Rating: 
Summary: American Tragedy
Review: The book in question describes, in most intimate detail, the battle that took place between US forces and Somali citizens in Mogadishu, Somalia on October 3, 1993 and ended with 18 American and over 500 Somalis killed in action and over a thousand from both sides wounded. The author narrates the events leading to the showdown, the firefight itself and the aftermath with amazing accuracy, great attention to detail; further, the book is superbly written -- I could not put it down. Mr. Bowden puts his readers into the firefight with his vivid descriptions of the battles that took place. The book captures the heroism, tragedy and brutality of battle impeccably -- it is one of the very finest examples of contemporary military journalism -- an absolute must for anyone interested in foreign affairs and/or military history.
Rating:
Summary: Timely reminder of heroes in small places
Review: Somalia was a thankless assignment. And, given the Clinton predispositon towards the military, and institution he "loathed", Americans might not expect much from a small albeit dedicated group of fighters in this African cell of poverty and turmoil.Bowden does a fantastic job of showing the personal side of heroism, of depicting modern warriors who go unrespected or unnoticed in their own countries. Taking a small, "botched" military operation, underresourced and quickly planned, Bowden adeptly portrays the people who live and die to help make sure that we continue to live and die in freedom. These men illustrate valor and commitment, to one another and in the name of an unappreciative government. Mostly without the seemingly everpresent CNN live world coverage, a small number of men accomplished a lot with a little. The September 11 events make us grateful that we have soldier warriors like these men.
Rating:
Summary: A Foreshadowing of Things to Come!
Review: Mark Bowden's book is a well-written and very informative account of US Special Forces involvement in "America's New War" (before most of the country realized we were already fighting it)!
This a good story that tries to bring in first-hand accounts from all sides of the battle. This is a strong buy!
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing and graphic account
Review: For starters this book is graphic and pulls no punches, which I think it a good thing. It also acknowledges the Somali point of view, which makes it all the more disturbing. I was in the process of reading it when the Sept. 11th attacks occurred and it really put things into perspective as to what the modern soldier faces in combat and what we ask our men and women in the arm forces to do in harms way. No one can walk away from this book and not have a greater respect for America's armed forces and a better understanding of the role the USA plays in the world. Whether you agree or disagree with America's involvement in world politics, this book accurately portrays the reality and enemies our soldiers face in modern combat. You will never again take military involvement lightly or treat it as a the news item of the evening. These soldiers were a victims of a bad situation and ultimately a politically motivated military action instead of a military operation. Lastly, Bowden makes a critical observation on page 410 - 412 about the countries we are trying to assist and whether we have an obligation to do so. This engagement was a wake up call for the US and forces us to revisit how we deal with these types of situations in the future. Gog Bless America and thank you to all our men and women in uniform.
Rating:
Summary: A Preview of 21st Century Battles?
Review: Every American with even the slightest interest in
military matters should read this book. Period.
Superbly written, truly nightmarish, heart-breakingly
realistic.
Folks, Mogadishu was exactly how NOT to do it. Let's hope
that enough of the right people have read this account
as we hunt down the dispicable Duh-Sama cult and the rest
of their nameless ilk. Nearly perfect in its depiction of the minute-to-minute
details of this horror-show our men found themselves
trapped in for most of a day. The only criticism I have
about Mr. Bowden's reconstruction: 1. Should have had more maps, and all should have compass
bearings, indications of distance.
2. Every chapter and episode ought to have started with an
hour/minute of action, to better keep track of the progress
of events.
3. An alphabetical list of all the combatants likewise would
have been convenient and helpful in reducing some of the confusion.
4. Mr. Bowden seemed to shy away from criticizing Clinton and
those other officials who were, in one respect or another,
responsible for this slaughter. His afterword should have
dwelled on this aspect of the story more than it did. Otherwise, one of the finest books I have read in several years.
