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Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated] Paperback – May 27, 2008

by Jeremy Scahill (Author)

1,041 ratings

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The “crackling exposé” (New York Times Book Review) of the shadowy mercenary army that perpetrated horrific war crimes in America's name

On September 16, 2007, machine gun fire erupted in Baghdad's Nisour Square, leaving seventeen Iraqi civilians dead, among them women and children. The shooting spree, labeled "Baghdad's Bloody Sunday," was neither the work of Iraqi insurgents nor U.S. soldiers. The shooters were private forces, subcontractors working for the secretive mercenary company, Blackwater Worldwide, led by Erik Prince.

Award-winning journalist Jeremy Scahill takes us from the bloodied streets of Iraq to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the chambers of power in Washington, to reveal the frightening new face of the U.S. military machine, and what happens when you outsource war.

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A crackling expose of the secretive military contractor Blackwater.”―New York Times Book Review

“An utterly gripping and explosive story.”―Naomi Klein, Guardian

“Meticulously researched and fascinating... Scahill does a fine job.”―Sunday Times (UK)

“The biggest book of the year...an amazingly researched and well-told story.”―Matthew Rothschild, Progressive

“An exhaustively well-researched expose.”―Herald

“An explosive piece of investigative journalism.”―Shortlist

“Andy McNab couldn’t have invented this prescient tale of the private army of mercenaries run by a Christian conservative millionaire who, in turn, bankrolls the president. A chilling expose of the ultimate military outsource.”―Christopher Fowler, New Review

“A powerful argument against the privatisation of war... exemplary... If the job of writing about ‘the rise of the world's most powerful mercenary army’ seems mightily ambitious, it has been undertaken by just the right person... he’s the sort of writer who sets out the evidence and lets us make up our own minds.”―Big Issue (UK)

“Scahill deserves commendation.”―New Statesman (UK)

“Scahill’s page-turning collection of intrigue and insight into the underworld of privatized warfare is well researched, thoroughly documented, and as a result extremely frightening.”―Globe and Mail (Canada)

“Of all the insane Bush privatization efforts, none is more frightening than the corporatizing of military combat forces. Jeremy Scahill admirably exposes a devastating example of this sinister scheme.”―Michael Moore, Academy Award–winning director

“It should be mandatory reading. It's very interesting—and scary.”―Scarlett Johansson

“Scahill provided me information… which I have not been able to get from the U.S. military... I have read more from Mr. Scahill, than I've got from our own government.”―Representative Marcy Kaptur, Defense Appropriations Committee

“From Belgrade to Baghdad, from Nigeria to New Orleans, Jeremy Scahill leads a new generation of muckraking journalists. Scahill is exposing the dark, violent and secretive world of the neo-mercenaries Washington is increasingly deploying in its wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and at home in the US. His investigative skill, coupled with his graceful style make this book essential reading.”―Amy Goodman, co-author of Democracy Now!

“Scahill is a one-man truth squad.”―Bill Moyers, former White House Press Secretary

“This is no uninformed partisan screed... Meticulously documented and encyclopedic in scope... it’ a comprehensive and authoritative guide... this book serves as a provocative primer for advancing the debate.”―Bill Sizemore, Pulitzer Prize–nominated journalist

“Thanks to Jeremy Scahill and other reporters of conscience and courage, ‘independent journalist’ is not an oxymoron.”―Ray McGovern, activist and former CIA officer

“Fascinating and magnificently documented... Jeremy Scahill’s new book is a brilliant expose and belongs on the reading list of any conscientious citizen.”―Scott Horton, international and military law expert

About the Author

Jeremy Scahill is co-founder of Drop Site News. He has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, the former Yugoslavia, and elsewhere across the globe. He is also a writer and producer of the documentary feature film, Dirty Wars, and author of the New York Times bestseller by the same name.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bold Type Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 27, 2008
Edition ‏ : ‎ Updated
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 560 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 156858394X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1568583945
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.63 x 1.5 x 8.38 inches
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 11 and up

Best Sellers Rank: #116,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #44 in Iraq War History (Books)
- #54 in National & International Security (Books)
- #106 in Terrorism (Books)

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Customers find the book well-researched and carefully documented, praising its thorough writing style with relevant detail. They consider it an awesome journalistic work and a must-read, though some find it frightening. The book receives mixed reactions regarding its value for money, with some saying it's worth every penny while others find it very costly. Customers disagree on the historical content, with some appreciating the history while others criticize the anti-war sentiment. The writing quality and information quality receive positive feedback, though customers disagree on the author's bias.

