Captain Robert P. McGovern had to work extraordinarily hard to survive roughly four seasons in the NFL. He was no more than a marginal player and had to constantly worry about being cut. It is safe to say, that McGovern was the last one picked and the first one released. He truly became the best that he could possibly be. His strong work ethic served him well as a both a prosecutor and U.S. Army officer.

The leftist establishment slanders our soldiers as usually some sort of social reject or even psychotic. Capt. McGovern is living proof that this is utterly false. His story is well worth reading. You may wish to provide a copy to the younger people in your family. It should motivate them to also aspire to greatness. Those like myself who never served in the military have a particular obligation to thank McGovern for his self-sacrifice and dedication on behalf of our country. May God bless him.

This simpleton of a jerk-off & his ilk are EXACTLY what is wrong with my country. I cannot f+cking wait to leave this country & never return. Enjoy your fascism.

Several reviews I have read have come down hard on the author for his stand on the war in Iraq. But this is his autobiography, the story of his life, and his opinion of the war is just one part of it. It is a well-written account of his childhood, his family, his education and his aspirations, and continues into his adulthood to the present time. He lets us know how he was trained by his parents to be unselfish and give back to the community some form of service, and this was undoubtedly the motivation for joining the Army Reserve, and eventually finding himself on active duty in Iraq.

A good part of his story comes before that. He was competing with his older brothers in athletics, trying to be as good as they had been in high school football, and then in college football. He received an athletic scholarship from Holy Cross, an enormous accomplishment in his eyes, and he was grateful for the opportunity. And then came pro football, four years of it on three different teams. He was pretty good at it, but not outstanding. He simply was not big enough (hefty, bulky) to be a great linebacker. He was thankful for this chance to make the big league, but took the advice of one of his coaches to give it up. From there he decided to study law and with his law degree took a job as an Assistant DA in New York City. Then came 9/11, to which he was an eyewitness. In his role as a US Army Reserve officer he volunteered to help. Immediately following, he applied for active duty, leaving his job as assistant DA, and became a prosecutor for the Judge Advocate General Corps, and then deployed to Afghanistan and later to Iraq. His experiences there were extraordinary because he was involved in the trial of Hasan Akbar, the US Army Sergeant who killed two Army officers and wounded a number of others when he threw hand grenades into the tents of the soldiers.

This is a well-written account of the life of a man who became a soldier in the US Army. Why would anyone find it strange that he has strong opinions in favor of the war in Iraq ? It is his contention that we are there as part of the war on terrorism. The patriotic feeling that he had on 9/11 was something that almost all of us shared at that time. For him it continued; for many of us it disappeared.

Should we still be in Iraq? That is a matter for debate, which has been ongoing for some time now. Captain McGovern feels that we are making a difference, and that is why we are still there.

This book is certainly worth reading, if only to gain some insight from a different perspective.

The life story of Captain Robert McGovern, is almost "Forrest Gump" like. Rob is one of nine Irish Catholic children, born to Howard and Terry McGovern in New Jersey. Though born in New Jersey, if I were to describe his morals, character, and upbringing, I would describe it in the highest of terms, that most Americans would consider as "mid-western". One of the many, emotionally uplifting themes in this book, is the absolute, enduring, love, and respect, that Rob, constantly proclaims for his parents. He was raised from the beginning, to have high goals, and his older brothers got football scholarships to Holy Cross, as Rob also did later on, but with less fanfare. Just as importantly, he and his siblings were raised to "service" the community. To give something back, and Rob continued this process in college at Holy Cross and while in the National Football League, with outreach programs. When Rob graduated college, no one gave him a chance of making it in the NFL. But he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, as an undersized, underdog, linebacker, and special team's player. He lasted a few years with numerous teams, making the most of his non-star ability. The way he accomplished this, is with dogged, determination and dedication. To quote Rob: "Being the best at what you do has to be more important to you than partying or chasing girls or hanging out with your buddies. It has to be worth sacrificing the comforts and pleasures of an undirected life and replacing them with long hours of sweat and tears. In football, it also helps to be one tough character." At the end of Rob's short NFL career, he attended law school, and upon graduation, became an assistant D.A. in Manhattan. In keeping with his personal goal, of giving service to his community/country, he also joined the Army Reserves.

