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Aug 06, 2009

Eric_W rated it:

Addendum 8/6/09: Erik Prince accused of murder. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/sc...

I had no idea the depth of antagonism toward the Clinton election evinced by such stalwarts as Scalia, Colson, Dobson, et al who, in public statements, suggested that any ruler, elected or otherwise, who was not following the divine mandate as they understood it to be, deserved to be overthrown, violently if necessary. The level of their vitriol is astonishing. Place the rise of Erick Pr More...

24 comments like (14 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Joshua rated it:

Okay, first some literary criticism. And I hate to do this, because I saw Jeremy Scahill speak a few months ago and I genuinely liked him. He's brilliant, he obviously knows what's going on in the world, he's a first-class investigative journalist, a crusader for the truth, and I sincerely applaud him for what he does. But, though the story of Blackwater is gripping, chilling, and more than just a little sinister (more on that later), I have to honestly say that carrying around this book and rea More...

3 comments like (12 people liked it)

Dec 11, 2007

Chad rated it:

First, a little background on my own biases: I saw September 11th with my own eyes, and fully supported a military response (of whatever form necessary) to capture Osama bin Laden and break up Afghani training camps for Al-Qaeda. I opposed the invasion of Iraq from day one, though was happy to see one less dictator in the world who had committed genocide against a portion of his own population. I used to subscribe to The Nation, but eventually found its "reporting" to be wildly simpl More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Dec 06, 2007

Phil rated it:

Perhaps the greatest enemy to the United States is its military-industrial complex. Add Christian fundamentalism into that mix, and a dash of stupid president, and one has the ingredients for our own downfall.

This book is already scary, and I'm only 20 pages into it. The author clearly has a liberal slant, but it is also clear he has done his homework (one can also compare his conclusions with current news on Blackwater).

In college, I once wrote a short story called Battl More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2008

Valerie rated it:

This book covers Iraq and mercenaries in great detail. However, I was unprepared for the section on Blackwater and Hurricane Katrina. The author makes the point that guns were on the ground long before humanitarian aid was deployed. I checked Blackwater's website and they claim to have donated time and effort, although they hide behind wording like 'in the first few days', leading one to believe this book's claim that they were well paid after those first few days. I was also disturbed by th More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 06, 2008

Wes rated it:

I picked up this book hoping it would provide some good basic information about Blackwater, with the understanding from the dust jacket that it likely would reach certain ultimate conclusions I might not agree with. In reality, the book provides only superficial information, merely regurgitating the reporting of several already-public incidents, then quoting supporters and detractors of Blackwater and similar private military companies. Mr. Scahill almost invariably characterizes statements fro More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 01, 2007

Nate rated it:

Nation contributor Jeremy Scahill gives readers a terrifying examination of Blackwater, one of the world's largest and most powerful mercenary companies. Run by the Christian neocon Erik Prince, Blackwater has numerous ties to the Bush administration and has thousands of mercenaries operating in Iraq.

As the US army and public support for military operations are increasingly stretched thin, Blackwater has positioned itself as the perfect solution for the neocons...guns for More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 02, 2009

Ray rated it:

This was a difficult book to read. I don't think of myself as a Pollyanna, and I knew, in general, about Blackwater, but I wasn't prepared for the amount of money we taxpayers are paying to mercenaries. Nor was I prepared to learn how many people WANT to go to war and make money doing it . . . . it doesn't seem too much about fighting for good. I guess I am a Pollyanna.

I believe that the book was very well researched, and sometimes I felt like I was slogging through facts. The More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 28, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

These are just some notes on the book so far. If I finish it, I may summarize or review it.

Edit- Didn't finish it. Don't think I will. Content is good and I'm glad he put this out there (people need to know), but I heard him every time he went on NPR, Democracy Now or any other show, so reading the book seems a little repetitive. I gave this a low rating because I couldn't get through it, not because the subject was bad or I think Blackwater/ Xe is a great company or think that governm More...

