West Point education attracts an unwitting fan  David Lipsky
peers inside the US Military Academy  By , Staff writer of The
Christian Science Monitor  Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky
wasn't exactly a natural choice to spend four years chronicling
the lives of cadets at the United States Military Academy at
West Point, N.Y. After all, he was used to writing about the sex
lives of Yale students or movie star Kate Winslet.  But Lipsky
says that being the first reporter ever allowed to observe how a
group of cadets morphed from rookie plebes to new Army
lieutenants changed how he views the military and West Point.
The result is his new book, "Absolutely American." Lipsky talked
with the Monitor about his experience. Excerpts from the
interview follow.  How did this assignment affect your view of
the military?  Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship
test?  I didn't want to be at West Point for a second. I didn't
want to do that story. I come from New York City, which was a
locus for antimilitary feeling