lxdesigner's review
5.0
This is an amazingly detailed account. the author posits that it may be the most accurate account of a real battle ever written, and he probably correct. Using the transcripts of the audio chatter, and hundreds of interviews of rangers, deltas, seals, and even Somalis Bowden paints one of the most realistic account of this savage operation.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
This book is about US soldiers who were dropped into Mogadishu, Somalia via helicopter in 1993. They were supposed to capture two warlords and return to their base area, but that did not go according to plan. They wound up being pinned down by Somalians, resulting in seventy wounded US soldiers and eighteen killed. I first heard about this event because of the film, and I was very interested to learn that there was a book about the event. This was a tragic event, but it was a good book.
socialpsysteph's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
3.0
This definitely isn't a typical read for me but I have enjoyed some war books in the past and I knew nothing about this battle so I was curious to pick this up and learn more. I listened to this on audiobook and that was definitely the easier way to consume this. There are lots of names and places and it's a lot to keep track of. This book is just all-around sad; The battle felt pointless so the soldiers' deaths felt pointless as well.
This book counts for Popsugar 2023 for a book with a color in the title.
This book counts for Popsugar 2023 for a book with a color in the title.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, and War
Moderate: Child death
asteroidbuckle's review against another edition
4.0
Watching the movie prompted me to read the book. The book, of course, is full of more details and points of view, but otherwise stays very true to Bowden's book.
There were parts of this book that made me cry and parts that made me angry, but when a book evokes so much emotion in me, I usually think it's good.
There were parts of this book that made me cry and parts that made me angry, but when a book evokes so much emotion in me, I usually think it's good.
dansreading2021's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
residentrunner1_'s review
5.0
"It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting the ultimate practitioner." - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
US Special Forces have always fascinated me. So when I grabbed this book at a library sale and read the back cover, I knew it was going to be a good read.
This was about the Battle of Mogadishu, a US Special Forces operation that was only supposed to capture two lieutenants of a warlord clan. Things went terribly wrong, however, and eventually, it climaxed at two helicopters shot down. Then the soldiers stuck in Mogadishu would be engaged in a horrific 15-hour gun battle that left 18 Americans dead and scores wounded.
This book was eye-opening because since I'm about 15, I have never really heard of this battle until I picked up this book. Boy, did my brain have a feast on my brain droppings after that.
Definitely would recommend for a person who likes reading about war or true stories about battles.
US Special Forces have always fascinated me. So when I grabbed this book at a library sale and read the back cover, I knew it was going to be a good read.
This was about the Battle of Mogadishu, a US Special Forces operation that was only supposed to capture two lieutenants of a warlord clan. Things went terribly wrong, however, and eventually, it climaxed at two helicopters shot down. Then the soldiers stuck in Mogadishu would be engaged in a horrific 15-hour gun battle that left 18 Americans dead and scores wounded.
This book was eye-opening because since I'm about 15, I have never really heard of this battle until I picked up this book. Boy, did my brain have a feast on my brain droppings after that.
Definitely would recommend for a person who likes reading about war or true stories about battles.
nyn23's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a hard one to get through, for several different reasons, even though the author did an amazing job. It follows a military operation in Mogadishu in October 1993, and details what the servicemen experienced.
While I was alive at the time, I was too young to know anything about what happened. There was also a movie, and I plan on watching it in the near future. Even now, almost 25 years removed from the events, I don't know anything about it. As sad as it sounds, what happened is too recent.
This book is very informative, and I would never have know that the author wasn't a military historian. I appreciate his efforts to make everything right.
One of the hardest things for me was keeping all the different men straight. I kept confusing who was who and where they were, what they were doing. But, that's what happens when there are that many men on the ground, with action in several different locations all at the same time.
It's also hard to read about what happened. This really happened, those people really died. There are pictures. However, all that was needed to construct the narrative and keep the story true to what went down.
This book is an important one. It gives voice to men that have been forgotten, both alive and dead.
If you're looking for an account of the Battle of Mogadishu, this is the one. Excellent book.
While I was alive at the time, I was too young to know anything about what happened. There was also a movie, and I plan on watching it in the near future. Even now, almost 25 years removed from the events, I don't know anything about it. As sad as it sounds, what happened is too recent.
This book is very informative, and I would never have know that the author wasn't a military historian. I appreciate his efforts to make everything right.
One of the hardest things for me was keeping all the different men straight. I kept confusing who was who and where they were, what they were doing. But, that's what happens when there are that many men on the ground, with action in several different locations all at the same time.
It's also hard to read about what happened. This really happened, those people really died. There are pictures. However, all that was needed to construct the narrative and keep the story true to what went down.
This book is an important one. It gives voice to men that have been forgotten, both alive and dead.
If you're looking for an account of the Battle of Mogadishu, this is the one. Excellent book.
booksbecreads's review
5.0
I can't highly recommend this book enough. The fact that it was written by a journalist but used by the Military for teaching on modern warfare speaks for itself.
Watch the movie and then read the book, you get a taste for the "Day of the Rangers" in the movie and then learn the details behind it with the book.
Watch the movie and then read the book, you get a taste for the "Day of the Rangers" in the movie and then learn the details behind it with the book.