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Summary: Black Hawk Down - Highly Recommend
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. Mark Bowden is very insightful with his delivery. You really get the feeling of being there. If you haven't read this book...read it!!!!!
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Summary: Get your friends and go watch the movie.
Review: The movie is as close as you can get to modern day urban warfare without actually being there. It's the first true war movie that has happened during my generation, "Generation X". Most people won't understand the close-knit relationships between soldiers, especially in Special Ops including Delta Force, Night Stalkers, and the Rangers. You have to read the book to fully understand all the horror, heroism, and pain these main endured. I highly recommend going out and purchasing this book. The battle depicted in "Black Hawk Down" was not seen as much of an importance at the time but it is probably the most pivotal point we will have for a very long time. It set the tone for what is done in global affairs. If General Garrison's request for tanks and AC-130 gunships to Clinton was accepted, then many of the men that died on October the 3rd, 1993 would be here today. If President Clinton would not have pulled the troops out of Somalia in 1993, Osama Bin Laden may not be here today, Somalia would not be the war-torn country it still is today. The September 11th attacks might not have happened. The Twin Towers might not have collapsed. Thousands of lives would be here today. God Bless President George W. Bush.
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Summary: Ranger approved
Review: Not to say that I am a Ranger. I first read this book and thought it was the best book I had ever read. Then I read it again a week later, and it was better. Since then I have seen every interview with the participants of this battle, and have even spoken with different veterans online about it, and they all love it at least as much as I do. If you care anything about the American military, and want the bloody truth about what it's like knee-deep in the heat of battle, then buy this book. You will not be disappointed.
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Summary: You are there
Review: Pack up your bags and join the rangers. This book takes you right along with them as they do their patriotic duty.
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Summary: Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
Review: I've been a big fan of military fiction, and must admit that when I first got Black Hawk Down, I thought that I had to push myself to focus, not get bored, and to keep reading it. However, what happened was just the opposite. I could not put the book down! I have given up many hours of sleep to read just one more chapter, and one more chapter. It is full of excitement and action, yet I would become awestruck as I remember over and over again that this is not fiction. These "page-turning" events really happened. Real men suffered the atrocities of war, and faced death alongside their brothers. And 18 of their brothers were indeed taken away from them and their families.I was also a bit worried that this book would be a one-sided story of war, but soon my worries were immediately put away, as I read chapters written through the eyes of many Somalis as well. All I remembered from the media coverage of the 1993 battle was CNN showing footage of a body of a US soldier being dragged all over the streets of Mogadishu, and the media's put downs of the military's "blunder". I'm grateful for this book, it has opened my eyes to what really happened that fateful day. Praise goes to Mark Bowden who has successfully put together the stories of these extraordinary men and their families, and much admiration and sympathy to those (the soldiers and their families) who suffered through it.
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Summary: A Compelling book
Review: This is one of those rare books that is totally gripping yet based entirely onf act. Few historical events can generate this combination of excitement, yet be incredibly moving and disturbing at the same time. This book, as almost everyone knows is about the unfortunate events of OCt. 3, 1993 when a group of Army Rangers and Delta Force commandos went on a raid in Mogadishu, Somalia that was suppsoed to last one hour, yet ended up ending 18 later with 18 Americans dead and about 70 wounded. THis book is a gripping story that everyone should read, for its historicakl content, yet no one will be bored by it either.
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Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: What made this book so exciting for me was I know one of the soliders mentioned in the book. The book reads like a novel. It's hard to put the book down. I vaguely remember these events in the news -- but I now know that there was more to the story. This is a must for any American patriot.
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Summary: Should Be Required Reading in Washington DC!
Review: Apparently this riveting, exhausting, highly detailed account of the incredible battle between 90 or so Rangers, Delta Force, SEALS & others and thousands of well-armed Somalis in Mogadishu IS required reading in many military circles and schools. It should be given to every Congressman and White House aid & staffer and consultant as well, before they cavalierly send troops into the 3rd World or elsewhere without really thinking-through what they want them to do when they get there, and what the ultimate cost of such actions becomes. I doubt that I am alone in my ignorance of what an incredible firefight went down in Mog back then. I saw the ghastly images repeatedly shown of dead Americans being dragged and abused through the streets, but I had no idea of the numbers of troops and enemy engaged and the hellish fight that took place and the terrible toll taken in total dead and wounded on both sides. Mark Bowden brings it incredibly alive in his minute by minute chronological retelling of what developed into an Alamo-like stand in the dust and heat of a large African city. He captures the intensity and confusion of combat, the constant shift between fear, panic, heroism, paralysis and back again in the ever deepening mess of the operation. Through extensive research and interviewing of the combatants he brings it all up close and in your face. And, he had the good graces to go back to Mogadishu and interview the Somalis for their point of view. He presents a stirring tribute to the men who did the fighting. He justly brings to our attention the courage and sacrifice, as well as the screw-ups, of the men on the ground in the thick of it. He has no axe to grind and his effort is true reporting, presenting the facts vividly and as accurately as possible. In the Epilogue and Afterword, Bowden gives some opinions about the lessons to be learned from this disaster. I pretty much agree with them, and applaud his avoidance of tarring the leadership or anyone else with a broad brush of blame and bad motives. On the contrary, he sees that in the effort in Somalia, everyone was basically trying to do the right thing, but things went terribly wrong anyway. The short lesson from this venture is an old adage we should try to remember in the future "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions". These boys knew they were part of the most awsome military might ever created....but they and we learn in this account that even that great power has its limits. Pray we remember this.
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Summary: A story I really didn't know before (and wish I had)
Review: This is the non-fiction account of the battle in Somalia in 1993 that left 12 soldiers dead as told from the perspective of those who were there. I learned much about the conflict, e.g. I hadn't known that Delta Force was one of the primary forces involved. But I did see how political factors weighed against the soldiers in doing their duty, just as they did in Vietnam. It's also an excellent account of what the future of modern warfare will look like, with small units of soldiers fighting in urban environments against foes that are hard to distinguish from innocents. While painful to read, because we know the outcome, it was instructive and sobering. I saw the gung-ho, bloodthirsty attitude of the Rangers change to fear then determination and finally just a will to survive and to save their comrades. This is the face of courage and bravery. I recommend it and look forward to the movie.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: Blackhawk Down is excellent from multiple perspectives. It is not heroic prose, it is not anti military and it does not attempt to lay blame as most news accounts did. It is a fact based review of the most documented, video and audio, operation in our history - at least that we know of. It shows how multiple forces on the same mission with different goals and different command structures fell apart due to situation beyond their immediate control. It also shows how the least likey folks often step forward to do the most heroic things while the chest thumpers fall apart. It is a must read for anyone interested in military history, anyone in the service or anyone that cares what our troops are being asked to do every day of the year.
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