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Information quality Readability Writing quality Journalistic quality Suspenseful Value for money History Bias

90 customers mention "Information quality"84 positive6 negative

Customers find the book well-documented and carefully researched, describing it as enlightening and extremely interesting.

"...Supporting his narrative with painstaking research and analysis, the author shows how modern mercenary forces are empowered by a potent mix of..." Read more

"...is an excellent investigative journalist and a leading expert on several major contemporary issues, including the rise of private mercenary armies..." Read more

"...attempts to lead the reader by the nose, and there's a lot of good information about the role of private contractors - both the good and the not so..." Read more

"...It is well-written, thoroughly researched, and it is an expose of a company that every American should be aware of...." Read more

86 customers mention "Readability"77 positive9 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a fantastic and fascinating must-read.

"Rarely, do I come across a book that I feel is well written, compelling and a must read--Blackwater is one of those rare books...." Read more

"...Scahill has done us a big favor by writing this book and every American needs to read it especially the U.S. Attorneys who prosecute fraud and..." Read more

"...definitely a good read, but be careful about believing all the words written here" Read more

"...It is a good read and narrative to many of the less than public events that happened in Iraq." Read more

34 customers mention "Writing quality"32 positive2 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, describing it as a thorough exposé with overwhelming amounts of relevant detail.

"...It is a book that is very well written. It is also a book that should disturb all Americans, regardless of political belief...." Read more

"...Mr. Scahill has written skillfully about an underreported issue that should be a cause of alarm and concern for everyone...." Read more

"...is right on the money here (to coin a phrase) and his deep and broad comprehension of this phenomenon is something we ignore at our terrible..." Read more

"...It is well-written, thoroughly researched, and it is an expose of a company that every American should be aware of...." Read more

11 customers mention "Journalistic quality"8 positive3 negative

Customers praise the book's journalistic quality, noting it is an awesome piece of work by one of the best investigative journalists around.

"...I learned that I did not. He is an excellent investigative journalist and a leading expert on several major contemporary issues, including the rise..." Read more

"...by Mr. Scahill - is that he's an absolutely top-notch researcher and reporter...." Read more

"...biases, the reader almost immediately realizes that there is no attempt at objectivity and quickly comes to distrust the writer...." Read more

"Jeremy Scahill is one of the best investigative journalists around, in my humble opinion...." Read more

23 customers mention "Suspenseful"11 positive12 negative

Customers have mixed reactions to the suspenseful elements of the book, with some finding it scary and the most frightening book they've read, while others find it not captivating.

"...an excellent job piecing together the very informative and somewhat disturbing story about the rise of Eric Prince, Blackwater and the use of for..." Read more

"...contained in this book, is a gross exaggeration and erroneous twisting of the facts to suit the author's personal agenda...." Read more

"...some sort of exposé, but the author gives Blackwater this highly appealing aura of danger and excitement and glamour...." Read more

"...The scariest part is that they can kill with impunity, and I'm quite sure they do...." Read more

13 customers mention "Value for money"9 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's value for money, with some finding it worth every penny while others consider it very costly.

"...I would guarantee the book's meticulously and well researched dollar amounts, fact checking & research...." Read more

"...But i found that the amount of information in this book makes it worth every penny." Read more

"...adminstration has taken to run this country is very inefficent and costly. But government itself does not have to be that way...." Read more

"Reasonable price, very informative about the company and U.S foreign policy aspect." Read more

8 customers mention "History"5 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's historical content, with some finding it great while others criticize it for being filled with worthless political anti-war diatribe.

"...Blackwater doesn't begin on Sep.11 ,in many ways ,it encapsulates the history of modern warfare...." Read more

"...Book is full of worthless political anti-war diatribe!..." Read more

"...Where this book shines is a thorough history of the Iraq war in a writing style that easy to follow...." Read more

"...written from the perspective of the Iraqis and illustrates the interconnected priorities of war, dogma, and the religious right." Read more

21 customers mention "Bias"0 positive21 negative

Customers criticize the book for being biased, with multiple reviews noting the author's extreme left-wing perspective.

