Customer Reviews

I've Got Things to Do with My Life: The Making of an American Hero

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is a re-hashed litany of Tillman's football career, along with comments from others that were mostly in the public domain, with absolutely no insight into the man. It is particualrly trashy to try to make money from the reputation of a true fallen hero.

Tillman did the right thing and kept it to himself, Towle takes advantage for his own (and the publisher's) financial benefit.

There shoud be negative stars in your rating system, because this "book" deserves them.

I didn't like the book. First, I was suprised by how thin the book was when I got it.There were not many pages at all.The rough uneven edges of the pages made it appear as if they had all been torn out of some other book making it look very amateurish. The story content was as thin as the book itself. There was only general information on how he died; no detail at all.I was very disappointed with it and do not reccommend it to anyone.

This book was wrote before much of the factual info on Tillman was out. Still a good read if you know the information surrounding Tillman.

I'm confused! I re-ordered this book (returned the defective one)and received another defective book! The pages opposite the spine of the book are jagged and have a strange, uneven, torn look. This is the second time this has happened with the same book! I need to send this one back too. Thanks for prompting this response! Disappointed in Michigan

3 September 2010: just saw a screening of Amir bar-Lev's documentary. Creeps like golf-groupie Mike Towle have long since cashed in on Tillman and moved on. Still, watch for Towle's next project.

The previous book review by that Calvert guy is totally bogus. What a jerk. I read Towle's book, and while it's not one of those long, comprehensive biographies that takes two years to write, it is very informative. It's also nicely balanced in that it presnets a thorough examination of both Tillman's Army life and his football career. Sure, there was some stuff in the book that has appeared in other sources, but Towle sourced and footnoted all those. I also noticed in his Acknowledgements section that he listed something like 40 people or so he spoke to firsthand for this book. That's pretty good considering that Tillman's family and friends have been so tight-lipped about Pat to this day. This is a story that needed to be written, whether or not family and friends are willing to open up, and I think Towle did a wonderful job.

This book needs to be updated with the sorry story of the abuse of a dead football player for propaganda purposes by an incompetent military and an administration bereft of any sense of decency or notion of ethical behaviour.

Compelling real hero stuff to realize what hell at war is all about taking a life that was so vibrant!