BLACK HAWK DOWN: A STORY OF MODERN WAR, by Mark Bowden, Atlantic Monthly Press, 1999. This new book covers the 3 Oct 1993 firefight in Mogadishu, Somalia, in which a 100 man force of elite US rangers and Delta Force commandos took some 70 casualties, including 18 killed. It's a gripping story -- hard to put it down. Mostly it is about a furious all night firefight, but it does have some interesting intelligence insights. In addition to satellite imagery, SIGINT, and a robust HUMINT effort, they had a US Navy P-3 (EP-3?) surveillance aircraft with all types of day, night and all weather sensors circling the city 24 hours a day. Once the operation got underway, there were three special ops helicopters with color TV cameras that kept the scene under continuous surveillance so that commanders could monitor the action in real time. I recommend this one! (JdMac)

Reviewed in AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #15-99, 16 Apr 99

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