The book is based on The Battle of the Black Sea in Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 3-4, 1993. The average American may recall pictures of starving Somalis, a widespread support for assistance, and then images of dead American soldiers being dragged through the streets of Somalia. What is not well known is that when America and the United Nations sent aid, such as food supplies, it was seized by the warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Because of …showed first 75 words of 742 total…

…showed last 75 words of 742 total…and civilian witnesses to the battle. Because of all this research of all angles of the story, his research does seem credible. However, Bowden remains impartial to whose fault it was that this thirty minute mission turned into a night long firefight. The fact is that the mission was a few minutes away from completion when the first Black Hawk went down, resulting in the longest sustained firefight involving American troops since the Vietnam War.