Boots on the Ground by Dusk

Mary Tillman tells of the life and death of her son, NFL football player Patrick Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004. Tillman shares her grief in a slow, even voice and dolorous tones as she recounts how she mourns her son and copes with her emotions. In other chapters she describes her son's life as a well-known athlete. The pace of the memoir is uneven, especially the parts about Pat's death and the subsequent military cover-up. Tillman also highlights her own tenacity in every aspect of her life--as a soccer coach, a supportive mom, a grieving mom, and determined citizen. In all aspects of her performance Tillman brings her son's life and her quest for the truth to the listener. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

March 10, 2008
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 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.