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Summary: Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
Review: If you do not understand how a man or woman could become a soldier, if you do not understand how a person could accept and follow the orders of their superiors without hesitation,if you do not understand how someone filled with fear of losing their own lives can walk back into a hot battle, if you do not understand what is meant by military honor and service, you have two choices. You can read this book and learn or you can stay forever ignorant of the complex people that serve our country and protect our freedom. The choice is yours. I recommend taking the journey. Whether you believe in war or not you will learn more than you could ever dream. But be ready to rethink your preconceived notions.
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Summary: An Excellent Book about The Somalia mission
Review: I have not seen the movie, so I can offer no comparison to it, but the book is a small classic as a book about small units at war. It is worthwhile reading for any citizen who wants to know what uses the military is sometimes put to, and what soldiers in combat are called upon to do. It is my understanding that this book has virtually become required reading in the officer corps of the U.S. Army; I think this is a good thing. I was an Army officer myself (First Lieutenant, Infantry) who never saw combat; I cannot attest to the accruacy of the battle scenes but I can say that he gets the details of the equipment and the culture correct. Mark Bowden, in writing the book, had no agenda or axe to grind: he merely wanted to find out what happened. As such, he gives a pretty objective overview of the situation in Mogadishu from all the parties involved: the UN and Adminral Howe, the Somalis, and the servicemen involved. His research even included travelling to Somalia to interview the Somali militia who faced the Rangers and Delta Force soldiers -- so the book has a good balance of perspectives on the battle. Bowden also gives a good account of the strains between the leadership of the Rangers and Delta -- how the more rigid discipline and formality of the Rangers contrasted with the more freewheeling Delta "operators" who, as the elite among the elite, seemingly answered to no one. The book is about a mission gone wrong -- how a plan which contained contingencies for one chopper being lost did not have contingencies for multiple choppers going down. In addition, the troops were not prepared for night operations (plan was for a one hour mission) and did not have adequate water, night vision equipment, etc., available. The book does revisit the issue of whether if tanks were available to the units, it would have made a difference. There was definitely not enough quick reaction forces available for a "mission gone bad"; the hours it took to assemble a U.N. relief force is an excellent example why units should always plan for the worst. The book doesn't address the larger issue of whether the mission was proper for the U.S. troops; one comes to the conclusion that "mission creep" -- the temptation to use the troops for a greater role than they are configured to fight -- was and is a real problem. Because of the past successes of the Rangers and Delta, and their overwhelming competence as soldiers, there was an aura of invincibility about them. When they were overextended, as they were here, they proved vulnerable. This is a valuable lesson to civilian policy makers as well as to soldiers -- try to heep the mission to its original scope, or demand the assets necessary to do the job properly. That being said, the decision to leave Somalia was almost certainly the wrong one. It gave the impression of weakness, and everyone -- especially the Somalis -- have suffered more because of it. An excellent book.
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Summary: Great book, could flow better
Review: Great book, better than the movie. My only beef is, like many movies, it has a curious lack of continuity even though it is told chronologically. In many places it would be much more coherent with some links like "Meanwhile, across the street ...." or "From the Somali position, they saw what happened next ...." or "Five blocks south of the crash site, the convoy..." The reader constantly asks "What?" ..."Where are we?" Some of the most suspenseful sequences in the book only stand out on rereading because the writing style doesnt highlight how events unfold. It's a terrific book, and the descriptions of the action are harrowing, but it is written as a report. You need to reread it to grasp all the action and the big picture. The first reading is 5 stars, but the rereading is only 3 stars as the reader wrestles with the chunky narrative style which feels like William Styron on a bad day.
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Summary: Shaken Mom
Review: I was very shaken when my son told me he was about to be deployed to fight in our war against terrorism, especially after I just finished "Blackhawk Down" by Mark Bowden. I told him I don't understand why we have to do this, and why he has to do this. To help me understand why he and all the other wonderful young men and women in our Armed Forces are proud to do what they do, as depicted in "Blackhawk Down", my son told me I should follow up after "Blackhawk Down" and read Norman Thomas Remick's book, "West Point: Character, Leadership,...". He sent me his copy of it just before he left. I'm still scared for him, but it has helped me to understand America better and come to terms with my fears for my son's life. It's a wonderful corollary to "Blackhawk Down". I think every American in this day and age should read both books.
