Boots on the Ground at Dusk: The Life and Death of Pat Tillman

Tillman, the mother of the late professional football player and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman, and former journalist Zacchino collaborate for this disturbing story of a mother’s desperate search for the truth of her son’s death. Pat Tillman constantly defied expectations; following 9/11, he shocked his family and football fans everywhere when he quit the NFL and joined the army rangers. On April 21, 2004, while on a combat mission in Afghanistan, Pat was killed in a firefight. Although commanders knew almost immediately that “friendly fire” was the likely cause of his death, the family wasn’t told for weeks. Her suspicions aroused, his mother demanded answers, and the more she learned about the army’s inept handling of her son’s death, the more she was convinced that there was a conspiracy. Bereft, besieged by suspicions that the “administration orchestrated [Pat’s] death,” Tillman recounts her story bravely, but her obsession with fixing blame and her recourse to conspiracy theories compromises her credibility. The result is a troubling, uneven account that raises serious questions, but offers little in the way of insights or answers. (May)