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Summary: An engrossing book: read this before you watch the movie
Review: "Blackhawk Down" is an exhaustively researched, well-written book. In his expert narrative on the botched 1993 U.S. intervention in Somalia, author Mark Bowden tells both sides of the story: the way the embattled Rangers and Delta Force saw the conflict, and the way the Somalis saw it.Let this book be further testimony (if any is needed) to the harsh realities of war. For the soldiers fighting the war, events never unfold as exactly planned. Because they expected a foray that would only last an afternoon, many of the well-trained Rangers opted to forgo canteens and night-vision devices, a decision which they would soon come to regret. There was also a high toll in Somali civilian lives, as there are high civilian tolls in most modern wars. No one can condone the killing of noncombatants, but when innocent civilians get in the line of fire, they often pay for it with their lives. Bowden demonstrates the truth of this maxim on several occasions. Let this book also be testimony to the courageousness and superb spirit of America's fighting men, some of whom gave their lives in a little-known conflict in some dry, dusty African port; and some of whom felt snubbed by their own government. It is further to be hoped that our anti-American readers realize that the U.S. has mostly good intentions in its conduct of foreign policy. The reason the conflict occurred in the first place was that the American government wanted to make sure bellicose Somali warlords did not get in the way of the aid flowing to the needy. Unfortunately for the U.S., when the fighting got bloody, its campaign based on good intentions mutated into a foreign policy fiasco, which the Pentagon and the government were all too eager to play down. And of course we must lament the tragic deaths of the Somalis, who suffered a disproportionately high casualty rate.
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Summary: Written with passion.
Review: I saw the movie prior to reading the book, and I am certain that made me appreciate the book all the more So much was happening simoulaneously in the Mog on October 3rd, 1993 and the book really clarified the sequence of events. The book was infomative, riveting, illuminating, disturbing and fast paced. Mark Bowden wrote with a deep passion and what seems like a true appreciation of what those men went thru. He puts the reader right into the action. You can feel the anguish, terror, grief and feeling of camarderie these men experienced. It is deeply moving book.
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Summary: I can see the trees, but whre is the forrest?
Review: The author did an excellent jobs of providing the unit details, but I feel he did a very poor job of explaining the overall picture of Somolia. History Channel's presentation did an excellent job of setting the table, describing the overall mission. I had read the book beofre seeing the Hisroy Channel presentation and regretted not having this big picture. It would have only taken the author a few pages to do. I loved how he shared the Somoli citizens point of view.
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Summary: Brilliantly detailed account of a brief war
Review: This is probably the most extensively researched and most brilliantly detailed war book I've ever read. I'd highly recommend this to anyone curious about the life of a soldier during war time. America haters may be pleasantly surprised to learn more about what life and its value is outside the United States. A definate eye opener for the close minded.
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Summary: See The Movie, But Be Sure To Read The Book
Review: This is the story of Army Rangers. I went through Ranger Training. It was gruelling and character building. If not for that training, probably NO ONE would have made it that day in Somalia. That's why I have a problem with liberals who kind of pooh-pooh our training, from a distance, naturally. "Why should the USA be involved with anything that would require grunts with that kind of training", they ask? They just don't get it. I don't bother explaining. I just tell them to read the book, "West Point" by Norman Remick to get all the philosophical explanations on why our founding fathers decided America needed schools (thus, the name of the book) to train the military in courage, character, and leadership, the ultimate of which is Ranger School. Those Islamic fundamentalists might do well to read it, also, to understand what America is REALLY all about. Maybe they'd see the light. But, fact is, we're in a new kind of war. I guess the 20% of Americans in the polls who don't support our war on terrorists think we should all convert to Islam to remove the threat to American men, women, and children? No way. We have Rangers to stand up and defend America and our principles. To Somalia, I say, "we shall return"! And, to those other Countries who talk out of both sides of their mouths while supporting terrorists, I only have this to say. Get ready. We're coming!
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Summary: I love the book
Review: It's a real story about the US Army's Rangers and Delta Force involvement in Mogadishu back in 1993. It's very graphic in its description about what goes on during a battle. It even shows both sides of the story which makes not at all bias. I love the book and look forward to see the movie (& I can't wait to get the DVD version of it too.).
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Summary: I survived!
Review: This is a riveting book that makes you feel as if you were there on the scene, and very happy that you are actually safe at home. Bowden is able to take the point of view of all parties. That's because he interviewed hundreds of people in apparently minute detail. It is a great work of scholarship, really, even though the first impression is that he is kind of a military jock, groupie. I was amazed at how little I knew about this significant event, and at the planning, logistical and expectation disconnects that led to a very messed up situation.
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Summary: THE story of modern war.
Review: The subtitle of BLACK HAWK DOWN is "A Story of Modern War," but it's much more than that. This book is THE story of modern war, a blueprint for ground actions in the military theaters of tomorrow. Bowden hammers away at the facts in the "Battle of the Black Sea," and gives the reader an unvarnished depiction of what went right and what went wrong in Mogadishu, from the commanders to the men pulling the triggers. If one didn't know this was an actual event, BLACK HAWK DOWN would read like a military thriller, with a compelling plot, vivid characters, and no end of combat heroism. Whatever the leanings of the reader, whether hawk or dove, this book will inform and entertain from cover to cover. It's that good of a read.
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Summary: History Writing at its Best
Review: I have been writing military-history books for over twenty years, and my best work does not come close to Mark Bowden's first stab at military writing, BLACK HAWK DOWN. His book is a journalistic masterpiece. Every unit sent into battle deserves its own Mark Bowden (who honors heroism and comradeship, but does not gloss over the negatives), and BLACK HAWK DOWN should be required reading at every high-school and college in the United States. ...
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Summary: Brilliant War Story
Review: Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down is a riveting, gripping and illuminating account of the 1993 actions that occurred in Somalia when two Black Hawk helicopters were taken down and American Servicemen lost their lives. The story reads almost as a novel and Mr. Bowden's writing style is detailed and incisive. He doesn't inject his own political views into the story and doesn't provide conjecture on why the events happened and what could have been done to avoid them. He just tells the servicemen's story and recounts the unbelievable situation that they found themselves in. The mission seemed routine at the inception, but the men weren't prepared for the amount of artillery that the average Somailian carries on a daily basis. Mr. Bowden makes you feel as if you are placed right into the firestorm and you get a real sense of the horrifying conditions. Black Hawk Down is a first rate book and worthy of all the accolades that have been bestowed upon it.
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