Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down

By Mark Bowden

1.) The primary topic that this book takes place in Somalia in 1993 when the U.S.A military was trying to establish peace in the region. It starts with the initial arrest of two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord, and the story quickly evolves to a new primary subject that was to help and aid the surviving pilots inside a Black Hawk helicopter that was shot down. Reading the book we get a sense of a soldier's mind set of having the will and courage to do whatever it takes to get out with the man next to them.

2.) I think that Mark Bowden's purpose in writing this is to inform the reader about the environments soldiers have to go through in the military. Also to inform the reader about how much a solider needs one another during though times. The author is also entertaining the reader by using descriptive writing. Mark Bowden also expresses his opinion about how the men and women of the Task Force Rangers deserve to be horned and remembered for their courage, bravery and some the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives for not only our country, but for the men next to him. I think that Mark Bowden doesn't try to persuade others to believe his believes, but through his writing it's hard not to see and understand his point of view.

3.) I believe that Mark Bowden succeeds in his purpose informing the reader because he is writing about first hand stories of what happened to real soldiers when they were out in combat. He is telling us about how much a soldier depends on his "brother/sister" next to him, and he does this by writing it in the soldiers' perspective of what went on in Somalia. Mark Bowden also entertains the audience by writing a wide description on the environment around the soldiers and writing about what was on the minds of the men at the time. He also gives a good description on how some characters look and at the same time imagine how it looks and makes you feel exactly what's going on. He also does a great job on expressing his opinion about honoring the Task Force Rangers by saying what they do for others, for themselves, for their country and for us. He also expresses the opinion about how hard it is convincing Americans that the events on some distant part of the world are worth jeopardizing American lives.

4.) The author approaches the topic with reality and humorous at times, for example in the beginning he talks about what they called Somalis which was "skinnies or sammies." Also he says that it feels like you're in a ride at "Six Flags" when you're in a helicopter with the pilots who have an aggressive way of flying. Another example of the humorous approach was when he wrote "If some Third World terrorist or Colombian drug lord needed to die, and then suddenly just turned up dead, why, what a happy coincidence!" Pg.37. Mark Bowden also shows sarcasm and reality in the story when he describes the way some Delta units saw and described Army Rangers. One Delta Sergeant (Sgt. Howe) said, "These were supposed to be the army's crack infantry? Pg. 37. Sgt. Howe further said and saw the young Rangers as poorly trained and potentially dangerous in combat. But Bowden also approaches it seriously such as when the soldiers are in a gun fight or when a helicopter crashed and everyone's demeanor becomes serious. A good example is "A bird just went down!" Nelson said. "We've gotta go. We've gotta go right now!" pg.95 Such words makes the reader feel the urgency and seriousness of the situation at hand.

5.) The most interesting part of the story to me is the bravery that many showed in the line of battle. When the second helicopter is shot down two soldiers named Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon, who were in a different helicopter,