Black Hawk Down

My son-in-law, Army veteran, Ranger, and reserve officer is a constant source of reading material for me. Last Christmas he gave me: Black Hawk Down. I’d seen the movie, an action packed thriller, but the book is better. Or maybe I should say a more detailed and nuanced approach to the story.

As one would expect there are many more details in the book than in the movie. Because a book can move at a slower pace, and no one will get upset. A movie has a time slot to fill and too much material can make the movie unwieldly and unwatchable. I’m not going to argue about which details got left out, but there are a lot of interesting sub-stories in the book.

Basically, this is one of those books I’d read again. It’s right up there with Michael Herr’s Dispatches about the Vietnam conflict. It tells you a lot about men who go to war on both sides of the battle. It also makes you aware that even the technological military might of the United States can have a hard time with a dedicated mobile enemy, especially when you find yourself on their turf and it’s simply men with guns against men with guns, and the enemy has more men that you.