Brotherhood - When West Point Rugby Went to War

"Six months after 9/11, U.S. troops were on the ground in Afghanistan; less than a year later, America invaded Iraq. Brotherhood follows players on West Point's fiercely passionate rugby team as they became members of the first class to graduate in wartime since the days of Vietnam. Longtime journalist and Guardian editor Martin Pengelly's moving story covers a remarkable decades-long arc from 9/11 to present day. The narrative is guided by team captain, Matt Blind, as well as Bryan Phillips, an enormous football lineman who found a new life in the heart of the rugby scrum, and coach Mike Mahan, a legend of Army sports. Brotherhood offers intimate portraits of young men who go to war and what it meant to them to be bonded first by their time on the sports field. Of the rugby-playing teammates in West Point's class of 2002 who went to war, some came home and others didn't. Capt. Jimmy Gurbisz, one of the team's forwards, came from blue-collar New Jersey, achieved his dream by entering West Point, discovered a new sport there, fell in love with it, excelled, but suffered an injury which led directly to his tragic death in a blast of flame and steel on a dusty Baghdad street. Team players Zac Miller and Joey Emigh died away from war, but no less tragically. This book captures banding together on the rugby field with the same men whose lives they'll have to fiercely protect on the battlefield. Given extraordinary access, Pengelly has created a singular blend of brutal sports and even more brutal war that reads like Friday Nights Lights meets Band of Brothers"--

About the author

Martin Pengelly is the Washington-based breaking news correspondent for Guardian US. Born in Leeds, UK, he played rugby for Durham University and Rosslyn Park FC and worked for Rugby News, the Guardian and the Independent before moving to the US in 2012. Since then, he has written about politics, books, and rugby in America. His work has also appeared in Sports Illustrated and the New York Times. Brotherhood is his first book.
H. R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Stanford University. He is also the Susan and Bernard Liautaud Fellow at The Freeman Spogli Institute and Lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He serves as chairman of the advisory board of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Japan Chair at the Hudson Institute. A native of Philadelphia, H.R. graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1984. He served as a U.S. Army officer for thirty-four years and retired as a lieutenant general in 2018. He remained on active duty while serving as the twenty-sixth assistant to the president for national security affairs. He taught history at West Point and holds a PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Summary

“We’re better off for having these men among us.”—Wall Street Journal

Before 9/11, the rugby team at West Point learned to bond on a sports field. This is what happened when those 15 young men became leaders in war.

Filled with drama, tragedy, and personal transformations, this is the story of a unique brotherhood. It is a story of American rugby and a story of the U. S. Army created through intimate portraits of men shaped by West Point’s motto: “Duty, Honor, Country.”

Some of the players deployed to Afganistan and Iraq, some to Europe. Some became infantry, others became fliers. Some saw action, some did not. One gave his life on a street in Baghdad when his convoy was hit with an IED. Two died away from the battlefield but no less tragically.

Journalist Martin Pengelly, a former rugby player himself, was given extraordinary access to tell this story, a story of a brutal sport and even more brutal warfare.

Foreword

Radio tour schedule

10/31:

(Format: General Interest Radio) 6:05p-6:15p ET—WHO Radio (Des Moines, IA). Live interview on the “Simon Conway” show, hosted by Simon Conway.

(Format: Sports Radio) 4:00p-4:20p ET—Sports Byline USA (San Francisco, CA—SYNDICATED). Taped interview on the “Sports Byline USA” show, hosted by Ron Barr.

(Format: Sports Radio) 1:40p-1:55p ET—Sports Byline USA (San Francisco, CA—SYNDICATED). Live interview on the “Titillating Sports” show, hosted by Rick Tittle.

11/1:

(Format: General Interest Radio) 5:05p-5:15p ET—WSYR Radio (Syracuse, NY). Live interview on the “Bob Lonsberry” show, hosted by Bob Lonsberry.

(Format: Sports Radio) Noon-12:15p ET—WORL FM 94.9 (Orlando, FL). Taped interview for “Inside the Game”, hosted by Pat Williams.

(Format: General Interest Radio) 9:05a-9:15a ET—WHAM Radio (Rochester, NY). Live interview on the “Bob Lonsberry” show, hosted by Bob Lonsberry.

(Format: General Interest Radio) 8:05a-8:30a ET—WKXL AM & FM (Concord, NH—BOSTON, MA). Taped interview for the “Cail and Company” show, hosted by Dan Feltes and Ken Cail.

(Format: General Interest Radio) 7:35a-7:45a ET—WKNY-AM (Kingston, NY—NEW YORK, NY). Live interview on “The WKNY AM Drive Sports Show”, hosted by Warren Lawrence and Chris Burns.

11/2:

(Format: Sports Radio) 3:05p-3:20p ET—590 the Fan (St. Louis, MO). Live interview on the “High Noon” show, hosted by Nate Lucas.

(Format: Sports Podcast) 1:30p-1:45p ET—Le Batard & Friends Network (PODCAST). Taped interview on the “Stupodity” podcast, hosted by Jon “Stugotz” Weiner.


11/9:
(Format: Sports Radio) 3:30p-3:45p ET—Sports Byline USA / Sirius XM Satellite Radio (San Bernardino, CA—SYNDICATED). Taped interview for the “Sports Overnight America” show, hosted by Fred Wallin.

Product details

• Authors: Martin Pengelly, Martin/ McMaster Pengelly
• Assisted by: H. R. McMaster (Introduction)
• Publisher: GODIN
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 17.10.2023, delayed
• EAN: 9781567927115
• ISBN: 978-1-56792-711-5
• No. of pages: 300
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Contemporary history (1945 to 1989); Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; HISTORY / United States / 21st Century, HISTORY / Modern / 21st Century, EDUCATION / Leadership, SPORTS & RECREATION / Rugby, Rugby Union, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / Iraq War (2003-2011)