Steve Eubanks tells a moving and inspiring story about several young men as they transition from college athletes to young military officers. He tells the story of several West Point and Annapolis graduates, from their decisions to enter the military academies, join their respective football teams. In November, 2001, shortly after the 9/11 downing of the World Trade Towers, the men of Annapolis and West Point take the football field in the annual intra-service football rivalry. While competing against each other on the gridiron on that occasion, upon graduation, these men find themselves on the same team, fighting a common enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"All American" is a story of competition and rivalry in sports, leading to leadership and respect as young military officers. Eubanks describes the physical and academic hardships these men endure during their training, and how that translated to their success in their subsequent military and civilian careers. As a nation, we tend to overlook the sacrifice and burdens taken on by our young men and women in the service during the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and this book reminds us that it's our best and brightest who bear the physical and emotional costs of those battles. ( )