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Summary: Military medicine included
Review: Overall, very detailed analysis of how the SPECOPS community functions. Discusses the events of day in meticulous graphic detail. This book also dives into the seldom seen or heard aftermath of that fatal day. It demonstrates that success often comes at a price. As a physician in the military, this book also dives into the medical aspescts of war and how the triage system works. Dr Marsh had a difficult job and was faced with many decisions during his Mass Casualty. I glad to see that his expertise and military training saved as many soldiers as possible. A must read for anyone interested in Aviation, Medicine and Special Operations.
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Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: Not since reading Krohn's "The Lost Battalion" have I felt so much emotion over a book. A chilling account of modern war that only "Warriors" who have fought and bled in battle can truely understand. I read this book and cried for the heros of "Task Force Ranger"
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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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