Then, on the forever-fateful day, of September 11, 2001, Rob was on the way to work in Manhattan, when he saw the smoke, and the planes, at the World Trade Center. He couldn't get to work, so he went home and put on the TV, and heard an announcement, that military men were needed at "ground-zero" to help look for bodies. Even though he was in the reserves, he donned his uniform, and went to "ground-zero", and helped recover the remains of victims for days. Rob, happened to be there, when President Bush arrived, and shook the Commander In Chief's hand, and was so moved, he decided he wanted to go on active duty and help America fight back. Because Rob was 38 years old, they wouldn't let him go on active duty. He persisted in every way possible, and was finally accepted as a Judge Advocate General. (JAG) He proceeded to go to Afghanistan and Iraq and assisted in "Rules Of Engagement" (ROE) enforcement. From there, he went in to criminal prosecution. He wound up on the successful prosecution team, that convicted Sergeant Hasan Akbar, probably the worst, United States Military criminal, in the last 30-40 years. To refresh your memory, Akbar, was the traitor, who the night before, we were going to launch Operation Iraqi Freedom, attacked his comrades, with grenades and small-arms fire. He wounded more than a dozen troops. Two were dead.

There is much more, to the life story, of a man who loves his country, loves his family, loves God, and has dedicated his life to enforcing freedom throughout the world, but let me conclude my review, by having Rob tell you why he named his book "All American". "You might wonder about the use of "All-American" in the title. First of all, let me say off the bat that I'm not talking about myself here. What is an "All-American" anyway? I've met some real "All-Americans- quiet, unassuming, heroic people who inspire students, protect us from crime, and defend our values. They are "All-American" in every sense of the phrase. I chose this title in part to pay tribute to these "All-American", I've been lucky enough to meet and work with through the years. I also chose it to pay special tribute to the men and women of our armed forces, especially those in the 82nd Airborne Division. That famous unit happens to be called the All-American Division."

An extraordinary account of one good man standing tall for the best of American values.

I am also a Captain in the Army, so I was excited to come across a written account of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan written by one of my peers. I thought this book would be interesting and relevant to my own experiences in Iraq. However, I was very quickly disappointed by the book's one-sidedness and lack of insight.

One of McGovern's main themes is that the positive stories from Iraq and Afghanistan are seldom reported, while violence and strife always make the nightly news. While there is truth to this, McGovern takes the opposite approach to the extreme. He cites children waving at soldiers and Iraqis voting as proof that US policies in Iraq are working and progress is being made, but he completely ignores any and all evidence to the contrary (worsening violence, Iraqi political ineffectiveness, millions of refugees fleeing the country, a steady decline of electricity and other services, children throwing rocks, etc).

By far, the biggest flaw in this book is that McGovern never addresses or acknowledges the negative impact of having an occupying army living and operating for years within a civilian population. In the effort to catch the terrorists, soldiers kick in doors, round up detainees, seize and destroy private property, create collateral damage and civilian deaths, etc. These are the unavoidable side effects of fighting a war. Add to that the unscrupulous actions of the soldiers at Abu Ghraib and Haditha, and you'll find that the longer we stay, the less popular we become, and the more support the insurgency receives from the local population. A recent poll indicated that over half of Iraqis now support attacks against American soldiers. By ignoring half of the issue, McGovern abandons a reasoned, balanced appraisal in favor of blind ideology and wishful thinking.

I haven't mentioned McGovern's career in the NFL or as an attorney, because the autobiographical aspect of this book is actually rather secondary to his promotion of US policy in executing the War on Terror. In this regard, none of his points are new, original, or insightful. Conservative ideology is haphazardly sprinkled throughout the book whether or not it is relevant to the ongoing story. For example, here is a quote from the NFL portion: "Of course, the hate [Vince] Lombardi was talking about was the football kind, not the hate that drives people to fly airplanes into buildings." By the time you reach the end of the book, it starts to sound like a White House press release from 2003. If you are primarily looking for a good inside account of the NFL, life in Iraq/Afghanistan, or the DA's office, this isn't the right book for you. If you're hells bells behind the war in Iraq and want to read something you're sure to agree with, then you might want to pick this up.

I knew Rob for several years in college and I have never known anyone that is more of an All American than him (although he denies it in his book). He is far too humble. I could not put the book down and felt like I was watching Forest Gump as he continually put himself (through hard work) into events that have already/will go down in history. The "Critic Reviews" that I have seen on the internet are quite funny as they are a perfect example of how media slants to the far left (not just the left). The book was not critical of liberals and Rob went out of the way to encourage debate. Maybe the critics should read the books they are reviewing. Awesome book and awesome American.

