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Title: Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Bowden ISBN: 0-14-028850-3 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 28 February, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.72 (597 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Exhausting, informative, thorough, demanding.
Comment: I read a fair amount of historical non-fiction and was taught throughout high school to think critically when reading. Check sources, check author's tone, point of the writing, points of view being used, context, and so forth. Apparently Mark Bowden, the author, comes from the same school of thought. He writes a thorough and genuine account of a sadly-ignored incident in US history.
I can recall the newspaper accounts of the time, wondering what we were doing there and why, after taking such incredible beatings, we were leaving. Rather than do the research to find out why, Mr. Bowden has compiled this book, which rightfully deserves its place on any historian's bookshelf.
Bowden's accounting of the events and context are flawless. His research is uncommonly thorough, and given the opportunity to write the first really comprehensive accounting of the events, he makes the most of it. His attention to detail, his recreation of the timeline, and his notes are worthy of emulation by future students of history.
All that is nothing without good writing, and Bowden keeps a reader locked into the story. As hard as some of it is to read because of the imagery and concomitant emotional responses, Bowden leads you through the battles at ground level, at eye level from helicopter platforms, at screen level from command centers. At the end of the book one wonders how you survive the reading; how much worse to have been there in it? I was exhausted mentally, and therein lies the demanding aspect of the book.
So much goes on, so many players become involved, that a cheet sheet and glossary of some terms would've helped immensely. Even a cast of characters would've been of some utility, but eventually, I just bore down and focused. Some questions were answered in the notes, others reveal their answers upon later reflection.
In all, I daresay adding my review to the nearly 400 others won't make someone any more inclined to buy a 5-star book if they've ignored the other 399 reviewers, but this is my review and I'm sticking to it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Gripping Real Life Thriller
Comment: I also read this book shortly before the recent terrorist attacks. Mark Bowden goes into extraordinarily and painful detail in describing the activities of 1993 in which just over 100 Army Rangers and Delta force soldiers made a daring day-light raid on the city of Mogadishu, and a bustling market-place, and captured key lieutenants of the Somali warlord.
Bowden rightfully tributes the last moments of over a dozen DIA and many casualties. The book reads like a minute-by-minute action feature, and is almost impossible to put down. Given the capabilities of these special-ops soldiers, I feel a lot more confident in our on-going efforts in Afghanistan. I'm sure the Delta forces are working as we speak. Many have deemed the Somalia effort a failure, but if you read this book, you will be convinced that the soldiers of this battle accomplished their objective and achieved victory despite overwhelming obstacles.
Rating: 5
Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Comment: What a fascinating and gripping account of modern urban combat! Bowden has written an excellent narrative of the ferocious events in Mogadishu on 3-4 October 1993. I would reccommend this book to any student of history, political science, or military studies--especially soldiers in need of an understanding of how, when even minute mistakes are made in planning, terrible things can happen to deter a unit's mission. One crticism is that Bowden should have shied from the political critique in his Epilogue. Since his book focused on the Rangers' and D-boys' combat experience, that's what he should have discussed. It seems that the political implications leading to US / UN involvement in Somalia were an afterthought and Bowden does a much better job focusing on the stories of the individuals involved. Overall, however, this is a great read and a fascinating testament to the courage, bravery, and devotion to each other shown by those who participated in the terrible Bakara Market Battle.
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Title: We were Soldiers Once...And Young: Ia Drang--The Battle That Changed The War In Vietnam by Harold G. Moore, Joseph L. Galloway ISBN: 0679411585 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 20 October, 1992 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw by Mark Bowden ISBN: 0142000957 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: In the Company of Heroes: A True Story by Michael J. Durant, Steven Hartov, Mark Bowden ISBN: 0399150609 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 08 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title:Black Hawk Down ASIN: B000065U1N Publisher: Columbia Tristar Hom Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $16.36 |
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Title: Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 0743216458 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 06 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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