Product Description

As David Lipsky follows a future generation of army officers from their proving grounds to their barracks, he reveals the range of emotions and desires that propels these men and women forward. From the cadet who struggles with every facet of West Point life to those who are decidedly huah, Lipsky shows people facing challenges so daunting and responsibilities so heavy that their transformations are fascinating to watch. Absolutely American is a thrilling portrait of a unique institution and those who make up its ranks.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1701111 in Books
• Released on: 2004-05-11
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

From Amazon.com
Individuality would not seem to be a highly prized virtue at West Point. After all, new cadets arriving at the military academy are not required to pack anything more than a toothbrush and some underwear since they will be issued everything else. But despite their uniformity and disciplined bearing, the cadets profiled in David Lipsky's Absolutely American are still college kids who have moved away from their hometowns to figure out what to do with their lives. Lipsky was given unprecedented access at West Point and spent a full four years following a class from wide-eyed arrival through graduation. The most fascinating cadets are the ones who don't fit the gung-ho West Point stereotype. George Rash faces expulsion on a regular basis but persistently hangs in, "Huck" Finn just wants to play football but becomes more enamored of the military life than he ever expected, and Christi Cicerelle stays perfectly coiffed and, as she says, "girly," even while becoming a highly skilled soldier. Lipsky's tenure came at a pivotal time in the institution's history: hazing had recently been discontinued (part of a series of reforms referred to with both gravity and a little remorse as "The Changes") and the attacks of September 11, 2001 placed the United States in a war which the cadets would have to fight. The academy, in Lipsky's portrayal, demands much of its charges, its standards are high, and the possibility of being "separated" from West Point looms large for any cadet not up to par. Yet the cadets are shown as largely happy people, using the harsh demands of a West Point experience to find the kind of structure and purpose that other college students would envy. Lipsky, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, creates portraits that are, by turns, hilarious, touching, harrowing, disappointing and joyful. As his subjects finally graduate and launch their careers, readers may feel like a proud parent or friend standing in the crowd and cheering their accomplishments. --John Moe

From AudioFile
A recent graduate from West Point, David Lipsky narrates his account of contemporary training for male and female officers in today's U.S. Army. Both diction and an untrained voice add to the authenticity of Lipsky's presentation. Personal stories of fellow cadets in their miseries doing sit-ups, push-ups, and coping with rigorous regulations give intimate insight into a painful maturation. The use of the present tense in the narrative gives the prose an unusual twist. No one will hear this title and think that the alma mater of Robert E. Lee and Douglas MacArthur will ever be the same again. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Rolling Stone journalist Lipsky, who specializes in portraying college students, turns to a certain college on the Hudson: West Point. He follows a graduating class through their first years as officers and an entering class from plebe to graduation. Among the notable graduates is Don Herzog, who initially wanted the infantry, tried aviation, and after the death of a friend chose finance. Perhaps the most appealing cadet is George Rash, neither infectious nor bold of personality, but who survived his name and physical limitations to graduate and go into the engineers. Others portrayed include the senior officers, and then Lipsky takes up the problems of maintaining West Point's unique culture--the military squared and cubed--in the face of a general culture that offers a host of temptations incompatible with its traditions; Lipsky treats issues of gender and sex (note the distinction) particularly skillfully, if more briefly than many may like. Near the end of Lipsky's coverage, the cadets face 9/11 and the realization that they are to be wartime graduates. Outstanding reportage. Roland Green
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