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A review by redsg
Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent Into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death by Jim Frederick
4.0
How do I even begin reviewing this book? Everyone who has read the synopsis knows what Black Hearts is about, but to actually read it, and experience what the soldiers in Bravo Company went through, is an exhausting yet visceral ride all on its own. This praise is 100% attributable to the late Jim Frederick, who spent days researching and interviewing in preparation for the numerous facts, anecdotes, and emotions contained in his novel.
It would have been very easy to give in to one political side or the other, to paint the disastrous War in Iraq, and the tragedies that happened within it, in black and white strokes. After all, humans inherently react to pathos rhetoric, and there wasn’t much good that came out (and has continued to come from) the Bush Administration’s post-9/11 strategies. And yet, there isn’t a claim or statement that Frederick makes in Black Hearts that isn’t immediately supported by a fact or tactician’s testimony bordering on truth. It is a real testament to Frederick’s skill as a journalist, and he has honestly created one of, if not the, most objective texts about the Iraq War and War on Terror pre-Surge.
Frederick’s decision from the beginning to strive for accuracy extends to every facet of the book including the actions, thoughts, and reactions of the “characters” in Black Hearts. For example, I was thoroughly surprised at the sympathy I ended up feeling towards Steven Green, the soldier who was essentially scapegoated for the horrific murders in Mahmudiyah. The thing is Frederick isn’t interested in creating caricatures or conforming to preexisting notions formulated by the mainstream media. He not only describes, in detail, the backstories of the major men involved, but also their activities and attitudes during the near-year deployment, no matter how brutal, disturbing, or risqué they are. He doesn’t want to divide a complicated issue into “a good guys and bad guys” narrative as that wouldn’t be fair to the actual people involved, or the nightmares they experienced. As things deteriorated, staff shortages increased, squad mates were killed, and leadership failed to act properly, negative consequences happened, and Frederick isn’t afraid to scan over everything with an open eye.
I know I haven’t spoken much about specifics within Black Hearts, but that’s because it’s a plot that you really can’t talk about without losing the vital context, backstory, and footnotes that are contained in Frederick’s writing. I wouldn’t be doing the story justice by talking about my own take on individual elements. All I can say is that, as a whole, this is a work that everyone should read.
That being said, for what it's worth I did have two small complaints about the text that prevented it from being 5/5. The first is that I would’ve liked Frederick to include a recurring page that updated the leadership roster for Bravo Company. Because SSGs and captains and so forth were constantly being rotated by First Strike’s bureaucracy, it was hard, at times, to keep track of what everyone’s responsibility was. I know Frederick included a general reference guide at the end that listed everyone and their rank (and that he repeatedly stated each individual soldier’s position in a new chapter whenever they were brought up), but it would’ve been nice to not have to flip all the way over to the back, especially since it didn’t reflect the changes that would happen over the deployment.
The second is I would've liked to have seen more of Kunk's perspective on the decisions and statements he made. I don't have any doubt in my mind that the portrayal of Kunk as a boneheaded, volatile, demoralizing leader was accurate (or that he played a genuine role in the deterioration of First Platoon's mindset): after all, I've encountered my fair share of people just like him. But the majority of the time Kunk was brought up, the criticisms felt one-sided. Since Frederick interviewed the man (and incorporates his quotes/views several times in Black Hearts), I feel he should've given Kunk a chance to explain himself, even if that explanation would've dug himself deeper into the ground.
Those are my only issues. What Black Hearts boils down to is this: there were thousands of soldiers deployed to Iraq- what caused four of them, in one platoon, to decide to rape a 14 year old Iraqi girl and execute her and most of her family in cold blood? It’s a question that reaches into all aspects of U.S. foreign policy, and Frederick does a damn good job at giving us the closest thing to a solid answer.
It would have been very easy to give in to one political side or the other, to paint the disastrous War in Iraq, and the tragedies that happened within it, in black and white strokes. After all, humans inherently react to pathos rhetoric, and there wasn’t much good that came out (and has continued to come from) the Bush Administration’s post-9/11 strategies. And yet, there isn’t a claim or statement that Frederick makes in Black Hearts that isn’t immediately supported by a fact or tactician’s testimony bordering on truth. It is a real testament to Frederick’s skill as a journalist, and he has honestly created one of, if not the, most objective texts about the Iraq War and War on Terror pre-Surge.
Frederick’s decision from the beginning to strive for accuracy extends to every facet of the book including the actions, thoughts, and reactions of the “characters” in Black Hearts. For example, I was thoroughly surprised at the sympathy I ended up feeling towards Steven Green, the soldier who was essentially scapegoated for the horrific murders in Mahmudiyah. The thing is Frederick isn’t interested in creating caricatures or conforming to preexisting notions formulated by the mainstream media. He not only describes, in detail, the backstories of the major men involved, but also their activities and attitudes during the near-year deployment, no matter how brutal, disturbing, or risqué they are. He doesn’t want to divide a complicated issue into “a good guys and bad guys” narrative as that wouldn’t be fair to the actual people involved, or the nightmares they experienced. As things deteriorated, staff shortages increased, squad mates were killed, and leadership failed to act properly, negative consequences happened, and Frederick isn’t afraid to scan over everything with an open eye.
I know I haven’t spoken much about specifics within Black Hearts, but that’s because it’s a plot that you really can’t talk about without losing the vital context, backstory, and footnotes that are contained in Frederick’s writing. I wouldn’t be doing the story justice by talking about my own take on individual elements. All I can say is that, as a whole, this is a work that everyone should read.
That being said, for what it's worth I did have two small complaints about the text that prevented it from being 5/5. The first is that I would’ve liked Frederick to include a recurring page that updated the leadership roster for Bravo Company. Because SSGs and captains and so forth were constantly being rotated by First Strike’s bureaucracy, it was hard, at times, to keep track of what everyone’s responsibility was. I know Frederick included a general reference guide at the end that listed everyone and their rank (and that he repeatedly stated each individual soldier’s position in a new chapter whenever they were brought up), but it would’ve been nice to not have to flip all the way over to the back, especially since it didn’t reflect the changes that would happen over the deployment.
The second is I would've liked to have seen more of Kunk's perspective on the decisions and statements he made. I don't have any doubt in my mind that the portrayal of Kunk as a boneheaded, volatile, demoralizing leader was accurate (or that he played a genuine role in the deterioration of First Platoon's mindset): after all, I've encountered my fair share of people just like him. But the majority of the time Kunk was brought up, the criticisms felt one-sided. Since Frederick interviewed the man (and incorporates his quotes/views several times in Black Hearts), I feel he should've given Kunk a chance to explain himself, even if that explanation would've dug himself deeper into the ground.
Those are my only issues. What Black Hearts boils down to is this: there were thousands of soldiers deployed to Iraq- what caused four of them, in one platoon, to decide to rape a 14 year old Iraqi girl and execute her and most of her family in cold blood? It’s a question that reaches into all aspects of U.S. foreign policy, and Frederick does a damn good job at giving us the closest thing to a solid answer.