One of the sleaziest stories to come out of the presidency of George W. Bush and its War On Terror is the saga of Pat Tillman. Best-selling author Jon Krakauer exposes the deception in Where Men Win Glory (Doubleday).

If you don't remember the story, Tillman was an up-and-coming NFL star who was profoundly disturbed by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He gave up a career with the NFL and joined the Marines. The White House and the Pentagon cheerfully used Tillman to promote their wars without his authorization, continuing to do so after he was killed in action.

Krakauer describes Tillman as an intellectually curious man who was disappointed at being sent to Iraq, wondering what it had to do with 9/11. While stationed there, Tillman had a cameo role in the Jessica Lynch sideshow, another exercise in Pentagon propaganda.

Tillman was eventually shipped to Afghanistan and was killed in action on April 22, 2004. It was apparent even at the scene that Tillman and Afghan soldier Sayed Farhad were mistakenly hit by friendly fire. The army had mistakenly shot their recruitment poster boy so they deliberately tried to hide the truth.

The coverup started at the scene when the obvious conclusion was kept from Tillman's brother, Kevin, a marine in the same platoon. Evidence was destroyed and misinformation, obfuscation, and outright lies were released to the family and the media.

The American army displayed a stunningly callous disregard for Tillman and his family. One general stated that the reason the Tillmans weren't satisfied with the Army's half-assed investigations is because they weren't evangelical Christians 

Krakauer interviews Tillman's widow, friends, and fellow soldiers, some of whom were witnesses to the shooting. He juxtaposes information on Tillman's childhood and athletic career with notes on military involvement in Afghanistan, a saga involving proxy wars, the CIA, even the Pakistani trucking industry. 

As Krakauer reminds us, it's shocking how readily the powerful will lie.

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With Hockey and Hijab (TSAR), Sheema Khan offers a collection of essays on personal responsibility, human rights, fanaticism, and multiculturalism originally published in The Globe and Mail. 

The author, who holds a PhD in chemical physics from Harvard and now lives in Ottawa, writes with calm and common sense. She describes injustices done in the name of Canadian national security and discusses her renewed faith. There's clearly no problem, as she puts it, "harmonizing the spirit of Islam with the best of Canadian values." A valuable corrective to the needlessly overheated rhetoric you can find around.