This memoir was a light, enjoyable read. It's refreshing to hear directly from a guy who hasn't lost faith in the mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know there are legions of them in our armed forces, but their voices tend to be crowded out by the passionate debate in Washington.

To me, the best parts of McGovern's story were his experiences working "the pile" at Ground Zero right after 9/11, and his role in prosecuting the notorious Hasan Akbar. "We're ready, sir," he told the Commander in Chief during President Bush's visit to Ground Zero. (Does it get better than that!) Akbar is the turncoat scoundrel who murdered and maimed his 101st Airborne colleagues in a cowardly sneak attack in the opening days of the Iraq War. Akbar was convicted and received a death sentence -- the first handed down by the military in some 50 years -- though the gallows still await him.

McGovern reminds me of so many Irish Catholic guys I went to high school with in the New York suburbs. It was the Reagan era so it's not surprising that, like McGovern, most of us ended up conservative Republicans. Three cheers for you, Captian McGovern, from one Jersey guy to another.

This memoir was a light, enjoyable read. It's refreshing to hear directly from a guy who hasn't lost faith in the mission in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know there are legions of them in our armed forces, but their voices tend to be crowded out by the passionate debate in Washington.

To me, the best parts of McGovern's story were his experiences working "the pile" at Ground Zero right after 9/11, and his role in prosecuting the notorious Hasan Akbar. "We're ready, sir," he told the Commander in Chief during President Bush's visit to Ground Zero. (Does it get better than that!) Akbar is the turncoat scoundrel who murdered and maimed his 101st Airborne colleagues in a cowardly sneak attack in the opening days of the Iraq War. Akbar was convicted and received a death sentence -- the first handed down by the military in some 50 years -- though the gallows still await him.

McGovern reminds me of so many Irish Catholic guys I went to high school with in the New York suburbs. It was the Reagan era so it's not surprising that, like McGovern, most of us ended up conservative Republicans. Three cheers for you, Captian McGovern, from one Jersey guy to another.

A must read for all interested in knowing why we are engaged in Iraq. Fascianting life from his football days to becoming a lawyer to his tours in Iraq. I highly recommend this to all interested in knowing what the Iraq war is like from someone who has been there and lived it. Superb!

This book gives a very different point of view on the War on Terror. So much of what is broadcast today covers the negative aspects of war (the death of American Servicemen & women, operational failures, etc.). While those tragic events - sure to happen in any armed conflict - are occurring and are important to know about, Capt. McGovern's book shows the other side as well. The good work being done in an unimaginable environment by true heroes. These are people you will never see in a news broadcast, yet they accomplish more in a month than many of us do in a lifetime.

His last chapter, titled "Why we fight", is a must read for anyone trying to understand the reasons we are in Iraq. Reasons you will never hear about on the 6 O'clock news. Great men and women (American, Iraqi, British, etc,) are fighting and dying in what the media (and many in Congress) have labeled an "unwinable" war. Captain McGovern gives you some insight into why these heroes are making the ultimate sacrifice for Freedom.

I first became aware of this book and intrigued when the author gave a late night interview on Jerry Doyle's radio show. This is an interesting book if you are interested in reading a story that contains elements which most of us just dream about and very few actually achieve: playing college football on a scholarship, being drafted and playing in the NFL with a number of coaches that are legends in our day, becoming a New York City assistant district attorney, working at ground-zero of the September 11 attack and shaking the hand of the President of the United States, serving in the US Army in Iraq and Afganistan, successfully prosecuting US service members that attacked other US service members while they slept. The book is written in a folksy and easy-to-read style but does not contain any real deep insightful thoughts. It may contain a number of factual errors but it is always positive. It is a positive portayal of a conversative belief system that is directly opposed, if not made fun of by most public media, and almost seems to be a hold over from a bygone era. Heros come in all shapes, sizes and brillance and this author is definitely that.

This book gives a very different point of view on the War on Terror. So much of what is broadcast today covers the negative aspects of war (the death of American Servicemen & women, operational failures, etc.). While those tragic events - sure to happen in any armed conflict - are occurring and are important to know about, Capt. McGovern's book shows the other side as well. The good work being done in an unimaginable environment by true heroes. These are people you will never see in a news broadcast, yet they accomplish more in a month than many of us do in a lifetime.

