Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein---As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture [Hardcover]

Eric Maddox (Author), Davin Seay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2008

Everyone has seen the footage: a heavily bearded Saddam Hussein blinking under the bright lights of infantry cameras, dazed to find himself in U.S. Army custody. Yet while the breaking news was broadcast around the world, the story of the remarkable events leading up to that moment on December 13, 2003 has never before been fully told. Mission: Black List #1 offers the full, behind-the-scenes account of the search for Saddam Hussein, as related by the Army interrogator whose individual courage and sheer determination made the capture possible. In July of 2003, Staff Sergeant Eric Maddox was deployed to Baghdad alongside intelligence analysts and fellow interrogators. Their assignment was clear: gather actionable intelligence - leads that could be used to launch raids on High Value Targets within the insurgency. But, as Maddox recounts, hunting for the hidden links in the terrorist network would require bold and untested tactics, and the ability to never lose sight of the target, often hiding in plain sight. After months of chasing down leads, following hunches and interrogating literally hundreds of detainees, Sergeant Maddox uncovered crucial details about the insurgency. In his final days in Iraq he closed in on the dictator's inner circle and, within hours of his departure from the country, pinpointed the precise location of Saddam's Tikrit spider hole. Maddox's candid and compelling narrative reveals the logic behind the unique interrogation process he developed, and provides an insider's look at his psychologically subtle, non-violent methods. The result is a gripping, moment-by-moment account of the historic mission that brought down Black List #1.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 2003, Staff Sgt. Maddox was an army interrogation specialist on his first field assignment in Iraq gathering information on bad guys. The unexpectedly rapid collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime made that category a broad one. Sent to Tikrit, Saddams home town, Maddox found no system for screening detainees to identify priority targets. That began to change with one of Saddams bodyguards, Maddoxs first serious interrogation and the first step to Saddams capture. With freelance writer Seay (coauthor, Hello Charlie) providing the polish, Maddox takes readers through an intense multilevel series of question-and-answer games that led slowly, with many false starts and sidetracks, to Saddams hideout. Maddox makes no secret of his mistakes: losing his temper, failing to control interrogations, seeking information rather than cultivating insight. We weren't in the United States and my job wasn't to hand down justice, he writes. His account is a welcome corrective to lurid accounts of interrogation techniques, frequently secondhand. The capture of Saddam Hussein, like all good intelligence work, was 5% insight and 95% patience. Brutality, Maddox makes clear, was not merely counterproductive but unnecessary. 8 pages of color photos. (Dec. 13)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

In 2003, Oklahoma native Maddox was a newly trained U.S. Army interrogation specialist. Assigned to Tikrit, Iraq, he was involved in the search and capture of Saddam Hussein and others on the military's Black List. Through the interrogation of a prisoner Maddox was instrumental in bringing in, he was able to discover Hussein's hiding place on his last day in Iraq. Actor/narrator Bernie McInerney (Shooter) capably reads this unique insider's look at a major historical event. Recommended for military history buffs and larger public libraries. [Audio clip available through www.harperaudio.com.—Ed.]—Mary Knapp, Madison P.L., WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006171447X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061714474
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The value of intuition and instinct, October 20, 2009

By 

Dalton Fury (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein---As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture (Hardcover)

Eric, thanks for taking the time to share the extraordinary behind the scenes efforts of nabbing Saddam. The description of the dynamics that exist between operator and outsider on the battlefield are spot on and capture that unique atmosphere completely. You were teamed with the best in Tikrit - guys like Kelly, Doug, Matt, Bam Bam..and Walt at BIAP (and the unnamed rest) are nothing short of remarkable men with a personal drive to accomplish the mission matched by few others. You were accepted because you proved your worth from the very beginning. In the big scheme of things, your individual efforts were more valuable than dozens of operators. I highly recommend this fascinating book for anyone interested in just how Saddam was finally located in his spider hole. It is a thrilling read that highlights the value of initiative, intuition, and instinct by a super ground commander, team, and collective intelligence work. This book is hard to put down and Americans can have it today at a bargain price of 10 bucks. Great work Eric!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book!, January 24, 2009

By 

Jim Bulach (Troy, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein---As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture (Hardcover)

I am a tough critic when it comes to rating books. However, "Mission: Black List # 1" had no trouble scoring a five star rating from me. In this book, the interrogator who focused on the path least traveled by our intelligence agencies, worked his way through Saddam Hussein's hierarchy of body guards and associates of the Iraqi insurgency to track down and capture Saddam Hussein. He did this in a surprisingly small amount of time, less than five months. He put together the last pieces of the puzzle in the final frantic hours of his rotation in Iraq, working around the clock to prevent his efforts from going to waste when he was ordered to return.

The book is well written and kept me enraptured throughout the story. I have never read a non-fiction book that has ever done that!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book You Can't Put Down, January 14, 2009

By 

Jeanette F. Lucey "Jeanette" (Rock Hill, SC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mission: Black List #1: The Inside Story of the Search for Saddam Hussein---As Told by the Soldier Who Masterminded His Capture (Hardcover)

This is the story of how one intelligence officer and a small group of intelligence experts in the US Army were able to find Saddam Hussein.

Instead of looking for all the people other intelligence officers had looked at Sgt. Maddox made a list of all those who were close to Saddam. He found a common link in his bodyguards and went after them.

Right up until the moment he was to leave Iraq he was still interrogating and found the man who would lead the Army to Saddam.

This is a page-turner and once you start to read it and get over the small auto-biographical information, you will not be able to put this book down.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to know the "real" story behind the capture of Hussein.