"...He was obviously bias, and as such, the wrong person to write this book...." Read more

"...level of religious intolerance on the American left is both intellectually dishonest and shows quite a high level of intolerance for the other..." Read more

"...However, the book overflows with his political biases, the reader almost immediately realizes that there is no attempt at objectivity and quickly..." Read more

"...However, early into the book it is clear that the author lacks objectivity and balance...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

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Alan Beggerow
A Telling Book For Troubled Times
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2007
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Privatization of government is the trend. The myth that private business is more efficient than government is being exploited to the maximum. To be sure, the present course this adminstration has taken to run this country is very inefficent and costly. But government itself does not have to be that way. Therein lies the myth.

One of the most disturbing aspects of this privatization 'push' concerns the military. Again the myths are everywhere: The military is inefficient, private companies can do a better job, ad finitum. It is one thing to contract out the mess hall and laundry services (although even these services aren't any better or less costly than when the military itself did them) but when private companies are hired to provide security, and in a warzone at that, it should raise a lot of concern.

Our democracy is founded on very basic principles. One of those principles is civilian authority over the military. The hiring of Blackwater and other 'private security forces' undermines this civilian authority. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, private companies like Blackwater do not fall under the juristiction of our military, or under civilian control. Blackwater personnel are in essence accountable only to Erik Prince, the founder and owner of the company.

Blackwater has recently built a new facility in Jo Daviess county in Northwest Illinois, called Blackwater North. They assured citizens there would be no automatic weapons training, while the website offers same-said training. Blackwater spokespersons have consistantly said one thing and done another at the site. No plans to enlarge the site, while bulldozers are doing exactly that. Only leasing the property, but they have an option to buy that a person at the site said will be a reality. The county zoning board has zoned the Blackwater land as agricultural, while the surrounding properties that consist of woods and land that is not currently being used agriculturally as residential at a higher tax rate.

Many of the local people in the area of Blackwater North are very troubled by its presence. There is a group of concerned citizens in Illinois that is working together to try and ensure that the presence of Blackwater in Illinois is held to a mimimum, if not done away with altogether. Blackwater is also attempting to start a new site in California. People there are also banding together to try and keep them out.

People have told me that Blackwater is a legitimite business, that I or no one else has the right to deny them as a business as long as they stay within the law. There are a great number of questions about the legality of what Blackwater has done in Illinois. As far as legitimacy, if Blackwater consisted of only training facilities it would be one thing. But Blackwater is involved in much more than that. For further information about this, I recommend you read Scahill's book. He knows far more about it than I, and has written the definitive fact book about Blackwater and the dangers to our democracy they represent.

It is a book that is very well written. It is also a book that should disturb all Americans, regardless of political belief. The vast majority of Blackwater contracts are with the U.S.Government. Blackwater employees make from 5-10 times what our military personnel make. In essence, taxpayers are paying more for the same services than what our own troops get paid. All the while, funding for our veteran's is being cut, and increases in pay for our troops is denied. That to me is criminal.

Get the book. Read it. Get involved with stopping Blackwater, the world's most powerful mercenary army, funded by the United States of America.

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Malvin
Democracy under assault
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2007
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
"Blackwater" by Jeremy Scahill is a chilling story about America's fractured democracy. Mr. Scahill has written skillfully about an underreported issue that should be a cause of alarm and concern for everyone. Supporting his narrative with painstaking research and analysis, the author shows how modern mercenary forces are empowered by a potent mix of neoliberal, national and religious ideologies. That Blackwater and other unaccountable private armies have the firepower to disrupt most governments and have been deployed on U.S. soil makes it clear that America is currently subverting its democratic ideals in its pursuit of imperial power at home and abroad.

Mr. Scahill profiles the founder of Blackwater and his privileged family's long history of activism in extreme right-wing political and religious causes. We learn that Blackwater first found a niche for its services in the 1990s when it gained advantage from the relatively modest outsourcing tendencies afforded to it by the Clinton administration. Of course, the latter Bush administration's agenda of channeling as much government largess as possible to its corporate patrons in the energy, defense and other strategic industries opened the floodgates for Blackwater and other security firms, especially in the wake of public anxiety and fear stemming from the 9/11 attacks. However, the author draws our attention to the fact the fog of war has allowed billions of dollars to be irresponsibly spent on security projects with little to no oversight and with questionable benefit to taxpayers.

