Available instantly

Audiobook
$0.00
with membership

Hardcover
$14.84

Paperback
$12.41

$14.84 with 45 percent savings

List Price: $26.95

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Monday, August 4 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or Prime members get FREE delivery Friday, August 1. Order within 1 hr 37 mins.

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$14.84 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Ships from

Amazon

Sold by

ZynpBooksStore

Payment

Secure transaction

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

$7.98

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime! Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime! See less

FREE delivery Monday, August 4 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 2 hrs 7 mins

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$14.84 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Sold by Zoom Books Company and Fulfilled by Amazon.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (108) from $2.02 + $3.98 shipping

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Jeremy Scahill

Follow

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army Hardcover – March 8, 2007

by Jeremy Scahill (Author)

1,045 ratings

Teachers' pick

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$14.84","priceAmount":14.84,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"14","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"84","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"nZOOd3DQiHe6lpYqHH8IRPkuGfqZVHeQt2z8Wd6cCUQ6oi9vvjr5zVIXcpHRSCzTiXwmNlA6peW9GwR7ic5JtdbU0WAnw5EUGlCCmOChubpdbDZN1Uy3EKcyxloB2iCK%2F%2FBZnwPOYujCobQIsX%2Bw9yLLRoZfkGX5k05mZWLZpCTsbpbonlwujZXV%2BIUNP%2F%2Ft","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$7.98","priceAmount":7.98,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"7","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"98","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"nZOOd3DQiHe6lpYqHH8IRPkuGfqZVHeQN%2FB777ROoEPiz9dt2nH2pKaJkY7duq1u%2F4utRb08WGQr9qkc%2BXyKMHd%2B0l%2BKASPalUlhJWxSyogpX4nvemg1JBg9C7QRes6VTBkNSv037d04pXCGFPhF%2FSpHESgKO3%2FneI2z%2BWg2eMD7i48EjCr%2FMekvzACq5V6L","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

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 working for the secretive mercenary company, Blackwater Worldwide.

This is the explosive story of a company that rose a decade ago from Moyock, North Carolina, to become one of the most powerful players in the War on Terror.” In his gripping bestseller, 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 expose Blackwater as the frightening new face of the U.S. war machine.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Scahill, a regular contributor to the Nation, offers a hard-left perspective on Blackwater USA, the self-described private military contractor and security firm. It owes its existence, he shows, to the post–Cold War drawdown of U.S. armed forces, its prosperity to the post-9/11 overextension of those forces and its notoriety to a growing reputation as a mercenary outfit, willing to break the constraints on military systems responsible to state authority. Scahill describes Blackwater's expansion, from an early emphasis on administrative and training functions to what amounts to a combat role as an internal security force in Iraq. He cites company representatives who say Blackwater's capacities can readily be expanded to supplying brigade-sized forces for humanitarian purposes, peacekeeping and low-level conflict. While emphasizing the possibility of an "adventurous President" employing Blackwater's mercenaries covertly, Scahill underestimates the effect of publicity on the deniability he sees as central to such scenarios. Arguably, he also dismisses too lightly Blackwater's growing self-image as the respectable heir to a long and honorable tradition of contract soldiering. Ultimately, Blackwater and its less familiar counterparts thrive not because of a neoconservative conspiracy against democracy, as Scahill claims, but because they provide relatively low-cost alternatives in high-budget environments and flexibility at a time when war is increasingly protean. (Apr. 10)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Jeremy Scahill is a frequent contributor to The Nation magazine and a correspondent for the national radio and TV program Democracy Now! He is currently a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute. Scahill has won numerous awards for his reporting, including the prestigious George Polk Award, which he won twice. While a correspondent for Democracy Now!, Scahill reported extensively from Iraq through both the Clinton and Bush administrations. Traveling around the hurricane zone in the wake of Katrina, Scahill exposed the presence of Blackwater forces in New Orleans and his reporting sparked a Congressional inquiry and an internal Department of Homeland Security investigation. He has appeared on ABC World News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, MSNBC, PBS’s The NewsHour, Bill Moyers Journal and is a frequent guest on other radio and TV programs nationwide. Scahill also serves as an election correspondent for HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Nation Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 8, 2007
Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1560259795
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1560259794
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.71 pounds
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.25 inches
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 11 and up
Best Sellers Rank: #365,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Iraq War History (Books)
- #76 in National & International Security (Books)
- #400 in Company Business Profiles (Books)
Customer Reviews:
1,045 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Jeremy Scahill

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

1,045 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Review this product

Write a customer review

Customers say

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.

Select to learn more

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.

"The topic is worthy and interesting and it is clear that in some cases Scahill has done considerable research...." Read more

"Very informative ....Not to be read at a fast pace..it causes you to have to think about the roll the US has played out in other countries politics..." 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

"Blackwater is a great read, very informative. Really underscores the waste of human life and resources in Iraq, the war was a fool's errand." Read more

86 customers mention "Readability"77 positive9 negative

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

"Blackwater is a great read, very informative. Really underscores the waste of human life and resources in Iraq, the war was a fool's errand." Read more

"Great book, I just saw the movie "Dirty Wars" which was very good as well...." Read more

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

"Good book. I worked in many security companies so this topic is usually brought up. Good book full of information." 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

"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

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

"...For such detailed material it is an easy read...." 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.

"The Book is very insightful, awesome journalistic work and an eye opener of corruption in Washington and military spending..." Read more

"...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

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

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

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

"...Scary and intelligently written. Must read for all." Read more

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

"...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

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

"...that chronicles the rise evolving into permanence of the best soldiers money can buy. For such detailed material it is an easy read...." 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.