His last chapter, titled "Why we fight", is a must read for anyone trying to understand the reasons we are in Iraq. Reasons you will never hear about on the 6 O'clock news. Great men and women (American, Iraqi, British, etc,) are fighting and dying in what the media (and many in Congress) have labeled an "unwinable" war. Captain McGovern gives you some insight into why these heroes are making the ultimate sacrifice for Freedom.

Captain Robert P. McGovern's All American is a fascinating account of an intriguing life. Captain McGovern tells of the things he has done, the people he has met, the places he has been, the opinions he has developed, and so much more. Captain McGovern has a conversationalist style of writing, and a witty self-deprecating humor that makes this book very easy to read. All American describes familiar experiences (such as facing the wrath of an angry mother), fantastic experiences (playing in the NFL), and unimaginable experiences (the 911 recovery efforts, prosecuting Hasan Akbar and then insurgents in Iraq). However, the real purpose of the book is to pay homage to the people, well-known or not, that have had a positive impact on Captain McGovern's life, their communities, and their country. Captain McGovern, thank you for telling us your story, and for telling us the stories of so many other unsung heroes.

I take considerable issue with Publishers Weekly's editorial which itself was guilty of being simplistic and one-sided. It is apparent, just by reading a sampling of reviews, that Publishers Weekly is an ideological rag. It chooses to bestow praise upon authors that preach a specific vision of the world, and conversely uses sophomoric attacks to try and scuttle the works of those that dare try to tell a different story. It is clear that the folks at Publishers Weekly could not allow themselves to move beyond their initial reaction to the title of the book before reading and ultimately reviewing it. In certain instances, Publishers Weekly lies about the content of the book in its review. For instance it claims that Captain McGovern "blames the violence in Iraq entirely on foreign terrorists while ignoring the sectarian strife engulfing the country." To the contrary, Captain McGovern clearly shows the complexity of the situation in Iraq in a number of ways, not the least of which are his detailed accounts of prosecuting foreign insurgents as well as Baathist loyalists, and his firsthand observations of tribal-related instability. I thought it was very telling that Publishers Weekly did not mention at all the portion of All American that Captain McGovern dedicated to describing the strong women in his life, and those he has met in the military; he makes it clear how important female soldiers have been in fighting the War on Terror and adamantly applauds their service. This must be what Publishers Weekly considers "jockishly cloying salutes." The Publishers Weekly review was shameful and moronic at best.

I have had ahard time putting this book down. Captain McGovern acknowledges that not all people may agree with his opionions, but asks us to at least consider them. The style in which this book is written flows as if you are sitting in a room with a friend in the military who has just returned after being deployed and listening in awe to thier expieriences.

I am so thankful that we have Americans like Captain McGovern and the people he writes of.

I just finished reading Captain Rob McGovern's "All American". Rob McGovern has had a front row seat to our country's most significant historical moments over the last 6 years, and his perspective is one of hope and optimism, rather than the constant pessimism and defeatism that are shoved down our throats. I was refreshed to hear a perspective from someone who doesn't want to make their name by seeing how many bad things they can say about their family, religion, and the United States. Captain McGovern tells stories about his life and the lessons he's learned through the people he met along the way; learning from both failures and successes. He uses a conversational style to talk to the reader, and relays a genuine passion for what he believes. Far from ignoring critics, he acknowledges the negative, but does not make it his job to rehash what we hear in the news everyday. He wants us to know the other side of the story; where good people are doing their best to do good things.

I was very disappointed in Publisher Weekly's review, as I think whoever wrote it missed the point entirely. Apparently being a book reviewer doesn't require knowing the definition of an "autobiography". They seem to feel that when a person writes a story about THEIR OWN LIFE they must give equal time and confront potential critics. Captain McGovern's note to the reader at the beginning of the book makes clear he is talking from his point of view. Interestingly, PW's last review of Al Franken's Book "The Truth" (which is not an autobiography) is hailed for its attack on "the Right wing". Opposing points of view are not necessary as long as PW is happy.

I highly recommend "All American". Captain McGovern balances the funny moments (e.g. his encounter with John Elway) with the seriousness of the subject matter. For anyone interested in sports, law, politics, and stories about people exceeding their potential through hard work, Captain McGovern's is a great story.