Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST
Review: First I wanted to see the movie, but I decided to read the book first. First when I picked up the book I thought it was going to be long and boring full with facts! Oh boy was I wrong!! This book was more entertaining than fiction! It was so good. Mark Bowdin covered everything from the ground to the air. He also put the thoughts and facts of the somalins which was good. If you are thinking of reading this book you better do it because it is the greatest!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Truly a great war bok.
Review: wow what a book! I loved this a lot! The beginning was great, the climax was great
Rating:
Summary: Black Hawk (US Foreign policy) Down
Review: True story based on the US aborted attempt at solving another countries problems in the early nineties. Considered by some to be one of the biggest military blunders in modern US history.I saw the film and just had to read the book. The film was excellent, the book covered alot not in the film. All in all a story about modern day Hero's battling against overwhelming odds.
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Summary: Facts
Review: I saw the movie, then read the book, then saw the movie again. The movie's got nothing on the book. The book is absolutely riveting, I could hardly bring myself to put it down. Bowden is a reporter and he reports -- and the story is amazing. The most thorough and detailed reporting of any battle, ever. And since the book, unlike the movie, is 100% non-fiction, and unabridged, it lets you judge the meaning of it all. Also, the movie distorts the characters of the Rangers before the battle starts, making them seem like unthinking goof-offs who were scared of going into battle, whereas the book reports that they took their jobs seriously and went on the mission with proud enthusiasm.
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Summary: Murphy's Law in Combat
Review: Murphy's Law in Combat
Reviewer: MoAddams from Terra Firma, USA
At the end of Black Hawk Down, Mark Bowden said his goal for this book was to write a comprehensive account of what happened to US soldiers at Mogadishu, Somalia; and he wanted this book to read like a novel. He achieved his goal and then some. I should say up front that I knew very little about the "art" of war, and I knew absolutely nothing about the technological equipment that's now used to fight battles. I did need to make a cheat sheet for myself to keep track of the military terms with which I was not familiar and which I kept forgetting. Once I did that, I found I could not put this book down. The story is that compelling. Thanks to Mark Bowden's excellent research, all the events of the Mogadishu battle are very clearly described. The writing is so good and, where it needs to be, so graphic that reading this account is almost like being there. Given so much technical detail, that kind of writing takes a superb talent. Now that the US is considering invading Iraq, Black Hawk Down is an important book to read. I don't think people who have never experienced war on this level can begin to tell someone else what to think or feel about further invasions. I think it is important for US citizens to have some idea of what we would be asking our military to do should the decision be made to invade Iraq. I also think it is important to understand the perspective of those who have agreed to fight these battles on behalf of our country. Their honor, bravery, and loyalty are nothing short of remarkable in situations such as those which present themselves in times of war. I think it is important that a country support those who fight in war on their behalf. Black Hawk Down makes it clear just how much pride we deserve to have in our military and the debt of gratitude we owe to them.
Rating: 
Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: I read the book by Mark Bowden "Black Hawk Down". This book was so good that it became a major motion film. On a scale from one to ten, I would give this book a nine. It had everything you could want in a war story: action, drama, and killing. The story setting is Mogadishu. The U.S. Army is there to kick out the terrorist group that is running the country. The book is about one of their missions that went horribly wrong. The soldiers thought it would be a routine mission that would take 30 minutes, but as soon as the flew into the city they got a bad feeling. First they dropped a man from the helicopter and then RPG's shoot down two Black Hawk's. Then the convoy that was suppose to take them out of the city got lost, leaving the soldiers stranded in the city all night long. Bowden catches the attention of the reader right from the beginning and never lets go. As you are reading the book, it feels like you are there. He gives you a vivid description of the sourrounding and all the action that is occuring. An example of this is,"The little convoy sped out to the main road and for a stretch of firing abated and in the distance was the ocean. But as they approached the port area, there were thousands of Somalis in the streets." (Bowden 56) He also describes the action scenes with great description. "When the first group of four dashed out into the night, the whole neighborhood erupted. It sounded like the city of Mogadishu had sprung viciously back to life." (Bowden 240) This is an example of his description in the action scenes. The authors descriptive detail makes the reader want to keep reading. If you like "We were Soldiers Once...and Young" or "Band of Brothers" you will like this book. I also recommend that once you finish reading the book, go see the movie if you haven't already.
