“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.
“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.
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.
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.
Praise for Brotherhood
“Weaves together multiple in-depth biographies to form a highly
readable account of who these men were, where they came from, how
they played the game and how they fought the longest war in U.S.
military history….We’re better off for having these men among
us.”
—Wall Street Journal
“A mammoth of a journalistic, sporting, historical and emotional
work … the product of a writer with a tangible respect for the
privilege of the story he is telling”
—The Rugby Journal
“Brotherhood is a mad, perfect book. Pengelly’s audacious act
combining biography, war reportage and sports writing is like
nothing I’ve read before. The ’02 West Point ruggers are painted in
beautiful relief and their combat episodes are brilliantly
rendered. Sports book? War book? I’m not sure, but I’m certain you
must read it.”
—Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the
Gulf War and Other Battles
“An intimate portrait . . . Drawing on his own love of rugby,
personal reminiscences from the [West Point] cadets, and in-depth
reportage, Pengelly provides a vivid snapshot of his subjects and
their experiences of war, combined with an elegiac meditation on
the sport. It’s a poignant account.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A memorable and moving book, a significant contribution to the
literature of the American military after 9/11.”
—Thomas E. Ricks, author of Waging a Good War: A Military History
of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954–1968
“Brotherhood breaks the heart with its dramatic story of a
fraternity of teammates broken by war.”
—David Abrams, author of Fobbit
“In rugby, we often talk of ‘going into battle’ with your team.
It's just a game, of course, but in Brotherhood, sport, war, and
friendship leap from the pages as players really do become
warriors—and heroes.”
—Dan Lyle, U.S. Rugby Hall of Famer and NBC Sports analyst
“In a time when men struggle to find their place in society—a time
of disheartening news on education, relationships, and lifespan
itself—Martin Pengelly brings a rare story of encouragement. The
young men of Brotherhood remind us of the best in men: courage,
sacrifice, even nobility.”
—Matthew Teague, co-author of The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn
the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It
“Brotherhood captures men working through shared hardships, the
lessons learned, and bonds forged through that journey. Ultimately,
the book shares the stories of young men and their families who
were willing to give everything for our country—and some who
did.”
—Matthew Sherman, West Point Men’s Rugby Coach
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