tillman, a former NFL safety that decided to enlist in the Army, post 9/11, and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. Now, that statement describes the "plot" but it doesn't really do the book or Tillman justice.
As always, Krakauer's main talent as an author is amassing ridiculous amounts of information and forming it into an understandable, readable narrative. In this case, he tackles the complex history and present state of Afghanistan, including the United States involvement with the mujahideen and the Soviet Union, the birth of the Taliban, al-Queda, where the hell Osama bin Laden came from, the Invasion of Iraq, present day military progress (or lack thereof), and the terrorist movement in neighboring Pakistan.
Now, along side all this history, Krakauer tells the story of Pat Tillman. Through the first half of the book, I wasn't really connecting with Tillman, or at least the picture Krakauer was painting of Tillman, this jock with a heart of gold and intelligence to boot. But by the end, Tillman's story had won me over, even if Krakauer tried a little too hard at times to jam his uniqueness down my throat.
By far, the most engaging part of the book is Krakauer's dissection of A) the Jessica Lynch saga in Nasiriyah and B) the fire fight that led to the death of Pat Tillman near Mana Village. In both cases, the Bush administration chose to purposely manipulate the events so as to boost approval for the wars. In the case of Tillman, his death and investigation of said death, was completely and utterly mishandled up and down the chain of command. The facts of the cover-up are far too weird and numerous to name here. I mean, there was an Office of Strategic Influence, whose sole purpose was to distort events and facts coming from the battlefield.
Krakauer also devotes much needed narration to the whole Bush/Gore election of 2000 and pretty much lays out how stupefying the whole mess was. Seriously though. It was unbelievable.
"We lost sight of one of the cardinal maxims of guerrilla war: the guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win."
-Henry Kissinger in reference to the American experience in Vietnam
"Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it's leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a facist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship...Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to greater danger. It works the same way in any country."
-Hermann Goring, Hitler's designated successor and commander of the Luftwaffe, 1946
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