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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43299 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-11
• Released on: 2004-05-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781400076932
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
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 The New Yorker
In 1998, the commandants at West Point offered the author, a Rolling Stone reporter, unfettered access to their students. The result is a sunny portrait of a group of young men and women who, as one of them says, "don't quite fit in." Lipsky touches on some recent, controversial attempts at modernizing the academy—such as a ban on hazing and the promotion of "consideration of others" (which in the context of the Army could, in an "extreme instance," mean jumping on a grenade to save the lives of your fellow-soldiers)—but he is more effective as a chronicler of personality than of politics. A cadet defaces his uniform to protest softening standards; a bodybuilder worries that his future wife, following him from post to post, won't have a career; a football star fears life after graduation, wondering, "Can I think for myself?" Though initially ill-disposed toward the military, Lipsky eventually found that "of all the young people I'd met, the West Point cadets—although they are grand, epic complainers—were the happiest."
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

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
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades
you'll likely have high expectations for this book because of all the breathless press it has received -- how astonishing: a literary lefty type (greenwich village jew who attends brown and johns hopkins) learns to admire west point.

but does he?

what is so disappointing is that lipsky was given unprecedented access to this storied institution. his stammering, "i can't believe this happened" account of how the book came to be -- reluctantly sent for a few weeks, stayed four years -- notwithstanding, a writer who had had modest success in the 'new yorker' and as a contributing editor for 'rolling stone' must have been impressed by what he found at the usma.

you will put down this book knowing very little about west point. in fact, the character you will remember best, the one who gets the most print, and is analyzed most in-depth is a veritable loser: a misfit who against all odds makes it through -- despite having to take numerous remedial physical fitness tests, and the desire of several staff to have him kicked out. out of a class of 1000 cadets, it's interesting that he hones in on this hapless dolt. no one in their right mind would want their child to be one of his soldiers, and thinking of this guy as an officer in the u.s. army will have plenty of anti-military people types cluck-clucking.

you will be compelled by some of the profiles -- how could one not be? regardless of how one feels about the military, this is unarguably a collection of some of america's finest youth. but there are too many short cuts: e.g. the story about a revered officer who takes responsibility for a subordinate's unpublished, but leaked, powerpoint slide entitled "class of 2000 homo factor report" which was an attempt at parody, and encouraged cadets to select infantry, but brings down the veritable hero leaves the reader hanging. there has to be far more to the story than is reported. which made me wonder what conditions lipsky agreed to in order to get the access he did. am i the only reader who finds it strange that a young author whose most prominent piece, a lengthly 'rolling stone' article titled 'to be young and gay' (recommended reading, btw) doesn't mention homosexuality once in 311 pages (drugs are touched, sex is lightly addressed -- as if the most trying issues facing these supercharged young adults are an afterthought)?

where is the top down analysis of the relevance of the institution today? where is the questioning of whether the type of 'huah' enthusiasm that is drilled into the cadets will best serve them in today's 'army of one'? what is so disappointing is that the reader is tantalized by situations and personalities, but left unsatisfied because they are not thoroughly explained or analyzed. even someone who has spent many years in the military (as i have), and is familiar with the jargon and acronyms will have trouble keeping things straight.

this writer clearly skipped boot camp -- both literary and military.

This Book is No Goat
David Lipsky, a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, and the son of self-proclaimed hippie parents whose zip code is in Greenwich Village is assigned to write about a class of cadets and write his story after a year. Nurtured with a distrust and dislike for anything military, he anticipates that West Point will throw up one roadblock after another. He is surprised when they give him unrestricted access the academy.

He sets about following one class that reports in July for "Beast Barracks" where new cadets or plebes are whipped into shape, must learn military courtesy and how to march. Lipsky must also develop an ear for the traditional jargon of West Point, some of which are many decades old. First, it is not West Point Military Academy, but the United States Military Academy at West Point, a promontory within academy borders. Freshmen are fourth classmen or more commonly known as plebes. Sophomores are third classmen and informally known as yearlings or yuks. Juniors are second classmen and are informally known as cows. The seniors are called first classmen, and are informally known as firsties.

The author starts out with a brief history of cadets fighting in past wars and fighting each other in the Civil War with the utmost lethality while maintaining the utmost civility for each other. Where the country could not stay together, the bond amongst cadets was inseparable in spite of uniforms of different color. I wish Lipsky had spent a little more time on this, which he managed to write with some humor.

He quickly attaches himself to a group of cadets called the corporation, the cadet who cannot pronounce the name of the game he plays (fooball), and a keen interest in a hapless, but likeable cadet named George Rash who is on the verge of being thrown out of West Point for lack of physical agility on several occasions. George skims just above the waves of academic and physical disaster. Other cadets mention his name "Raaaash" with emphasis, not as an act of unkindness. In George, they see their own worst fears as real and tangible.

The author asks for and receives permission to follow the class to graduation. You can tell that he is gaining respect for the men and women of West Point.

The most telling story for the author seemed to be his recounting of a lieutenant colonel (LTC) who takes responsibility for one of his captains who has an inappropriate anecdote on his computer. His computer being open, the cadets soon download the message, and pass it throughout the academy. The colonel tells his captain: "You're my subordinate. That means I'm responsible for your actions." The LTC, who has his enemies, stands up for his captain, takes the responsibility, and is forced out of the service. In retelling this account in New York restaurants and bars, the author's listeners do not understand why the colonel was punished, and not the captain. This is the telling point for the author, because in spite of his anti-military upbringing, he has learned enough about West Point to not only know the language, but to know how they think and even more, understand it. Lipsky makes his admiration quite clear for a man whom he sees as the embodiment of the academy motto: Duty, Honor, Country.

He follows the class through their romances, competitions, and obstacles. In the third year, the cadets are sworn in. Now they must serve in the army as enlisted men if they fail or drop out, and repay the army the cost of their education. In the fourth year, cadets request their branch. In the army, branches mean infantry, armor, artillery, aviation, quartermaster, etc.)

The author follows many of them through graduation, and into their first assignments. And George Rash? George finishes second from the last in his class. This is probably the worst spot because the lowest in the class, also known as the goat, which happens to be the mascot of Annapolis, collects the lottery which consists of $1.00 from every cadet in the brigade. Even in this George misses, but he didn't miss being posted to one of the army's least desirable places--Ft. Polk, LA.

This is an excellent narrative for one who wants to learn about modern day West Point, and the men and women who still attempt to live by a code of honor that seems almost archaic in our modern society.

Keep in mind, this is a story about West Point, not the army.

But still, GO ARMY! SINK navy!

Rash Review
I am the first in line to read fiction or non-fiction as it relates to West Point. I could not wait to read this book, based upon the reviews I read. In some ways it followed "The Long Gray Line"s format of following a few individual personalities through four (4) years at the USMA. My criticism is that I had a hard time following the story (events). The author seemed to jump around a lot. Also, I got very tired of reading about Cadet Rash's pt test; enough of that, we get it. The Cadet is mediocre and should not be an Army Officer. I also had to reread sentances over and over. The writing just was not on the same level as other books on the subject. There were some paragraphs that either were out of context or just a jumble of words. I recommend it for those who never get enough of the "gray line", but overall I was disappointed.