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Summary: As Good as Reporting Gets
Review: This is one of the best books (and reporting jobs) I have ever read. I wish the author, Mark Bowden, was a reporter with my hometown newspaper. I would then be sure I was getting clear, complete and unbiased reporting whenever I saw his byline. As it is, I am thankful to have such an obscure battle and semi-war explained so well. I finished the book with a good understanding of the situation in Somalia, how we wound up there and how the mission turned into a war. More importantly, I now have a much deeper understanding and respect for our soldiers, especially Rangers and the Delta Force. Of course, I always had a superficial understanding of how great they were and the sacrifices for which they volunteered, but now I have the evidence and emotional understanding to back it up. I therefore recommend this book to every American. Being an ignorant non-military type without the best memory in the world, I do have two very minor criticisms. First, I think the book should have a glossary. There are many abbreviations and other terms that are explained or defined once and then used throughout the rest of the book. Unless you have a military background or an extraordinary memory, you will either find yourself flipping back through the book to try to find the meaning of different terms or, when you are in the middle of a gripping passage, simply trying to get the gist of the term from the rest of the passage. Second, I wish the author had put a list of the main people in the book at the beginning or the end. He does a pretty good job of adding a phrase to describe a person when he hasn't appeared for a while, like so and so, the Delta sergeant, or someone else, the leader of Chalk Two. It probably would have been better to just give a brief description of each important soldier in one list so that the reader could refer to it whenever he or she wanted to do so. Of course, both of these are minor quibbles. The book was so interesting and well-written that these quibbles should not deter you from reading the book
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Summary: Blackhawk Down: What They Do, Why They Do It
Review: "Blackhawk Down" by Mark Bowden is the true story of WHAT our noble men and women in the Armed Forces put their lives on the line to do, as seen through the example of our battle in Somalia. I recommend that everyone read this book. I also recommend "West Point: Character Leadership ..." by Norman Thomas Remick. It's the true story that explains WHY they do it.
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Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: I am thirteen and I started reading this book because it was the first one I saw and because I was grounded. I finished the book in two weeks, while at school and at home. This is the first book I have ever read about The Battle of the Black Sea and I got very interested. Out of all the books I have ever read, this is the most suspenseful and hooking book of all. I would suggest this book to anyone who has time to sit down for hours to read. I am trying to find a book now that will be as good as Black Hawk Down, but I dont know if it's possible!
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Summary: Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden
Review: This is an exceptional book on the true picture of modern combat. It is worth reading before seeing the movie since the movie does not get too far into character development. The movie does follow the same course as the book. A must read for those interested in military history and selfless bravery.
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Summary: Black Hawk Down:A Story of Modern War -the Review
Review: The gripping and suspensful story of Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden, recalls the inncident of 1993's Somalia's uprising. With its carefully detailed story of how some of America's finest soldiers fought fearlessly, Mark Bowden can capture all the action in a breathtaking story. While embarking on a mission to capture one of somalia's biggest warlords, Rangers and Delta force troops get tangled into a bloody mess of combat..in the air and on the ground. With so many gun fights, some of the millitaries "invinvible" helicopters get shot down and a few men become prisoners of war. Page by page of never ending action, this book takes you on a wild ride through the streets of Somalia, and makes you belive that you were actually there. If you thought the movie of Black Hawk Down was great, great ready for the book becuase it is so much better.
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Summary: A Riveting Portrayal of Bravery and Disaster
Review: Mark Bowden deserves applause for his carefully researched account of the Battle of Mogadishu. Black Hawk Down is an excellent account of the battle, drawing on numerous interviews with the men who fought the battle to paint a vivid picture of the fighting. Black Hawk Down sets the stage first, explaining what had happened in the year leading up to the battle and how both sides had come to their respective positions. Then he rolls right into the battle, taking the reader from the preparation (and the numerous errors made then) to the fast rope into downtown Mogadishu, and how things started going wrong right from the start. Black Hawk Down is a portrait of the valor and courage of the American soldiers who managed to fight off attacks by an enemy who outnumbered them by ten to one, and who were ready to finish the job they'd started before the Clinton Administration chose to end the mission. It is a fitting tribute to the soldiers who fought and died in the battle.
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