
Black Hawk Down
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Buy Now for $26.99
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Narrated by:
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Alan Sklar
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By:
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Mark Bowden
About this listen
Ninety-nine elite American soldiers are trapped in the middle of a hostile city. As night falls, they are surrounded by thousands of enemy gunmen. Their wounded are bleeding to death. Their ammunition and supplies are dwindling. This is the story of how they got there - and how they fought their way out. This is the story of war.
Black Hawk Down drops you into a crowded marketplace in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia with the U.S. Special Forces and puts you in the middle of the most intense firelight American soldiers have fought since the Vietnam war.
Late in the afternoon of Sunday, October 3, 1993, the soldiers of Task Form Ranger were sent on a mission to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord and return to base. It was supposed to take them about an hour. Instead, they were pinned down through a long and terrible night, locked in a desperate struggle to kill or be killed.
When the unit was finally rescued the following morning, 18 American soldiers were dead and dozens more badly injured. The Somali toll was far worse; more than five hundred felled and over a thousand wounded. Award-winning literary journalist Mark Bowden's dramatic narrative captures this harrowing ordeal through the eyes of the young men who fought that day. He draws on his extensive interviews of participants from both sides - as well as classified combat video and radio transcripts - to bring their stories to life.
Authoritative, gripping, and insightful, Black Hawk Down is a riveting look at the terror and exhilaration of combat destined to become a classic of war reporting.
©1999 Mark Bowden (P)2012 Simon and SchusterCritic Reviews
brilliant
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A Real Eye Opener.
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Must listen
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Great story
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Masterfully written. Fairly portrayed. I still love the movie, but the book is on another level. Highly recommended!!! (but be prepared for some sleepless nights)
Confronting and enlightening
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Narrated by the Mandarin
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Black Hawk Down
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I watched the movie of Black Hawk Down when it was first released and didn’t really get it other then the overall gist.
Bowden’s book is obviously more detailed and now made watching the movie more informative.
I seldom listen to books twice and hardly ever listen to military ones twice at that.
But this had me for two listens and in a year or so I’ll coke back and listen again.
Bowden achieved his goal of writing a “narrative history” and then some. It’s a credit to him and and the guys who opened themselves up to him for the task.
Although nearly 25 years old the writing hasn’t dated and the subject is as meaningful today as it was then. As an Aussie it gave me a deeper insight into US foreign policy both before and after this event.
And I’ve been sleeping with narrator Alan Sklar for ages now, thanks to his role as the voice of many sleep stories on “other platforms”… although I hasten to add he is not sleep inducing in this narrative at all! But he reads with a comforting authority that neither undermines the gravitas of the subject matter nor rends the listener hopeless at the account of so many needless lives lost.
Epic story. Great research. Alan Sklar is a great narrator.
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The recording is a tad basic as well. It's made of 5 massive chapters, each a recording of several hours. Don't accidentally press skip lest you have to scroll through hours to find your spot again.
Over if you're a US soldier you'll love it. If your not American skip the book and watch the film. You get the themes and enough detail that you won't miss much.
The epilogue was the only bit that was truly worthwhile and it's a long journey to go to get there.
Difficult to stomach if not American
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Terrible book terribly written.
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