Black Hawk Down [Paperback]

Mark Bowden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 2002

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Bowden is the author of Bringing the Heat and Doctor Dealer. He has been a reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer for eighteen years and has won many national awards for his writing. He has also written for Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Parade and other magazines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Transworld Paperbacks (January 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552999652
• ISBN-13: 978-0552999656
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > History > Africa > Somalia
  • #25 in Books > History > Africa > East Africa

More About the Author

Mark Bowden is the bestselling author of Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, as well as The Best Game Ever, Bringing the Heat, Killing Pablo, and Guests of the Ayatollah. He reported at The Philadelphia Inquirer for twenty years and now writes for Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, and other magazines. He lives in Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Summary and Review, November 7, 2007

By 

Andrew Bares "Majestic" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Hawk Down (Paperback)

Black Hawk Down is a fascinating book about an American war against Somali's, that goes terribly wrong. The American soldiers were dispatched from base on a mission that was expected to last only 3 hours, therefore they leave behind most of their equipment. Then once they get there, even before the battle starts, things start going wrong. From then on, event after event, the conditions just keep on getting worse, until a Black Hawk is seen dropping down fast from the sky, smoke coming from the tail. From then on, the American soldiers continue to lose hope, and believe that they will be stuck there forever, without their necessary supplies and equipment.

The 486 page long book, written by Mark Bowden, is an amazingly true story about a modern war taken from all aspects of the soldiers in the war. The book is written in 3rd person omniscient, and literally uses each soldier in the war as a character. In this book you will get to hear the war happening, and everything that each soldier is thinking and shooting. But there are many characters (emphasis on many) in this book, and to fully enjoy it, I would recommend re-reading it so that you can understand each character. In some points of the story the book does get slow, talking about some soldiers lives before the war, but in the long run, it helps you understand the behaviors and characteristics of each soldier, making the book that much more enjoyable.

Black Hawk Down does use some terminology that is war related and sophisticated, but you most likely won't need to be going into a dictionary to discover the meanings of their code words and weapon terminology. The novel is somewhat gory and graphic, but not extremely horrible. Ages +14 should be able to handle this book of a true war story.
Overall this novel is a great insider story on modern war. It shows what actually happens in wars, without the Hollywood effects added in. And since there are plenty of characters in this book, you should definitely be able to relate to one of them, and see how you would do in a war situation such as this. Therefore I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars (I would give it 4.5 stars, but there is no option) because of its honesty of war, and its great detail in which it immerses you into the story with.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ooh-Ahh!! For the Hoo-ah. Gung-ho best takes on the Somalis., November 13, 2007

By 

Get Out in the Sun "Historical Fiction Fan" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Hawk Down (Paperback)

Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden is an intense book about a U.S. military mission that started out as a seemingly easy assignment, but went terribly wrong. This story concerns events that actually happened during two days in October 1993 in the sandy desert city of Mogadishu, Somalia. The main mission for the members of the Rangers and Delta Squad was to capture two important Habr Gidr clan members, and possibly the warlord, Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Instead, the troops found themselves involved in a bloody battle with Somalis determined to eliminate the soldiers.
Black Hawk Down is a very engrossing book. Mark Bowden does a great job making the reader feel as if they were right in the action. The book is occasionally gory, especially with the descriptions of gunshot wounds, but shouldn't be too bad for most readers at and above high school age. There wasn't a moment in the book when I wasn't rooting for the soldiers to survive against the odds. The book follows many individuals. The differences in each character's point of view on the action gives the reader a better look into modern warfare.
I recommend this book, since it is one that will keep anyone on the edge of his or her seat. It opens a portal into the horrors of war and doesn't go soft for a single sentence.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, April 25, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Black Hawk Down (Paperback)

this was the singal greatest story of war i have evr read. He describes the situation in Somalia and how the soldiers deal with it. This is a great buy and you will not be able to put it down once you start.