Boots on the Ground by Dusk - tribute to Pat Tillman

Boots on the Ground by Dusk is a poignant, impassioned tribute to former professional footballer, Pat Tillman from his mother, Mary Tillman who wrote it along with journalist Narda Zacchino. A relentless seeker of truth, Mary obsessively overturned every stone to see what would crawl out after her son's death in Afghanistan two years after he gave up the job he loved to join the US Army with his brother. Pat sadly lost his life in more than suspicious circumstances during an enemy ambush. She unearthed more questions than answers when she was told Pat had died by friendly fire. Did he fall or was he pushed? The Tillman story eventually made headlines in the USA when she uncovered what the White House and Pentagon were concealing. A film documentary about Pat's life and death by director Amir Bar-Lev is doing the rounds too.

It's a powerful read when you get to the nub but some of the earlier account is repetitive and it doesn't really get going with the investigation in earnest until three quarters of the way through. From then, the shocking revelations can't fail to have their effect. The earlier part was Mary's more personal tribute to her son, dipping in and out of anecdotal information about his childhood and how he progressed to footballer and into the army, some of it necessary to the development of the plot but it lost a bit of the bite by beginning at the beginning and not hooking me with a more immediate and exciting opening.

Learn more at http://www.bootsonthegroundbydusk.com/ The Pat Tillman Foundation has been set up to support people who have left the the army and are following other courses into new careers. Mary Tillman is donating all the profits to the Foundation and the publishers are giving a $1 donation for every Tillman book they sell. To buy the book, contact www.blurb.com/bookstall/detail/1500065