Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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!

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.

**ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2003 AT 8:30 PM SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS CAPTURED IN A "SPIDER-HOLE" IN THE TOWN OF AD DAWR, WHICH IS SOME 15 KILOMETERS SOUTH OF TIKRIT.**

This is the amazing story of Staff Sergeant Eric Maddox of the United States Army who was instrumental in uncovering the information that helped lead to Saddam's capture. The author was an interrogator and within twenty-four-hours of landing in Baghdad he was asked if he was willing to interrogate on "hits"... "raids that were conducted in Baghdad to search for High Value Targets (HVT) and round up suspected insurgents." From there he was transferred to Tikrit, Saddam's hometown. And that's where this amazingly interesting and fast paced story unfolds. Within a very short period of time Eric is thrust into the duties of a top interrogator, even though he has no real interrogation experience, when the previously assigned experienced interrogator transfers out. Eric's previous training amounted to an eight-week interrogation course he attended in Arizona in 1999. AND... "WHAT I DIDN'T LEARN WAS HOW TO ACTUALLY GET THE JOB DONE. MOST OF MY INSTRUCTORS HAD NEVER INTERROGATED A REAL LIVE PRISONER. THERE HAD BEEN VERY FEW PRISONERS SINCE VIET NAM."

In addition to the *insider's-peep-hole* into one of the most important historical events in recent history... the author's unabashed honesty about his own shortcomings and fears... helps elevate this book above the horde of Middle East war books released in the last few years. An example of Eric's forthright nature is displayed when detailing his first "boots-on-the-ground" "OUTSIDE-THE-WIRE" raid on a possible insurgent. On the way to the selected house, driving ONE-HUNDRED-MILES-PER-HOUR at night... in a Mercedes that had been owned by one of Saddam's nieces... attacked by a FIFTY-CALIBER MACHINE GUN... the car spinned out of control... the driver jumped out the door... yelling U.S.A.! U.S.A.! ... it turned out it was friendly fire. When Eric and the task force arrived, and entered the targeted house... and after one of the soldiers had secured the first suspect... they brought Eric into the room for his first interrogation with his new team... "WHY DON'T YOU TAKE THE BLINDFOLD OFF? I SUGGESTED. I WANTED TO BE EYE TO EYE WITH THIS GUY WHEN I QUESTIONED HIM. ONE OF THE GUARDS OBLIGED, PULLING BACK THE BLOOD-SOAKED CLOTH. I'D NEVER BEEN VERY GOOD WITH BLOOD, GOING BACK TO MY EARLY DAYS IN THE INFANTRY, WHEN TRAINING ACCIDENTS WERE NOT UNCOMMON. IT IS SOMETHING I'VE ALWAYS TRIED TO HIDE, WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS. THIS WAS GOING TO BE HARDER THAN MOST. WHERE THE EYE SHOULD HAVE BEEN, THERE WAS AN EMPTY SOCKET."

As the story progresses the reader grows right along with the author in the "art" of interrogation... including the overriding desire to find... capture... or kill... "HIGH-VALUE-TARGETS" (HVT). Though the author had literally no experience when he arrived, he quickly developed his own techniques as he tried very hard to impress the specialized task force that he held in the highest regard. Eric devised a detailed "link diagram" that would look like an organization chart of a Fortune 500 company to you and me... and developed a theory that the key to HVT's was the relationship of Saddam's former body guards and their families. In addition... always hovering above... like a proverbial "pot-of-gold"... was the Department Of Defense's "PACK-OF-PLAYING-CARDS"... and "on the face of the cards were the fifty-five most wanted men in Iraq: *THE-BLACK-LIST*. SADDAM WAS BLACK LIST #1, THE ACE OF SPADES. HIS SONS, UDAY AND QUSAY WERE BL's #2 AND #3. THEY HAD ALREADY BEEN ACCOUNTED FOR, KILLED IN A BLOODY SHOOT-OUT IN MOSUL THE DAY BEFORE ERIC ARRIVED IN BAGHDAD."

This is the behind the scenes story of the hunt for *THOSE-PLAYING-CARDS*.

Note 1: As an honorably discharged Viet Nam era veteran... and a man who yearns for a seat at the bar... I want to thank Eric for his dedication words to me and others at the beginning of the book.