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Dec 13, 2010

Dennis rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Nov 16, 2010

david-baptiste rated it:

Jeremy Schahill i've seen read/talk a number of times here in his hometown, Milwaukee--a superb investigative reporter--this book really blew the lid off the formerly secretive world not only of Blackwater, but the entire spectrum of connectiosn that its founder, Erik Prince, is involved with--secret organizations as well as public--of right wing religious political funding, think tanks, organizing and lobbying efforts--a mixture of right wing Fundamentalist Christian (Protestant) groups, Cathol More...

3 comments like

Oct 21, 2010

Mike rated it:

This is a tough book to review: it's clearly the best-researched and most-complete work on its topic, but it is also very biased. Jeremy Scahill is a first-rate investigative journalist, of that I have no doubt, but he also has a clear anti-Blackwater, anti-Prince family agenda to sell, and he wastes not a single word selling it here. While Scahill claims he requested interviews with Erik Prince and other Blackwater executives and was refused any such interviews, this is about as close to approa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 01, 2010

AdultNonFiction rated it:

Teton County Library Call No: 355.354 SCAHILL
Kevin's rating: 5 stars

The United States has involved itself in two major wars in the Middle East since 1991. Both conflicts witnessed a host of changes away from the more traditional methods the US had historically employed to fight its battles. Stealthy technology, cruise missiles, “smart” weaponry, unmanned drones, satellite communications, and real-time intelligence gathering all made the Iraq battlefields substantially different More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Previous rated it:

The United States has involved itself in two major wars in the Middle East since 1991. Both conflicts witnessed a host of changes away from the more traditional methods the US had historically employed to fight its battles. Stealthy technology, cruise missiles, “smart” weaponry, unmanned drones, satellite communications, and real-time intelligence gathering all made the Iraq battlefields substantially different from those in Vietnam, Korea, or during the two World Wars. In his book, Blackwater : More...

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Jun 17, 2009

Trevor rated it:

There is little need for me to do a review of this one as the review that encouraged me to read it in the first place pretty well sums up my feelings about it too: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/376... Another excellent review by my mate Eric.

Now, one of the recent books I have read called Mistakes Were Made, but not by me points out that the most dangerous people in the world are people who have high self-esteem and they are at their most dangerous when they are forced to do More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 11, 2009

Kate rated it:

Scahill's book accomplishes what a few different genres can do well. First of all, it describes with journalistic precision and brutality what war is like on the ground. In the case of Iraq, the impression you get is one of tedium and boredom as much as the terror and excitement of living in the maw of death. It also has that Nation-esque documentation of corporate abuses, and an unflinching determination to follow the money that pays the perpetrators of the Iraq War (and other places). I read t More...

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May 05, 2009

DoctorM rated it:

When I was a boy, I did want to be a mercenary soldier one day--- I'll admit that. And in grad school I wrote extensively about Fritz Redlich's idea of the "military entrepreneur" in the late 16th/early 17th.-c. So I dislike seeing "mercenary" always used as a pejorative. That said, I'll say that Jeremy Scahill's "Blackwater" gets points for reportage, for his interviews and legwork. "Blackwater", unlike P.W. Singer's "Corporate Warriors" sets ou More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 08, 2008

Brian rated it:

The first couple hundred pages were great, and then you could definitely see a steady decline for the rest of the book. I skipped the last 30 pages because it was that bad at the end. Although I was disappointed with a good portion of it, it's definitely worth getting from the library if you want to explore specific chapters, as the book is written in a format well suited to the task. Just don't pay the price for a new hardback copy.

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 09, 2010

Cwn_annwn_13 rated it:

This gives a history and account of various misdeeds by Blackwater and their born ultra-rich right wing Christian kook founder Erik Prince. It goes in depth with the infamous Fallujah incident where "civilian contractors" (actually they were former Special Forces guys working for Blackwater) were ambushed, yanked out of the car, burnt alive and their corpses were hung from a Fallujah bridge. It looked like an inside job set up to me when I first saw the incident in the news a few years More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 13, 2009

dr. matt rated it:

overall i found the book informative and important to understanding the current state of things in iraq and elsewhere. most of what i would say has already been said by other reviewers so i will just point out 2 aspect of the book that stuck out to me.
1. it seems to me that of all the mercenary contractor companies discussed in the book, Blackwater seems to be the most professional and the one that most adheres to some sort of "ethical" and/or "patriotic" guidelines. More...

