Black Hawk Down: A Gripping Tale of Modern Warfare

azlee: A good book giving the reader a view that is not normally available about what was happening including cause and effect.

The men who served and died deserve our respect for the way they handled extreme stress in combat situations.

United States on Jul 10, 2023

Daniel Blouin: Bon produit

Canada on Jan 03, 2023

chakkman: Ich hatte mir dieses Buch gekauft, weil mir der sachliche, und minutiös detaillierte Stil des Autors in seinem Buch "Killing Pablo" sehr gefallen hat, und mich der Mogadischu-Vorfall sehr interessiert hat. Das Buch ist auch wieder sehr gut geschrieben, da kann man nicht meckern. Woran es hapert ist eher, dass hier ein Vorfall, der sich über maximal 24 Stunden hingezogen hat, über 417 Seiten bis ins kleinste Detail beschrieben wird. Mir hätte es besser gefallen, wenn stattdessen mehr über die Hintergründe dieses Konflikts geredet worden wäre.

Außerdem ist mir etwas negativ aufgefallen, dass der Autor geradezu Alibi-mäßig immer wieder kleinere Geschichten aus der Warte von Somaliern erzählt. Da kommt in mir der Verdacht auf, dass hier zwanghaft eine neutrale Sicht dargestellt werden musste, und zwar ohne, dass es erzählerisch wirklich Sinn macht. Und, vor allem frage ich mich, wie der Autor das denn alles so genau wissen will, denn, es ist nicht nur vereinzelt die Rede davon, was diese und jene Person gerade dachte, als dies und jenes geschehen ist. Das kommt recht unglaubwürdig und aufgesetzt rüber.

Mir ist deshalb auch leider nach 73% des Buches die...

Germany on Sep 04, 2022

Danny: Delivered on time, product as described. A really good read

United Kingdom on Sep 16, 2021

sahali: The only account of what happened in Mogadishu, Somalia when the Black Hawks went down. There are other books of personal experiences, but this is IT for the complete, horrifying story.

Canada on Nov 11, 2020

Brighton: Contains blood and screams of the soldiers and terrorists of SNA, alongwith the pain and screaming of innocents. The way the author writes the book makes me to see like in reality . I felt that i was in that place and watching it in nearby. Pumped my blood.

India on Dec 16, 2018

bowonwing: Please be sure to read the "Notes," prepared by Bowden on pages 355 to 374. In fact read them first! Some of the keys to understanding "The Battle of Mogadishu" and "Black Hawk Down" are contained in the "Notes." On page 363 of the "Notes" Bowden writes:
"To me, the communications mix-up that left five soldiers dead and dozens badly injured was the single biggest snafu of the battle," ( re: from the section "Black Hawk Down," Chapter 17, pp. 112-117). See also the very important "Epilogue,' on pages 331 to 346.
And remember the incredible bravery of Delta snipers Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart, who both received posthumous Medals of Honor; and every member of "Task Force Ranger," and that Specialist John Stebbins "would receive a Silver Star for his part in the fight ..." (p.324), as would Navy SEAL Howard E. Wasdin (see his book below). Also remember Navy SEAL Homer Nearpass, who pulled security as the bullets were flying.
My (worthless) two cents: 1. Task Force Ranger should have had APC's to carry the soldiers into the "Black Sea." Bowden on page 340 states: "Garrison's task force never requested or envisioned armor as part of its force package." 2. There should have...

United States on Dec 01, 2017

Jennifer Egues: Book Project Critical Review
James Egues

Black Hawk Down, written by Mark Bowden, a journalist, tells a story about a group of American Soldiers that were sent into Somalia on a humanitarian mission authorized by George Bush in 1992. Several of the helicopters, Black Hawks, that they brought with them into the mission were shot down and the crews were mutilated by a local militia. Every time a Black Hawk crashed, a brutal firefight broke out, resulting in deaths and injuries of American soldiers. The rescue team could not land to get the group because of local Somalis. The mission was overall a failure, the mission’s death toll was one thousand of Somalis and nineteen American Soldiers. and at the end of the book, soldiers are celebrating the return of Michael Durant, who was the pilot for the Super Six One Black Hawk. Michael Durant was the only survivor from the Super Six One group. Bowden’s work was an overall success because of his journalist writing style, point of view of the events, and organization of the story line.

As I was reading, I fell into the book and could not stop reading. It felt as if I was really there in the setting of the book. The style...

United States on Apr 30, 2016