A tribute to the brave Americans who fought and bled and would
have otherwise been so unfairly forgotten.
Rating: 
Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: I read this book last spring, but I intend to read it again after the attack on the WTC. The events in this book could easily happen during a campaign in Afghanistan. With the help of Mr. Bowden, I felt that I was the streets fighting with our soldiers. Those who read this book now can understand what a dirty, but necessary, job our troops are facing.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading before Afghanistan....
Review: I first read this book when it first came out several years ago. Exceptionally well written; gripping; page-turner. A true must read (even if you don't think much of military history). This book reads more like a Tom Clancy novel than a non-fiction account of an "incident" in a far off land. I plan on re-reading this book over the weekend (yes, it reads that fast!) because it has a lot of parallels for what we are about to get into with Afghanistan. Some underlying themes: 1) Don't underestimate the 'locals' just because they are dirt poor - they are usually well armed and tough fighters, 2)Don't underestimate the hatred the third-world general population feels twoard the U.S., 3)Be patient and give your intelligence gathering operations time to work, 4)If ground troops are involved, be prepared for casualties.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book, Highly Recommended
Review: This book is very, very good. I bought it on a recommendation from someone I know via the Internet. Not only did this book easily live up to its billing, it far surpassed anything I could have expected. It took me a few days to gobble this thing up, much to my wife's dismay. The story, as we all know, is about the CNN-reported fire fight in Mogadishu, Somalia. The one where several dead men of the US military were dragged through the streets. That's all I remembered about the incident from 1993. When I piced up this book, I learned much, much more. Bowden spared no expense in writing this book. If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed that not only was here there, but he had 5-6 clones of himself running around the Mog taking notes. He interviewed Delta Force team members and Rangers as well as Somalians and even wives of some of the guys lost in battle to piece his story together. When he finished, the story was an exquisite puzzle of what happened that day, or rather, days. This is a great perspective on what happened and it also explores what went wrong and why the foreign policies of the US sometimes don't take everything into account when action is being made. A great dichotomy of roles is exhibited where the UN feeds people and then the US forces, in an effort to take down a certain clan, angers a large majority of the people there who see the US trying to crush an entity that has been with the people for generations and generations. It's a futile policy conversely executed by a thoroughly copetent bunch of men who actually did the fighting. And it is told through the eyes and words of a very good writer. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The war on terrorism will look a lot like this
Review: This is a very vivid account of a little talked about battle, a battle that will likely be repeated as we send our elite soldiers into third-world countries to root out terrorists. It was a simple plan: drop 100 elite soldiers in the middle of a run-down city and capture a couple of warlords, then return to base. It should have taken 2 hours. Instead, the Rangers were cut off by a hailtstorm of bullets and rockets from an enemy determined to wipe the hated Rangers from their city. The author takes you blow-by-blow through the fourteen hour firefight. Perhaps more important than the gripping combat scenes which fill this book are the points of view of the enemy and their motivation for hating the American soldiers. As usual, our leaders failed to take into account the mindset of the indigenous population, most of whom were heavily armed. Its one of the basic mantras in the Art of War: Know your ememy. This book should be mandatory reading for political and military leaders. Despite all the hi-tech gadgets and overwelming firepower, one of our elite units was cut to ribbons by an untrained but very determined mob. If it had not been for the armored units supplied by other countries, which eventually rescued the unit, the casulty count would have been much higher. The author really did an outstanding job presenting this tragedy. With the U.S. at war with terrorists world-wide, it seems likely that similar situations will appear in the very near future.
Rating:
Summary: A Thriling Narrative....I could not put it down.
Review: An amazing story about the US military action in Somalia. My brother gave it to me and I bought it for two friends, one who, in turn, bought it for a mutual friend who is the commander of a tank unit. My brother's review, "I couldn't put it down, I couldn't put it down, I couldn't put it down." You won't be able to either. After I read this book, I went out and bought an upgraded trauma plate for my flak vest.
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