"...Biased writing, muddled analysis. Not recommended, there are better books." Read more

"...I think this shows the author is biased, and I have faith that these so-called facts of the authors will be proven to be the lies of an anti-..." Read more

"...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

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

Malvin
Democracy under assault
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2007
Verified 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.

Read more

49 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Fox in a Box
Ignore smears. This excellent, if appalling, book must be read.
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2007
Verified Purchase
Recently I watched an interview with Jeremy Scahill that left my hair standing on end. I decided to read his book to see if I had overreacted. I learned that I did not. He is an excellent investigative journalist and a leading expert on several major contemporary issues, including the rise of private mercenary armies -- some of whose members apparently have reviewed this book on [...]

Ignore their outrage. This book deserves TEN stars, not five. Scahill 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 peril.

Like many Americans, I have followed with anxiety and activism the deterioration of so many aspects of my country's prior dedication to the notions of checks and balances; "official" compassion for its sickest, oldest, poorest and youngest; the Geneva conventions, scientific knowledge, reason itself; ethical oversight of corporations and what they shove down our throats, sell us to use and pour into us when we are ill. Now, God help us, the cynical disgust and corporate greed of this cabal is aimed at the citizen army.

We will right ourselves or we are doomed to continue our slide into infamy and disgrace. And we cannot even begin to do so until we are fully aware of the nature and scope of our distress. Thanks to authors like Jeremy Scahill, we have a chance. No more than that -- just a chance -- to take to the streets and demand a return to democracy and ethical sanity.

Frank Rich is right -- the country is clinically depressed, and no wonder.

Read more

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
AHappyCustomer
Book's flaws don't mask necessary - and frightening - facts
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2009
Verified Purchase
I got this book after seeing in the news that Blackwater USA had elected to rebrand itself, jettison the top leadership, and say goodbye to its founder, Erik Prince, because of what the company called "public relations issues" with its old brand identity. As a marketing professional, I am interested in branding and public relations, and figured that any company that has to rebrand itself to get away from bad press really does have some PR issues. I got this book because I knew the exposure that Jeremy Scahill gave to Blackwater was instrumental in leading to the "PR issues" that ultimately lead to rebranding.

This book is a sprawling exploration of private contracting, the Bush administration's complete abdication of public interest in the Iraq war, the reckless profiteering of all types of war contractors (not just Blackwater), and much, much more. Almost too much. As other reviewers have said, Scahill does seem to lose focus at points - but when he ventures off-topic, it's always to make a point which is important and does relate to his overarching themes. Scahill also doesn't come off as terribly objective, but I don't think he was trying to be. I also think that it's probably hard to be objective in the face of huge amounts of evidence of treachery, incompetence, and subterfuge that resulted in enormous costs, both in taxpayer dollars and in human life.

Whether or not you agree with the war in Iraq, and whether or not you agree with the explosion of mercenary services around the world, there is important information in this book that every American should know. Anyone who still believes that the war in Iraq was about "liberating" the Iraqi people should read this book because you will quickly become disabused of that notion. I believe there was a way to wage the war in Iraq in a way that "liberated" the populace but that is not the approach Bush, Inc. took. Instead, they basically razed the country and then sent in amoral puppets who opened the country up to rabid profiteering, with absolutely no concern for the welfare of the Iraqi people. I don't think we'll ever know just how much taxpayer money went down the drain in Iraq, to contractors who produced nothing or performed incompetently; it makes the financial bailout seem like a drop in the bucket. The real story in Scahill's book isn't what Blackwater did, it's that Bush, Inc. paved the way for Blackwater and other firms like it to rape Iraq, kill its people, take its resources, squander taxpayer dollars, and do it all with the imprimatur of respectability.

A lot of people may think that because Blackwater has now been kicked out of Iraq, this story is a non-starter, but nothing could be further from the truth. The scope of malfeasance Scahill uncovers in this book is staggering and points to the need for Congressional investigations into the Bush administration's misdeeds over the 8 years he was in office. I understand President Obama's desire to look forward, not back and I also understand "forgive and forget." But I need to know what I am forgiving and so much of what was done in Iraq was obfuscated or outright concealed that I don't think any of us really know just how corrupt the system was, and how many abuses were committed, right now. We do need to know these things and it is the responsibility of our current representatives in government to investigate.

The final takeaway from this is just how far down the path of complete corporate rule we went during the Bush administration. Much of the book seems to illustrate the idea that it wasn't really the Bush administration making decisions in Iraq, so much as it was Halliburton/KBR, Blackwater, and other corrupt contractors. It's the same hubris and brazen indifference to the welfare of Americans we're seeing in the financial crisis - corporations, allowed to do whatever they want, have sucked this country dry and gotten away with it. Blackwater is one symptom of the cancer that is killing our country, and that's the overarching role of corporations in dictating public policy. Only when we cure the root cause will the symptoms fade away. Anyone who doubts that corporations have too much power and too much leeway only needs to read this book, and pick up a newspaper, to see convincing arguments to the contrary.

Read more

23 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report

Top reviews from other countries

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

Everybody need to read this book!

Read more
Report
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.

Read more
Report
karlovac
A Dynamite!!!
Reviewed in Germany on October 4, 2012
Verified 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.

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

Read more
Report
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.

Read more
Report

See more reviews

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army Hardcover – March 8, 2007

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Frequently purchased items with fast delivery

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Jeremy Scahill

Customer reviews

Review this product

Customers say

Select to learn more

Images in this review

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.

5.0 out of 5 stars Democracy under assault

5.0 out of 5 stars Ignore smears. This excellent, if appalling, book must be read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Book's flaws don't mask necessary - and frightening - facts

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

Democracy under assault

Ignore smears. This excellent, if appalling, book must be read.

Book's flaws don't mask necessary - and frightening - facts

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