Krakauer Says Pat Tillman's Death 'Didn't Mean Anything'

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal where he talks about his new book Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, author Jon Krakauer declares that Tillman's sacrifice "didn't mean anything." 

It speaks to the mythology of war and how we glorify it for our national interests. There is nothing glamorous or romantic about war. It's mostly about random pointless death and misery. And that's what his death tells us. It reminds me that the good aren't rewarded, there's no such thing as karma.

That's rough talk, especially from an author whose compelling books about survivalism in Alaska (Into the Wild) and the dangers of Mt. Everest climbing (Into Thin Air) have made him a favorite with military readers. Krakauer even claims that Tillman had a copy of his book Eiger Dreams in his backpack when he died.

Pat Tillman was a former Arizona Cardinals safety who walked away from a multimillion dollar contract to join the Army Rangers in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. After serving eighteen months in Iraq, Tillman was killed on patrol in Afghanistan in what was eventually declared a friendly-fire incident.

Initial Army reports declared that Tillman was killed by enemy fire and he was posthumously awared the Silver Star and a Purple Heart. Almost immediately, that story came into question and, as suggestions that Tillman was murdered arose, the family pressed for an investigation that established the friendly-fire version of events.

Tillman's widow alowed Krakauer to read Pat Tillman's private journals. Krakauer uses those writings to portray Tillman as a "liberal" who opposed the war as it was being conducted but whose sense of honor and duty compelled him to finish his service.

In the course of researching the book, Krakauer spent five months embedded with troops in Afghanistan and convinced at least some of Tillman's platoon-mates to give their first interviews about what happened on the day of his death. 

What's fascinating here are Krakauer's attempts to separate Tillman's life from political forces that would use his death as basis to debate one side or the other. Krakauer, never one for easy conclusions in any of his books, suggests here that the interests of military personnel (as symbolized by Tillman) are too complex to be served by the interests of any one party and that military service is a calling that necessarily exists outside the political debates going on at any given moment.

That's a powerful notion, one that neither Rush nor Keith will be particularly happy to hear.

You can read a couple of more interviews with Krakauer at Entertainment Weekly and The Daily Beast, plus check out another story here at Military.com.

UPDATE: Jon Krakauer talks about the book on the 9/30 edition of The Daily Show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Jon Krakauer
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

What Did You Do in the War, Dad?

Carol Tyler's new graphic novel "You'll Never Know" doubles as a memoir of her father's service as a staff sergeant in World War II. Read Douglas Wolk's review in the New York Times or buy a copy at Amazon.

Scorsese Betrays Dino

Way back in 1992, Martin Scorsese acquired the film rights to "Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams," Nick Tosches' brilliant biography of Dean Martin. Nick Pileggi, who wrote the "Casino" script and the book it was based on, signed on to write the screenplay and Tom Hanks was considered a lock to play Dino.

The film was never made, forgotten until this week when Scorsese announced that he would direct a Frank Sinatra biography from a new script by "Field of Dreams" writer Phil Alden Robinson. No matter how good a Scorsese-Sinatra film might be, there's no way it could compare to Tosches' underworld-loaded take on Martin's life. "Dino" would have been the third film in a trilogy that included "Goodfellas" and "Casino."

Check out the Sinatra announcement here or buy yourself a copy of "Dino" at Amazon.

James Barber has written about music and movies for Slate, Blender, Good and AlltheMusicNews.com. He is also a record producer, band manager and was an A&R guy at Geffen/DGC Records. He has never been a celebrity chef in Canada, even though he gets a lot of internet fan mail for that guy.

A Conspiracy Theory Wrapped in Intrigue

This week Boom! Comics publishes its first issue of "Unthinkable," a post-9/11 conspiracy comic written by Mark Sable with art by Juan Totino Tedesco. According to Sable's Twitter account, his travels to NYC for a comic signing this Wednesday were waylaid when he was detained by the TSA after an inspector discovered a script for an upcoming issue in his carryon luggage. After several hours of this alleged interrogation, Sable was allowed to continue to his destination.

Is this a promotional stunt or did government agents actually consider seizing a comic book plot outline as possible terrorist contraband? Can we ever know the truth? Check out a review of "Unthinkable" at io9 and read a story/borderline press release about the TSA incident at Comics Bulletin.

James Barber has written about music and movies for Slate, Blender, Good and AlltheMusicNews.com. He is also a record producer, band manager and was an A&R guy at Geffen/DGC Records. He has never been a celebrity chef in Canada, even though he gets a lot of internet fan mail for that guy.

Lily Burana Loves a Man in Uniform

America last heard from Lily Burana when she published "Strip City," an account of her travels as a punk-rock stripper. Her new memoir "I Love a Man in Uniform" details her experiences as an Army wife. Check out this interview with Lily at The Daily Beast or buy the book at Amazon.

James Barber has written about music and movies for Slate, Blender, Good and AlltheMusicNews.com. He is also a record producer, band manager, music business technology consultant and was an A&R guy at Geffen/DGC Records (back in the 90s when that meant something). He has never been a celebrity chef in Canada, even though he gets a lot of internet fan mail for that guy.

Cat Power Plays Dress Up

More people know Cat Power’s Chan Marshall as the voice that sings David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” in those Lincoln MKS commercials or as the face in those iconic Chanel jewelry magazine ads than have actually heard the brilliant music she’s made on albums like “Moon Pix” and “You Are Free.”

Elizabeth Goodman’s new biography “Cat Power: A Good Woman” digs into the contradictions of a working-class Southern girl who takes over the elitist boys club of indie rock while simultaneously becoming an icon for New York’s fashion and art scenes.

Cat Power’s music sometimes get lost in the reinvention process and Goodman doesn’t let Chan off the hook when she ignores her muse. There’s an amusing cat-and-mouse quality to Marshall’s half-hearted attempts to block the book as it’s being researched and written, but Goodman stays focused on the music even as she digs into the drama and the breakdowns.

Buy “Cat Power: A Good Woman” at Amazon.

James Barber has written about music and movies for Slate, Blender, Good and AlltheMusicNews.com. He is also a record producer, band manager, music business technology consultant and was an A&R guy at Geffen/DGC Records (back in the 90s when that meant something). He has never been a celebrity chef in Canada, even though he gets a lot of internet fan mail for that guy.

Begin Here

Ward Carroll (your editor here at Military.com) and I have talked about this blog for a long time. 

With "Hearts and Minds," we’re going to write about entertainment and culture, giving special attention to how the military is portrayed in music, film, TV, books and video games. With the help of Valerie Gorchinski and others, we’ll be keeping you up-to-date with things you might need to know about when it’s time to kick back in the FOB or anywhere else you might get some down time.

I’ve known Ward for twenty years from my early days as manager of Southern rock kingpins Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ and Ward’s as a Navy flier with ambitions to be a rock journalist. We’ve stayed in touch over the years, talking about bands and movies and how the entertainment business works.

Things come around: I’m in the studio with Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ as they make their first new album in twelve years and Ward and I are now sharing that long-running conversation with you on "Hearts and Minds."

If we’re going to succeed, we need feedback and direction from you. We want your comments on the posts, emails that suggest things we should write about and (especially) links to our posts on your blogs, MySpace,Twitter, or Facebook.

We look forward to hearing from you.

James Barber has written about music and movies for Slate, Blender, Good and AlltheMusicNews.com. He is also a record producer, band manager, music business technology consultant and was an A&R guy at Geffen/DGC Records (back in the 90s when that meant something). He has never been a celebrity chef in Canada, even though he gets a lot of internet fan mail for that guy.