Product Description

Late in the afternoon of Sunday, 3 October 1993, 140 elite US soldiers abseiled from helicopters into a teeming market neighbourhood in the heart of the city of Mogadishu, Somalia. Their mission was to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord and return to base. It was supposed to take them about an hour. Instead, they were pinned down through a long and terrible night in a hostile city, fighting for their lives against thousands of heavily armed Somalis. When the unit was rescued the following morning, 18 American soldiers were dead and more than 70 badly injured. The Somali toll was far worse - more than 500 killed and over 1000 injured. Authoritative, and insightful, "Black Hawk Down" is a minute-by-minute account of modern war. This story is now a major motion picture directed by Ridley Scott, and starring an ensemble cast including Josh Hartnett, Ewen McGregor, Jason Isaacs, Tom Sizemore, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Ron Eldard, Jeremy Piven and Sam Shepherd.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61283 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Black Hawk Down journalist Mark Bowden delivers a strikingly detailed account of the 1993 nightmare operation in Mogadishu that left 18 American soldiers dead and many more wounded. This early foreign-policy disaster for the Clinton administration led to the resignation of Secretary of Defence Les Aspin and a total troop withdrawal from Somalia. Bowden does not spend much time considering the context; instead he provides a moment-by-moment chronicle of what happened in the air and on the ground. His gritty narrative tells of how Rangers and elite Delta Force troops embarked on a mission to capture a pair of high-ranking deputies to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid only to find themselves surrounded in a hostile African city. Their high-tech MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters had been shot down and a number of other miscues left them trapped through the night. Bowden describes Mogadishu as a place of Mad Max--like anarchy--implying strongly that there was never any peace for the supposed peacekeepers to keep. He makes full use of the defence bureaucracy's extensive paper trail--which includes official reports, investigations and even radio transcripts--to describe the combat with great accuracy, right down to the actual dialogue. He supplements this with hundreds of his own interviews, turning Black Hawk Down into a completely authentic non-fiction novel, a lively page-turner that will make readers feel like they're standing beside the embattled troops. This will quickly be realised as a modern military classic. --John J. Miller

Amazon.co.uk Review
Journalist Mark Bowden delivers a strikingly detailed account of the 1993 nightmare operation in Mogadishu that left 18 American soldiers dead and many more wounded. This early foreign-policy disaster for the Clinton administration led to the resignation of Secretary of Defence Les Aspin and a total troop withdrawal from Somalia. Bowden does not spend much time considering the context; instead he provides a moment-by-moment chronicle of what happened in the air and on the ground. His gritty narrative tells of how Rangers and elite Delta Force troops embarked on a mission to capture a pair of high-ranking deputies to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid only to find themselves surrounded in a hostile African city. Their high-tech MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters had been shot down and a number of other miscues left them trapped through the night. Bowden describes Mogadishu as a place of Mad Max-like anarchy-- implying strongly that there was never any peace for the supposed peacekeepers to keep. He makes full use of the defence bureaucracy's extensive paper trail--which includes official reports, investigations and even radio transcripts--to describe the combat with great accuracy, right down to the actual dialogue. He supplements this with hundreds of his own interviews, turning Black Hawk Down into a completely authentic non-fiction novel, a lively page-turner that will make readers feel like they're standing beside the embattled troops. This will quickly be realised as a modern military classic. --John J. Miller

Maxim
'Rip-roaring stuff, with one of the most gruesome battlefield wound treatments ever committed to paper'

Customer Reviews

Amazing insight into what it was like for those involved
The film remains in my top ten but the book has had me gripped from the very first page. The sad thing is that this is the real life story and one that makes you realise what the armes forces, from whatever country they come from, have to do. I was shocked. This is not a book about what is right or wrong, not a propoganda tool, but an insight into what these people went through on both sides. A must read (as they say).

Brilliant!
An exceptional and unbiased account of the battle, with testimony taken from both sides.

A gripping page-turner, which I couldn't put down.

Gripping,Moving and Action Packed what more do you need in a true story of modern warfare
Many books ive read accounting modern warfare both about U.S forces and British Forces about famous escapes,Battles and patrols and this is one of the most gripping with defintely the most action packed, im not going into too much detail so i dont spoil it for hose who are going to buy this fantastic book but its about probally the hardest soilders in the world the '75th Ranger Regiment' and USA's equivalent to the british SAS and one the best flying units in the world the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (night stalkers) are sent to capture some of mohamed farah aidids top liutents in the process millions of problems get put through there worst nightmares including two black hawks getting hit by rpg's and 19 deaths with countless more injured resulting in the biggest loss of life since the vietnam war. anyway to get thw hole horrors and bloodshed read this book.