The tragic act of mob violence that claimed the lives of four Blackwater employees is detailed by Mr. Scahill. The soldier's families share their anger about Blackwater's negligence in the incident. In discussing the families' pursuit of justice, the author reveals how Blackwater has managed to successfully evade legal accountability for its actions. We understand that the Bush administration's legal maneuvers in support of Blackwater suggests how much the government values the strategic role that mercenary forces might be playing with respect to prisoner renditions, torture and other shadowy activities that are supposedly justified by the war on terror.

Mr. Scahill goes on to discuss many other related issues, including the role of mercenary forces in protecting government officials and supply routes in the Iraq War; the overthrow of governments and pipeline protection in the Caspian Sea region; the deployment of Blackwater forces to New Orleans; and the incorporation of a Blackwater subsidiary in Barbados that positions its services outside U.S. jurisdiction and control. The evidence collected by Mr. Scahill demonstrates that violence can and will be purchased by governments who wish to impose policies without the constraining influence of popular consent; worse, these forces are becoming readily available to corporations and individuals who might be seeking to consolidate or gain power. Obviously, these developments call into serious question the future viability of democracy in America.

I highly recommend this important book to everyone.

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Top reviews from other countries

Miguel Lopez
One of the bests books!!!
Reviewed in Canada on September 17, 2022
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Everybody need to read this book!

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Amazon Customer
Good read and educating it's shows how the US and ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2017
Verified Purchase
Goes on a bit at times repeating its self. I have learnt that the UK is not the only country hell bent on privatising everything.
Good read and educating it's shows how the US and UK completely messed up Iraq.

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karlovac
A Dynamite!!!
Reviewed in Germany on October 4, 2012
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
As the title tells us, this book describes the rise of "Blackwater" to its prominence. The author goes back to the beginnings of the Prince family, the cultural and ideological background of family members and their philosophy. That is already scary but it gets worse.

In the next step he describes which political forces made possible a rise of a mercenary force that can overthrow governments if they decline a wish of US government. What the world doesn't know is that in Iraq und Afghanistan the number of mercenaries equalled (by now probably exceeds) the number of soldiers. The difference is that these mercenaries obey no law. They shoot at everything that crosses their path: men, women, children, elderly. Only Catholics get recruited and among them are former Pinochet soldiers and South African Apartheid garbage. And they cannot be prosecuted. George W. Bush and his puppet Paul Bremer made it possible. The mercenaries are paid by taxpayer's money while the real soldiers are denied financial help after their service in an unnecessary war.

The damage that George W. Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney caused to this world is irreparable. They didn't need to search for WMD in Iraq; they created them.

Furthermore, the book talks also about the positioning of these killers as "peace keepers". No, it is not a joke. They want to go to crisis areas instead of UN forces. The same guys that were heard saying: "I didn't do much killing today. Only a pit bull that attacked me."

The book is incredible!!! It is well-researched and well-written. It reads like a finest thriller but, unfortunately, it is not fiction. Real people are dying.

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Rajeev
good service
Reviewed in India on October 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
Nice Book and Good service

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oikos
A detailed study how the founder of Blackwater,Eric Prince,closely connected with George W.Bush
Reviewed in Japan on February 9, 2016
Verified Purchase
This guy,Eric Prince,shares the extreme right Christian faith with George W.Bush.Together they launched this crusade against Moslim world.Also we can learn everything is about making money when America goes to war.

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Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated] Paperback – May 27, 2008

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Telling Book For Troubled Times

5.0 out of 5 stars Democracy under assault

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the bests books!!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Good read and educating it's shows how the US and ...

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dynamite!!!

5.0 out of 5 stars good service

5.0 out of 5 stars A detailed study how the founder of Blackwater,Eric Prince,closely connected with George W.Bush

A Telling Book For Troubled Times

Democracy under assault

One of the bests books!!!

Good read and educating it's shows how the US and ...

A Dynamite!!!

good service

A detailed study how the founder of Blackwater,Eric Prince,closely connected with George W.Bush