Rating:
Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: I read the book by Mark Bowden Black Hawk Down. This book was so good that it became a major motion film. On a scale from one to ten, I would give this book a nine. It had everything you could want in a war story, action, drama, and killing. The story setting is Mogadishu. The U.S. army is there to kick out the terrorist that is running the country. The book is about one of their missions that went horribly wrong. The soldiers thought it would be a routine mission that would take 30 minutes, but as soon as they fly into the city they get a bad feeling. First they drop a man from the helicopter and then RPG's shoots down two Black Hawk's. Then the convoy that was suppose to take them out of the city got lost, leaving the soldiers stranded in the city all night long. Bowden catches the attention of the reader right from the beginning and never lets go. As you are reading the book, it feels like you are there. He gives you a vivid description of the surrounding and all the action that is occurring. An example of this is, "The little convoy sped out to the main road and for a stretch of firing abated and in the distance was the ocean. But as they approached the port area, there were thousands of Somalis in the streets." (Bowden 56) He also describes the action scenes with great description. "When the first group of four dashed out into the night, the whole neighborhood erupted. It sounded like the city of Mogadishu had sprung viciously back to life." (Bowden 240) This is an example of his description in the action scenes. The authors descriptive detail makes the reader want to keep reading. If you liked We were Soldiers Once... and Young or Band of Brothers you will like this book. I also recommend that once you finish reading the book, go see the movie if you haven't already.
Rating:
Summary: A Riveting Story
Review: This account of the failed mission in Somalia is so riveting that you may even think it is a fiction. The view into the courage and determination of our Special Forces is simply amazing. This is a story that is still misunderstood today and should be read by everyone old enough to remember the tragic incident. The movie- based on the book- is quite exceptional as well, but nothing beats the narrative of what happened there and Mark Bowden does a tremendous job. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys or is fascinated by our military history. It is gripping, revealing, and an utterly fantastic read. Once you start reading it you will be hard-pressed to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: Black Hawk Down is a true story of an American Special Operations mission in Somalia. The mission was to quickly capture a top lieutenant of warlord Mohamed Aidid and get out. But when an American helicoptor is shot down, everything falls apart. Mark Bowden, the author, conducted many interviews with the soldiers who fought and the commanders who oversaw the mission. The book takes on the thoughts and feelings of individual soldiers as they are fighting thousands of Somali militia and civilians. Many American soldiers were killed or wounded. This story reveals many of the blunders and lack of prepeartion in the American military.
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't Catch Me
Review: I was really eager to read this book after seeing the movie - not the way I like to do things, I normally like to read the book before the movie, but it didn't work out that way this time. Some of the characters in the book were really well picked out. You had a good sketch of many of the character's backgrounds, their families, their history in the military - basically just how they came to be where they were. This was effective in small amounts - I found that it turned to just listing the heritage of the people there because they felt the author had to. Unfortunately, I found the book so bogged down in detail that after the first 10 chapters I put it down. It was incredibly narrative, which is a style that I am not so fond of - it was narrative in a plain way - it seemed to "tell" a lot of the story instead of "showing" it. It goes into immense detail of the layout of the streets and buildings, which I found tedious instead of interesting. There was one other aspect of the book that hit me into the first few pages. This feeling may dissappear towards the end of the book, but it was very "Americanised" - that they were meant to be there, that America was doing the right thing. On the other hand, it also states that most of the soldiers did not know why they were there - that to me was incredibly significant. This book is probably very accurate in its description of the event, the people, and the place. It is valuable to have these types of books so that those who are interested can look back and see what really happenned. This book may appeal to a more military-minded reader - I must say I am not a big reader of military novels myself. If you are not that kind of reader either, I would recommend not picking up this book unless you are ready to plow through incredible amounts of detail to find the interesting information.
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