Kent DeLong

This book aims to pay tribute to the men who ran the original mission to snatch Aidid and his Somali associates. Included in that tribute are also the other men who tried to reinforce those trapped and to provide defensive security. This book has 18 pages of b/w photos including those of Medal of Honor winners Gordon and Shughart. This narrative begins with the mission itself in progress, so nothing is ever clear about how the intelligence and planning could have resulted in so many show more casualties. Ample space is allotted to the many different forces involved and the obstacles they overcame to complete the mission minus, one man (Durant). Sec of State Les Aspin is given the majority of blame for the refusal of United States Armored Personnel Carriers to be deployed. President Clinton is taken at face value about his not knowing of the inadequate force capability, almost six months afterward. This account is short and readable. Each of the sixteen chapters moves ahead with the following chapter quickly reviewing the action from a different unit's perspective. I believe this intends to immerse the reader among the unknowns everyone must have felt as the mission disintegrated (starting at the top). Lots of men shared in their respective units' heroism, but I read this book to find out more about the now legendary Sgts Gordon and Shughart. show less