Already a classic of war reporting and now reissued as a Grove Press paperback; Black Hawk Down is Mark Bowden’s brilliant account of the longest sustained firefight involving American troops since the Vietnam War. On October 3; 1993; about a hundred elite U.S. soldiers were dropped by helicopter into the teeming market in the heart of Mogadishu; Somalia. Their mission was to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord and return to base. It was supposed to take an hour. Instead; they found themselves pinned down through a long and terrible night fighting against thousands of heavily armed Somalis. The following morning; eighteen Americans were dead and more than seventy had been badly wounded.Drawing on interviews from both sides; army records; audiotapes; and videos (some of the material is still classified); Bowden’s minute-by-minute narrative is one of the most exciting accounts of modern combat ever written—a riveting story that captures the heroism; courage; and brutality of battle.
#248277 in Books Grove Press 2001-05-10Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.27 x .87 x 5.48l; .63 #File Name: 080213775X304 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. 2 books and completely different views on the warBy Donnie StevensonThere are actually 2 books combined in "Hidden War". The first is a few years in to the war when the writer a journalist; who has been to the USA several time and knows a bit about the west; writes as a adventure; propaganda piece. He includes the feeling of the soldiers and commanders at the time. Several years pass and the writer has been back to the USA and interviewed several soldiers who have surrendered to the mujahadin and been expatriated to the west. Also Glasnost or Openness is in full force in the USSR. The army is pulling out after 8 years of a war that produced nothing. The change in tone of the second book is sharp when compared to the hope of doing their duty in the first book.Mistakes are made by people attempting to draw parallels between America's wars in Vietnam or Iraq. This would be a mistake and reading 'Hidden War' would prove this. The United States is not the Soviet Union; decayed and on the brink of collapse. No is the media as tightly controlled as in the first part of this book (the book was written after the Soviet Union imploded; it could not have been published before then). There are no conscripts in the American Army as there is in the Soviet or Russian armies.This is a good book about a war many in the west have forgotten due to the current war in Afghanistan.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Amazing look into the Russian experience in AfghanBy Greenwich DadAmazing look into the Russian experience in Afghan. Very relevant for US.Would have been good to read and learn from this in 20011 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Battle Scars in InkBy WritetrakAs a Vietnam combat veteran I found Artyom Borovik's book; THE HIDDEN WAR; to ring so clear; true and familiar that I didn't mind the puzzle-like story pieces that made up this remarkable and historic account. As a journalist Borovik covered many aspects of the Soviet War in Afghanistan during the years and accurately and vividly reported what he found. From the lowly infantryman; the elite airborne soldiers; helicopter and MiG pilots; field and political officers; and various mid and high level commanders we get more pieces of the puzzle to slowly put into place as we read. And too there were the rebel dukhi; the 'Black Tulip' casualty flights; the deserters and traitors who fled or fought against their own; the ever present dust and harsh cold of the mountain campaigns; the criticism or resentment the war veterans received at home afterwards; and so many other interesting bits that by the end of the book a better overall picture of the war emerged to contemplate. I have new respect for the Soviet veterans of Afghanistan and salute their service; sacrifice; and courage in their hidden war. Is Borovik's book the definitive history of the Soviet war in Afghanistan? No. But it is nonetheless a remarkable achievement.
