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Black Hawk Down |
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 Black Hawk Down byMark Bowden Penguin Books 400 pages, 2000 ISBN 0140288503 National Book Award finalist Reviewed by Morgan Ann Adams Mark Bowden has never seen combat. Despite this he has written an achingly vivid account of the details and psychological tortures of combat. On October 3, 1993 two of the most elite forces the American army has to offer were dropped by helicopter onto the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia. The mission was scheduled to take one hour in the middle of the afternoon. They were to drop in, abduct two important Somali leaders and drive out. The soldiers (average age 19) had practiced raids of this sort daily. They were casual enough to leave behind their canteens and night vision goggles. They did not expect to find the entire city of Mogadishu armed and prepared to die rather than allow the Americans to succeed. The fighting lasted into the night as many died and most others were seriously injured. Black Hawk Down is a remarkably unbiased account of this battle. Though the piece is crafted to read as fiction, there are no heroes. The Somali men, women and children are depicted with the same desperation and confusion as are the specialized combat teams. The many personalities are quite distinct. Bowden characterizes these men, telling of their childhood, their fears and desires. Most of the soldiers enlisted to escape boredom or the law. Most had never shot another human being. The reader is witness to their loss of innocence as the bodies pile up on both sides. The survivors are left a bloody mess of bullet and shrapnel wounds, broken bones and severed limbs. Quite appealing is the lack of political agenda. Mentioned briefly in the afterword new to this edition is the frustration involved in researching and compiling data for this project. Blame is not assigned, rather sympathy is encouraged for the actual moments of terror, not the larger world-wide repercussions. The words will leave you in agony for the graphic nature of combat death. The unanswered questions will haunt as you realize this story was almost forgotten and buried by history. Black Hawk Down is more than deserving of its status as National Book Award finalist. It is meant to raise questions, while at the same time raising the hair on the back of your neck. The fragility of the human body is eloquently expressed, as is the depth of human courage, despite politics and race. Black Hawk Down is a lesson in war for those of us either too smart, or too cowardly to experience it. Mark Bowden lets you decide which. |
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