Brotherhood - by Martin Pengelly (Hardcover)

About the Book

"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"--

Book Synopsis

"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.

Review Quotes

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