All American: Two Young Men, the 2001 Army-Navy Game and the War They Fought in Iraq
The venerable Army-Navy football game, originating in 1890 and played annually since 1930, carried a special poignancy when it was held in December 2001 and attended by President Bush, since many of its players already knew, just weeks after the 9/11 attacks, that they were destined for far more perilous battle somewhere overseas. Eubanks tracks a player on each team&#x2014;cadet quarterback Chad Jenkins and midshipman linebacker Brian Stann&#x2014;from childhood through high school, their West Point or Annapolis educations, basic training, and experience serving in the Iraq War. So doing, he reveals in compelling detail the all-consuming process by which the military turns civilians into combat-ready warriors. If the disconnect between the al-&#xAD;Qaeda agents who carried out the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Iraq is left unaddressed, readers can only respect the extraordinary commitment and service Jenkins, Stann, and their military brethren gave their country. A fresh, authentic take on the Iraq War and those Americans who fought in it. --Alan Moores