Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated] | ![Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army [Revised and Updated]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ZopVuqGsL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Author: Jeremy Scahill
Publisher: Nation Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $10.34
You Save: $6.61 (39%)
New (27) from $10.34
Avg. Customer Rating:  225 reviews
Sales Rank: 1021
Media: Paperback
Edition: Rev Upd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 452
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 2
ISBN: 156858394X
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.3540973
EAN: 9781568583945
ASIN: 156858394X
Publication Date: May 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
On September 16, 2007, machine gun fire erupted in Baghdad's Nisour Square leaving seventeen Iraqi civilians dead, among them women and children. The shooting spree, labeled "Baghdad's Bloody Sunday," was neither the work of Iraqi insurgents nor U.S. soldiers. The shooters were private forces working for the secretive mercenary company, Blackwater Worldwide. This is the explosive story of a company that rose a decade ago from Moyock, North Carolina, to become one of the most powerful players in the "War on Terror." In his gripping bestseller, awardwinning journalist Jeremy Scahill takes us from the bloodied streets of Iraq to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the chambers of power in Washington, to expose Blackwater as the frightening new face of the U.S. war machine. * Winner of the George Polk Book Award
* Alternet Best Book of the Year
* Barnes & Noble one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007
* Amazon one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007
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| Customer Reviews: Read 220 more reviews...
 MUST READING FOR EVERYONE111 July 3, 2008
Unfortunately the information in this volume is but a small fraction of what has been going on in America for too many years. Naturally none of which is ever brought to the light of day by our corporate owned Media.
If the American populace were aware of the wool that has so long been pulled over their eyes this would not be. As it stands dismantling the Power Structure that has taken over our Democracy (dismantling it in the process) has become an almost insurmountable task. I am afraid that in the end it will only come to be by force with the consequence of blood running in our country's streets.
beware a privatized military June 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is delightful and informative reading.
It is extremely well documented and current. I am very pleased by the author's expertise in informing me with this book about current attempts to privatize the US military.
The reason my progress in this book is not a rapid as with many books is
that it is so jam packed with info and provides information well worth pondering.
In summary, this is a very well written and well documented book and is
well worth reading.
 Black Writing and Ignorance June 23, 2008
1 out of 14 found this review helpful
I read the first two chapters and threw this book in the trash. It is riddled with lies and distortions. I don't see how someone can publish such dishonest characterizations and sleep at night.
Product defect June 22, 2008
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
I received Blackwater and I had started to read it but after 30 pages the book started to separate from the binding in clumps. The binding is substandard, the glue used seems to be grade school quality. I would not purchase from this vendor again if the item was a paperback.
Good but Still Incomplete... June 14, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Scahill's work is a ballsy expose on something that the rest of the world either has deliberately or unintentionally chosen to ignore: The shadowy, sometimes seedy world of the mercenary soldier and their employers. These days, there are hardly any serious investigations with as much breadth and gravity as his work. This is true investigative work at its best in that sense. Among the book's merits is the background on Prince, the real origins of Blackwater, the dynamics both in America, the military, in Iraq, and the common mistakes done by politicians and mercs alike.
However, there are also limitations. I was surprised that Scahill barely (if at all) mentioned the use of mercenaries in history - something as old as prostitution itself (note the analogies). Instead, the focus was on the key players at Blackwater, as well as notable incidents aside from the incident at Fallujah. What I expected more of was a history of Blackwater in terms of lucid economics. Instead of doing the top-down approach, as what conventional journalists tend to do, he could also have explored certain asides, like why old war hands will decide to take up arms again. Even a perfunctory explanation as to the whys might enlighten the rest of us. Also something along the lines of why governments generally decide to hire mercs.
Another thing I found quite disturbing was how most, if not all of the reports were definitely skewed to misrepresent anything about Blackwater though I should probably now by now that it's a left-leaning report (duh). It would be something to note that, as not all American troops in Iraq are coldhearted and bloodthirsty, then there must be even a few Blackwater ex-personnel who see things differently. Finally, the fact that most of the chapters and articles did not really have a strong and consistent theme or synthesis, as well as what should be done with it -- brought a whimpering end to what otherwise seemed like a promising book.
However, as far as exposing the particular threat that Blackwater poses as an entity within a free state, the author has achieved his aim in good and exhaustive order. I'm not a liberal in the strictest sense of the word (I was a Marine for eight years; also a martial artist) - but I'm not a fan of *big* private armies, either (or any armed gangs, for that matter). Machiavelli himself warned of the dangers of any mercenary army, for practical reasons. Think of the various Italian condottieri running amok during those turbulent times.
I debated giving four stars to this book and even wondered if there was such a thing as "3 1/2 Stars." 3 was perhaps the fairest I could give. If the author does a revised edition, I hope he explores more of the merc culture and its dynamics with governments throughout history.
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