One of Jon Krakauer’s many strengths as a writer is his ability to take two stories and weave them together to make one fascinating account. In Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman (Doubleday, $27.95), the tales of Afghanistan and Pat Tillman come together tragically at a small canyon near Pakistan’s border where Tillman was killed by friendly fire from his own platoon. Krakauer discusses the subsequent military cover-up of the details of Tillman’s death and how Tillman’s family forced the truth to be told. The reporting includes hundreds of interviews, on-the-ground research in Afghanistan, and excerpts from Tillman’s journals and letters. What shines through all of this, though, is the story of a thoughtful, dedicated, and exceptional young man driven by his moral compass in all things, and the effect his brief life had on so many.
