I remember coming across the novel Black Hawk Down: A story of Modern War by Mark Bowden for the first time and knew I had to read it. Growing up, I loved reading war time novels and continued my love for these novels ever since. Read about the epic battle that made international headlines and find out who won and at what cost.
Black Hawk Down Summary
The Unified Task Force captures a Somali faction leader and now have to escort him out of Somalia. But that is much more difficult then expected. A battle between the United States forces and the faction leader’s militia breaks out.
During the battle, two United States UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters are downed by the militia. Now, the mission goes from escorting the faction leader to saving and rescuing the stranded officers. But they are trapped in the middle of the battlefield with enemies shooting at them from all sides.
Bowden captures the narratives of many of the people that participated and gives us a detailed account of what went down. As crazy as the battle itself was as well as the rescue effort, it is Bowden’s ability to bring it all together that makes this an amazing novel.
Commentary
This may be the greatest novel about war in my honest opinion. I was turning the pages furiously eager to find out what happened next. And yes, I did not Google the battle and spoil anything because that would ruin the fun.
Bowden does a spectacular job capturing all the important narratives and getting the whole picture. It feels like a photo sphere with his writing. The amount of research that had to go into that must have been strenuous and I applaud and appreciate the effort.
Conclusion
If you are into war novels like I am, then this novel has to be on your list. It obviously is in a category of its own. This is a strong recommendation if its up your alley.
Brilliant book review. Enjoyed reading it.
Thank you and glad you enjoyed it