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Sep 09, 2010

Todd rated it:

This book is full of double standards and petty fault finding. I do believe there is an issue with rampant government contracting, but Scahill picks at Blackwater like a sibling annoyed with his little brother-- EVERYTHING they do is WRONG.

He condemns Eric Prince for being a "theocon" who wants to make God have more of a roll in government, but then sees nothing wrong with Iraqi's praising God and talking about how God will kick the Americans out. The feeling I go is that rel More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 16, 2010

Caitlin rated it:

Jeremy Scahill has an ax to grind and a certain amount of bias shows through in this expose of Blackwater's corporate army. That said, the book is well-researched, reasonably well-written and will definitely switch your paranoia on.

The book takes you through the creation of Blackwater and the background of its CEO, Eric Prince, a neo-conservative Evangelical Christian who believes that he is fighting the Crusades. It's clear that Scahill believes that Blackwater is evil and I can't More...

1 comment like

Feb 10, 2009

JC rated it:

I don't even know where to begin! This isn't really the kind of book you like or dislike. It is a book you pick up because you are intrigued by the back cover. If your interest is piqued enough to buy it then you will most likely find it informative, enlightening and kinda scary.

It has a good balance of action, history and current information. Because it is a documentary of a war that is being fought in an age of instant information, it has the added dimension of allowing the reader More...

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Jul 13, 2008

Elizabeth rated it:

This was great; very thorough and well-researched addition to the discourse on Iraq and military policy. Scahill makes no secret of his opinions, but backs them up with enough evidence that the reader can draw her own conclusions (and it's hard not to be equally alarmed at the rise of these private military companies). Very informative and disturbing read.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 02, 2011

Brian rated it:

A very detailed account of one of the most startling companies to emerge on the global market. The latter half or so of the book is a bit bogged down and redundant at times, however the former section, in which both the rise of Erik Prince and Blackwater are cataloged and itemized, is fairly scintillating (and shocking).

The business of war profiteering is profiled very well, and I would say the callousness and greed are appalling if I hadn't been conditioned to expect that type of inhumane di More...

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Jul 22, 2009

John rated it:

Solidly written examination of the rise of Blackwater literally from the primordial right-wing ooze of North Carolina to its heights as the praetorian guard of the Neocons in in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and New Orleans.

Although wrapping itself in the flag of patriotism and basking in the light of god, Blackwater's true purpose was profiteering, in particular milking the tit of the illegal wars of the Bush administration. Between greed and incompetence Blackwater managed to m More...

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Nov 27, 2008

Lisa rated it:

I picked up this book because I wanted to understand how we got here--why do we have as many mercenary, "private security contractors," in Iraq as U.S. soldiers. Why have we outsourced our war? Where did this start? Scahill has written a very readable book that explains the history of the modern mercenary company and how it gained its foothold as a privately held government proxy. He delves into the players, their backgrounds, and the language they have evolved to market and make pala More...

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Sep 06, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

Fascinating expose of the world's largest private army, beginning with the Nisour Square massacre in Iraq in 2008, where Blackwater contractors opened fire in a public thoroughfare and slaughtered 17 civilians with no legal consequences. Blackwater employees, it turns out, are accountable neither to local laws, nor military courts nor the American justice system. The whole book is fascinating...but maybe the most chilling part is when Blackwater sends its heavily armed mercenaries into New Orl More...

2 comments like

Jul 03, 2011

Jon rated it:

This is a frightening and erudite expose of the rise of the mercenary in U.S. "total force" projection. Written from a clearly liberal perspective did not bother me because Scahill was also critical of certain democrats and did mention certain republicans like Gasserly and McCain who are troubled by as quoted by Eisenhower, "the danger in the rise of military industrial complex". As I am libertarian, I do believe in free market enterprise but not when it comes from favoriti More...

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Jan 24, 2011

Millicent rated it:

This is a fucking fantastic book. It is so huge and dense with research but it skips along in intense narration. Classic muckraking on the mercenary, military contractor, "peace and security" industry, focusing on Blackwater's story in particular.

Blackwater began as a couple extremely rich ex-Navy Seals who built a training ground and used their expertise to train military and police in the US. Then they realized they could take all the other ex-special ops dudes like th More...

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