Huah is the term used at West Point to describe someone who is very gung-ho about the Army (remember Al Pacino used it in Scent of a Woman). Absolutely American, Four Years at West Point by David Lipsky is all about how huah West Point can make a cadet. Lipsky is a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine who was the first civilian permitted unrestricted access to West Point cadets and this book details the lives of a few different cadets over a 4 year period.

Lipsky Cover

The book is divided into 4 sections for each school year and it follows certain cadets throughout their entire 4 years. My image of West Point which was confirmed by the stats given at the begining of the book is that it is ultra-competitive and for the best and brightest kids. There are 12,000 applicants, 6,000 physical fitness exams, 4,000 official nominations from senators, congressmen, pres or vp and only 1,200 are admitted. Many of the cadets that Lipsky profiled are the cream of the crop and what fascinated me the most was their entire value system. Honor, valor, loyalty to your country seems to be ingrained in their whole being. They feel so duty bound to protect their country and while I am certainly not anti-American, many of these values were just not part of my upbringing. These men and women just ooze patriotism and that you exist for the protection of your fellow Americans. If you didn’t ooze patriotism going in, you certainly had to get with the program pretty damn quick.

The book begins in 1998 and ends with the May 2002 grads so 9/11 comes right towards the end of the book. Throughout the book, until 9/11, the Academy and the Army itself is really struggling with it’s image and it’s ability to create lifers out of their cadets. Many were giving their 5 years and then returning to civilian life. At that point in time - there was no enemy to focus on and the country had become so “politically correct” that the Academy had somewhat softened up. There was no more hazing, hardships, etc that used to be associated with cadet life. And many of the cadets missed the hazing aspect. They came to West Point to become men and wanted it to be the hardest thing they have ever accomplished. I guess their APFT (which is the physical fitness test they have to pass a few times per year) is not so difficult - 42 pushups in 2 minutes, 53 situps in 2 minutes and a 2 mile run in under 15:54. Piece of cake - right?

It was interesting to read about the immediate change in these cadets post 9/11. Even those who were on the fence about whether they really wanted spend their lives in the Army were suddenly ready to volunteer for Infantry.

My favorite character in the book was George Rash. He is the underdog throughout the book and despite having numerous opportunities where he is practically kicked out, he manages to survive and you end up cheering for him in the end. To give you an idea about how hardcore this place is - he was brought up on charges of lying because as a platoon leader his senior year, one of his cadets got foot rot. When asked how often he checked their feet - he said often but had actually not checked that day. They were going to kick Rash out of the Academy for lying when he was only months away from graduation.

This is only one of the many great characters in the book. Lipsky covers the whole range of cadets - females, cadets that were romantically involved with other cadets, minorities, etc. My only complaints with the book were that Lipsky covered too many people and it got very confusing at times. I also thought he could have lightened up with all the army terminology and acronyms. As a civilian, there were many sections that I was just skimming through. If you ever have a friend or a friend’s kid who is thinking of going to West Point or even into any of the armed forces, make sure they read this book.