Black Hawk Down MTI

Rating:
Summary: A definitive work on an unfortunate episode in US history...
Review: The last "vacation novel" I took along with me was Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down. If you want to see the reality of war, this will deliver the goods.

Bowden is a writer who decided to research out the story of America's involvement in Somalia, specifically the actions in Mogadishu in 1993. The mission started out as a UN-led humanitarian effort to feed the population after years of war and the total breakdown of any sort of government. It turned into a US action to remove a Somali warlord named Mohamed Aidid. The whole campaign came to a head when the US ran an operation to raid a house known to house some top officials in Aidid's clan. Due to mistakes and miscalculations, it ended with two Black Hawk helicopters being shot down, scores of dead and injured Rangers and Delta Force operators, the capture of a soldier, and images of dead US soldiers being paraded through the streets of Mogadishu. The US commitment to the Somalia mission was questionable before the episode, and it totally evaporated after it. Bowden takes great pains to tell the story of the soldiers who took part in the operation, and to voice their feelings and emotions of what they went through.

As a documentary of an ugly time in US military history, Bowden has done his job well. His research has sorted out fact from fiction, and he does a good job in telling the story without injecting personal bias until the epilogue and afterwords. The reception from various military sources after the book was published was very positive, and speaks well to his efforts. The book does seem to be a bit repetitive at times, as much of the action involves trying to fight their way out of tight confined quarters (or trying to navigate to a downed copter to support the downed crew). Still, what happened is what happened, and Bowden relates it well.

Rating:
Summary: Honoring Fallen Heroes
Review: Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down finally pays the due respect to the fallen members of America's military. Thanks to Bowden, and of course Hollywood, the horror story of the battle in Mogadishu was taken from being hidden under a veil of defeat and embarrassment to finally pay the respects to those who deserve it. Bowden's ability to describe each character with such detail and energy brings the reader into an emotional bond to them, bringing the reader in as if they were stranded on the streets of Mog too. The background and thoughts expressed during the story give another dimension that was impossible to present in the actual movie. The true horror, loss, and pain experienced by each and every member of the task force was brought to life by Bowden and his skillfully written novel. One of the most important aspects was to be able to honor those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and safety of others. The real stories of each Ranger or Delta Force operator that gave his life are finally presented in the book. Their heroics during the mission, even in the direst situations, just goes to show how elite and honorable they are. Bowden's novel brings the horror of battle in Mog to life, finally presenting what really happened and honoring those who gave their lives. Great novel.

Rating:
Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden might be one of the best war stories I have ever read. Iv'e always enjoyed reading novels about past wars but this book was so shockingly descriptive that it gave me chills. Bowden along with soldiers who fought in Somalia take you step by step from the invasion to the miraculous rescue with stories about the brave marines who were fighting. I had seen the movie that was made from this book and I thought that the movie was awesome but once I started to read this book I liked it more than the movie because I could create my own picture of what it was like even though the movie helped me to create a more realistic setting in my mind. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading detailed war stories. However if you dont like bloody war books this is not the book for you. I would give this book 4 starts because I loved reading it and it was very well put together.

Rating:
Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: Although the mission went wrong right from the beginning, the soldiers didn't give up. They were brave and stepped up. Even wounded soldiers volunteered to go back and help after their retreat. Alot of lives were immediately lost, but it was amazing how no man was left behind. This book shows how our some of the young soldiers learned the true meaning of what war was all about and they are in fact real heroes of our country.

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Summary: Simply an Excellent Well Researched and Well Written Book
Review: Many people do not understand but this was a successful operation in which Aidid's lieutenants were arrested at a meeting in Mogadishu, Somalia, and this was during a UN mission in October of 1993. Aidid was a tribal war lord who controlled much of Somalia, and who opposed the UN intervention. During the arrest, the US troops were surrounded by thousands of armed Somali civilians and militia who resisted the US entry into the city. These were regular civilians and members of Aidid's militia, the Habr Gidr, a combination mafia and rag tag defense force using cell phones and small arms including rocket propelled grenades and AK-47's. As the troops landed they were met by small arms fire, road blocks, and burning tires to signal a call to arms for the militia. The resulting battle killed hundreds of people, but most of the US troops survived with their prisoners. President Clinton was shaken by the casualties and withdrew the troops from Somalia about a month later. This withdrawal after a successful operation - but one with casualties - was a factor in emboldening Bin Laden to attack America on 9/11. He thought that we do not have the will or moral courage to fight for something that we believe in, if we have to take casualties.

Both the movie and this book are highly underrated and I would recommend both reading the book and watching the DVD. The movie is excellent and gives a condensed picture of what happened and how the operation was executed. I have one minor gripe with the book, and that is the title. This is no longer modern warfare per se, it was the warfare of the early 1990's. Already the munitions and special operations have evolved away from heavily armed ground troops backed by helicopters, which really came out of the Vietnam experience. The war in northern Afghanistan was carried out by highly mobile special forces without helicopter gun-ships using small groups of special forces, with Predator drones, lots of satellite intelligence, and with special operations troops on the ground with laser illuminators for precision guided Air Force munitions. Also the troops in Afghanistan worked with existing armed groups to leverage their power. This Somalia operation probably is closer to the mechanized invasion of Iraq. In any case it is an excellent and detailed story of US Rangers and Delta forces in action.

The book and the movie are in many ways quite different. The movie is excellent. The photography is good, as is the directing. The dialogue is so so but not bad. Without using any name actors it gives a generally authentic recreation of the Delta force and the Rangers attempting to arrest some of Aidid's lieutenants in Mogadishu. It shows how the force works as a cohesive team with Rangers coming in on helicopters, some in Humvees and trucks, and some Delta forces using both. It is story about highly trained young troops, some very green, in "Operation Irene" to arrest Somali leaders in Mogadishu coordinated by older leaders and backed by armed helicopters. The main problem with the movie is that it is short, and really the operation was actually much larger than depicted in the movie. That is where the book is useful. According to the book, there were almost three times as many aircraft were actually used in Operation Irene as shown in the movie - presumably for movie cost limitations. Plus the management and planning was more complicated. There were 18 killed and almost 100 casualties, dozen serious in addition to the killed, and by some estimates over 1000 Somali civilians and militia fighters were killed.

The book has a whole new level of detail on the operation. It presents a step by step, minute by minute, account of the action with many details on the soldiers, and the opposing fighters. It has much more detail than the movie booth on the planning, fighting, and stories on the individual soldiers. It is more graphic than the movie in describing the injured. Also, the author provides a great deal of political background information that is missing from the movie. Finally the book has a lot more detail and the specific fighters with their names and homes and has a number of photos of the troops. Actually once you read the book the movie makes even more sense.

The book is about 400 pages in small font and takes about 2-3 days to read. It has a nice selection of about 20 black and white photographs plus many maps and notes. The back of the book contains an epilogue plus about 60 pages or so of sources. Generally the book is what one would characterize as a comprehensive effort.

Suggestion: get a copy of a map of Mogadishu so you can follow the action street by street as you read.

Excellent read. Easily 5 stars.