**"TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED, FOUGHT, AND SACRIFICED, AND TO ALL THOSE WHO YEARN FOR A SEAT AT THE BAR."**

Note 2: You'll have to read the book to know what a seat at the bar entails.

This is a fantastic book and should be read by anyone with any interest in intelligence, the war in Iraq, interrogation, or current events.

I think we can all remember when we first saw the pictures of Saddam. The former dictator, with a scraggly beard and a look of defeat on his face, wasn't found by rare chance or good luck, he was caught by hard work by our military and especially SSG Maddox who followed the information he was getting from countless interrogations.

When I first got this book and before I began to read it, I thought it might be like so many books written by someone in this business; that being explaining how awesome they are and how dumb everyone else is. That wasn't the case here. SSG Maddox lays out his 6 months in Iraq with every success and failure. He admits to his mistakes and his own doubts. Indeed, this book is a great lesson in resiliance as a lot of his information turned up dry holes and left him wondering if he even knew what he was doing.

You really come to pull for SSG Maddox. You begin to feel his frustration and occassional self-doubt but you also become impressed with his determination and quick thinking. Finally, you almost feel like celebrating with SSG Maddox as his hard work is recognized.

This is not a long book or a book that you will struggle to read. Maddox keeps it brief and does not get bogged down with each interrogation in the chain to Saddam. This was a book that I did not want to put down!

With all the debate over the enhanced interrogation techniques, here is a book that explains how the vast majority of interrogations are conducted.

Again, this is a must read

I've just finished reading Mission Black List #1. The story told by the interrogator who found Saddam Hussein. It is an intriguing view, from the inside, of the military intelligence gathering in Iraq. The interrogator, Eric Maddox, realized the centralized military interrogation was not producing results; so, he developed his own system.

While working in Tikrit, Eric realized there were family and tribal links between the men closest to Saddam. The centralized interrogation - sending all prisoners to Baghdad - was not equipped to draw the links between prisoners. They just processed prisoners from all over Iraq and moved them out. Eric created a link diagram of these relationships. This was innovative. He was able to work his way up the links until he found Black List #1, Saddam Hussein.

His story moves quickly over 6 months. He knew he was on to something. Proving it to everyone else would be difficult. There were tense moments when he was about to make a break through and the chain of command had other plans. He was working outside the system. Until he could prove himself, he was a renegade. The military doesn't work that way.

His story is full of lessons for all us: realizing there is a better way, working against the establishment, creating new ideas and being successful despite the barriers. When organizations are large - like the military - they develop systems to manage processes. Sometimes, the best intentions just get in the way. Success comes from individuals, like Eric Maddox, who have better ideas and fight to prove them.

My New Year's Resolution was to read 6 non fiction books. They have to be outside my area of expertise. I started with Mission Black List #1. This book was #1 for my mission. I found the book easy to read. It was a quick read. The last few chapters, leading to capture, get really tense. I'm glad we have soldiers like Eric Maddox.

What a great book! Should be made into a movie. I read this book in just one sitting,I could not put it down even when my eyes were crying in pain. I Highly recommend this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed Staff Sergeant Maddox's book - it is an amazing story! I truly felt like I was right there with him during his deployment to Baghdad and then Tikrit as he developed and then successfully proved his theory on how to find Saddam Hussein. This modern day military thriller finally tells exactly how the United States was able to locate one of the most sought after military criminals in history. I especially appreciated how well it was written - it is an easy to read story without too much military detail to confuse someone who has never served in the military. Maddox and the special groups of soldiers he worked with in Tikrit to find Hussein are American heroes in my mind. Thank you all for a job well done!

This book brought me more joy than any book I have ever read. I had heard rumors back in '04 that Eric was the guy who got to the guy that gave up Saddam, and that Eric was the guy that broke that guy. Read the book and find out how. It did not surprise me. Whenever I would tell a story about Eric Maddox it would be prefaced with "Eric Maddox is the most professional NCO I have ever met." Now I'll have to add "and the interrogator that got us Saddam." A great book by a Great American.

So much goes on out there that never is and sometimes never should be released to the public. This story should show how the "little guy", not some super secret CIA case officer, not an Ivy league intelligence officer succeeded in the intelligence field where many more had failed. A Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army did this...a guy who in many circles would be treated as incompetent for that rank alone.

I know Eric Maddox and served with him. He's a great guy, a great intelligence professional and I'm glad to see his story come out.