Rating: 
Summary: Excellent +++
Review: A terrific account of a tragic episode - very readable despite the high level of detail. As best as words in a book can describe, the reader re-lives this all-day desperate nose-to-nose shootout of a small force of Rangers, Seals and "D men", most of whom were facing combat for their first time.How sad that such personal heroism and sacrifice would be so ignored by our country (i.e., media and current administration).
Rating:
Summary: A stunning account of Mogadishu
Review: A superb achievement! Even though it is non-fiction, Black Hawk Down rivals great war novels like The Thin Red Line or The Triumph and the Glory for dramatic power and stunning impact on the reader. Should be required reading for future presidents, so they can understand the limits of third world peacekeeping--no matter how courageous, capable, and dedicated our troops are there ARE limits to what is possible in a complicated world.
Rating:
Summary: Deja Vu All Over Again
Review: It's striking to compare the beginning of this book with the beginning of Caputo's A Rumor of War. In both cases eager young warriors soon get to see "the monkey show", as a civil war infantryman described armed slaughter in a letter to his sister. It's sad that we don't seem to learn that our good intentions lead to difficult roads. Keith Richburg's book about his visit to Africa is also helpful in understanding what lead to the bloodbath described in this book. This book describes the efforts and heroism of young men trying to do an impossible task in a backdrop of calculated, drug-soaked nihilism. It can only be hoped that we remember and learn from the price that they paid. An excellent follow-on to the "CNN phenomenon" of intervention.
Rating:
Summary: living nightmare
Review: I haven't read the book, just the sypnosis, but I know enough that "exciting" and "interesting" aren't the words to use to describe what happened. It was a living nightmare that scarred and traumatized the lives of men protecting and honoring our country. To read this book is to taste and experience trauma beyond human capability. I share it with one who suffers now without recognition. To see the words brings pain and agony to my heart. To all those Rangers and The Elite Forces ... I know and understand your suffering ... I hope this book devotes to your sacrifices although it could not compare to the combat and the loss of those lives who knew you the best. I know those of you out there carry your burden -- your cross. Raise your heads high. May God bless you and give you guidance not only to "survive" ... but to live life to the fullest and to have happiness and peace within your hearts. You are in my prayers.
Rating:
Summary: "A Perfect Storm" of combat reporting
Review: It is truly amazing that the author is able to allow the reader to follow a large roster of individuals through a maze of streets and days of horror. Ranks with the most readable of battle stories. A great read that stays with you for a long time. It conveys several perspectives on a complex situation and teaches us things we did not expect to learn.
Rating:
Summary: Intense Drama of Real Life Combat
Review: "Riveting" does not even begin to describe this book's ability to grab you and not let go. I lost two nights' sleep thanks to Bowden's non-fictional account of what must have been the worst military fiasco, fubar or snafu since "Desert One" during the Carter administration. You've seen the body dragged along the streets; now read about the situation that led to it.
Rating:
Summary: A tribute to our brave forces
Review: Reading Bowden's book has completely opened my eyes in regard to America's foreign policy. Regardless of the Commander-in-Chief, our US forces train as hard as ever to protect our country, as well as our interests abroad. My eyes were wet when I read of our elite service men falling to the ground in a useless cause. The battle in Mogadishu has not made peace in Somolia, and the day after the mission was finished, that same Task Force was pulled out of the country. However they were motivated by a love so deep for their country that they were not afraid to die serving her, and many did. Bowden does an extrordinary job of conveying this message, one that too many complacent Americans are ignorant about.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book about Forgotten Heroes
Review: This book should be required reading. The story it tells is not just of some very brave American soldiers but it also tells of the status of the 3rd World and the Clinton military. It is important to be the world's police force, however it does not come easy. There is a price to pay. This book was exciting and at the same time very moving. I had no idea what these soldiers went through. If you want to read a good book, an exciting story that is true...READ THIS book. What's most interesting is that this really happened.
Rating:
Summary: A superb true story of courage and heroics
Review: Outstanding! I couldnt put it down and have tried to get everyone I know to read it. This is a book about soldiers, ordinary Americans, who to me this country does not give their just due. This book is an intense account of the human struggle against seemingly insurmountable odds. This a book about REAL American heros (instead of the celebrity heroes that are created on TV and the media, ie. who describe Micheal Jordan as a courageous hero because he played a basketball game when he had the flu!)The story of the American soldiers in this book will make you proud to be an American. The US politician actions during this time will make you ashamed to be an American. Pride, anger and maybe even vengeance is what you will feel after reading this book. I only wish it could have ended with the Americans pulling out of Mogadishu and then 48 hours of nonstop B-52 bombing strikes on the entire city. For me, the book shows that this society didnt deserved to be saved.
Rating:
Summary: A very disturbing book
Review: Every year the United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars on defense, money that is spent to ensure that books like "Black Hawk Down" never have to be written. This book tells about the Battle of Mogadishu, a battle that degenerated into a fight for survival for a small group of American soldiers sent on a fools errand. All the advantages our military typically enjoys-- overwhelming firepower, technological supremacy, superior training and leadership-- were made moot by thousands of Somalis carrying easily obtained automatic weapons and RPG's. The descriptions of the battle are terrifying and almost beyond comprehension. In one scene, an American soldier sees a man shooting a rifle at him through the legs of a woman sitting in front of him. Small children sat on the shooter's back, giving him added protection. At first the Americans only fire at Somalis carrying guns, but as the situation deteriorates and casualties mount, anything that moves is fair game. It is difficult hearing American soldiers admit that they killed women and children, and Bowden does an excellent job showing how, under the circumstances, this was the only "sane" course of action. Surrounded, under constant fire, and faced with an enemy using unarmed civilians as guides, scouts, and shields, the only chance the American soldiers had was to shoot at everyone and everything. Confusion reigned and the most powerful military force in the world was unable to help their comrades in need. If I recall correctly 18 U.S. soldiers were killed and 73 wounded. An estimated 500 Somalis were killed and perhaps twice that many wounded. These appalling losses came as the result of an operation that was pointless from the start and poorly thought out and executed. This book shows that, for all our firepower and advanced technology, a small group of irregular fighters can inflict unacceptable casualties on American forces. Automatic rifles are easier to buy than Levis and U.S. soldiers are not immune from bullets. The battle of Mogadishu no doubt affected the decision not to use ground forces in Kosovo, and will probably be a deterrent from using ground forces in the years to come. The question as the 21st century dawns is, can the American public accept casualties in ground combat? Will there be any lessons learned from the terrible fighting in Somalia, and will that lesson be "keep the soldiers out of the firing line"? I hope that the U.S. military learns more from the suffering of the soldiers in "Black Hawk Down" than future despots and warlords looking to skirmish with the U.S. Army.
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