About this title: This book details the events leading up to one of the most intense battles involving American soldiers since the Vietnam War. In October of 1993, helicopter operators of the U.S. Army Rangers brought 140 soldiers to Mogadishu, Somalia, to find and capture two men associated with a Somali warlord. The mission resulted in a tremendous exchange of ...
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"I decided to read this book after I had rented and subsequently watched the movie. The book is a non fiction of account of the Battle of Mogidishu, in which a task force made up of Special Forces operators from the U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force went into the capital of Somalia to try and apprehend two underlings of a powerful warlord. The mission was only supposed to take a half an hour, but was complicated when two helicopters were shot and crashed in the middle of the city. The mission instantly changed from a simple snatch and grab that was supposed to take a half an hour to a full on rescue mission that took nearly two days.
I really enjoyed this book because it showed what these people were feeling throughout the battle. Throughout the whole battle, they were not fighting themselves, they were fighting for the men next to him. It was also interesting to see how the different certain parts of the Army were. The Rangers were constantly on patrols and were required to take runs in the desert in full gear. The Delta Force operators had to do none of this. As far as they were concerned, it was vacation and could do whatever they wanted. As stated in the book, they often commandeered helicopters and went hunting. Nonetheless, each and every one of the soldiers was proficient at their jobs.
I would recommend this book to anyone that likes war novels or anyone that like history novels."
"I can frankly admit the fact that the one reason that prompted me to read this book was Ridley Scott's movie, it wasn't an unwise decision. It stands apart as one of the grittiest and tough books i have read to date.Growing up seeing action movies, there was a prejudice that i had : that the US armed forces are invincible..with time that changed. No other movie or piece of literature was as good as black hawk down at this.
The premise is a very strange one, the US army/airforce's elite teams being caught amid the civil unrest in Mogadishu. Two black hawk choppers shot down and close to 19 soldiers killed in the streets of Mogadishu. Bowden details the frustration,fear and angst of the soldiers stuck in the war. The raw courage of the rangers and the cool, level headed tactics of the delta force are stuff that hollywood movies are made of. Extensive research and quite a lot of interviews are behind the book and it shows on every line in the book.
A well recommended read for those with a taste of the gritty side of war. There isn't pretty much heroism or valiant courage here, just men who fight to live or to die..."
"p. 345 Every Battle is a drama played out apart from broader issues. Soldiers cannot concern themselves with the forces that bring them to a fight, or its aftermath. They trust their leaders not to risk their lives for too little. Once the battle is joined, they fight to survive as much as to win, to kill before they are killed. The story of combat is timeless. It is about the same things whether in Troy or Gettysburg, Normandy or the Ia Drang. It is about soldiers, most of them young, trapped in a fight to the death. The extreme and terrible nature of war touches something essential about being human, and soldiers do not always like what they learn. For those who survive, the victors and the defeated, the battle lives on in their memories and nightmares and in the dull ache of old wounds. It survives as hundreds of searing private memories, memories of loss and triumph, shame and pride, struggles each veteran must refight every day of his life."
"I read this book in a day. It is an enthralling, captivating, harrowing depiction of modern warfare.
Black Hawk Down tells the story of the botched effort by US Army Rangers and Delta Force specialists to kidnap warlords in Mogadishu, Somalia. The operation, which was supposed to take an hour, became the longest sustained firefight since the Vietnam war. In the end, 18 American soldiers were killed, and 70 were badly wounded.
Bowden does a superb job of capturing the fear and confusion of battle, the powerlessness of the combatants to control or, at times, even impact their fate. The story features acts of mind-blowing courage and of futile desperation, misguided decision-making, the special bond of brothers-in-arms... all of the things that shape events in war. A great, nail biting read. Highly recommended."
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