- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown; UNKNOWN edition (18 Feb 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1408702649
- ISBN-13: 978-1408702642
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 113,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Task Force Black
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Review
** 'This is an essential record of a remarkable military period. Too often Special Forces operations are shrouded in uncontextual mystery, rendering many works about them speculative homoerotic hagiographies. Urban is immune to such nonsense (Sam Kiley, THE TIMES )
** 'In this ground-breaking investigation into the SAS war in Iraq between 2003 and 2009, Mark Urban has worked his way around all that and, with obvious top access, has put together one of the few truly authentic accounts of the modern SAS outside the wo (Stephen Grey, SUNDAY TIMES )
** 'That Mark Urban, a BBC journalist also known for excellent recent books on the Napoleonic Wars, has been able to tell this story is a testament to his determination and investigative skill. Few reporters succeed in cultivating any sources within the closed world of the British special forces; Urban has found dozens who have spoken with unprecedented candour. The result is gripping and troubling in equal measure and an invaluable addition to the increasingly comprehensive literature on the Iraq war. (Jason Burke, OBSERVER )
** 'Urban's book, Task Force Black, deserves to do well. It is the first account, as full as it can be under the circumstances, of the clandestine war waged by the SAS and their Royal Marines equivalent, the SBS, alongside US Delta Force in the height of (Kim Sengupta, INDEPENDENT )
** 'In this ground-breaking investigation into the SAS war in Iraq between 2003 and 2009, Mark Urban has worked his way around all that and, with obvious top access, has put together one of the few truly authentic accounts of the modern SAS outside the wo (Stephen Grey, SUNDAY TIMES )
** 'That Mark Urban, a BBC journalist also known for excellent recent books on the Napoleonic Wars, has been able to tell this story is a testament to his determination and investigative skill. Few reporters succeed in cultivating any sources within the closed world of the British special forces; Urban has found dozens who have spoken with unprecedented candour. The result is gripping and troubling in equal measure and an invaluable addition to the increasingly comprehensive literature on the Iraq war. (Jason Burke, OBSERVER )
** 'Urban's book, Task Force Black, deserves to do well. It is the first account, as full as it can be under the circumstances, of the clandestine war waged by the SAS and their Royal Marines equivalent, the SBS, alongside US Delta Force in the height of (Kim Sengupta, INDEPENDENT )
Book Description
* The real story of Britain's war in Iraq has never been told - until now...
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
First of all, I have to say that all the negative reviews that Urban receives here on Amazon are quite clearly coming from people who think they are purchasing a novel in the vain of Andy McNab; they are seeking entertainment, not education. And make no mistake, it is education that Urban provides here, and yet again as he has done before, he combines a journalistic ability to expose what we knew little of before, and combine it with a broad picture analysis of the importance of these events to the wider story of Iraq.
I am ex-British Army, and currently writing my PhD on the use of intelligence, as well as researching on the use of special forces, and this book is one of the finest texts available to educate. This is because instead of glorifying gun battles and giving us nerdy details of the raids (Andy McNab has unfortunately corrupted the market in this regard) Urban instead details how the SAS operated throughout the Iraq campaign. We get all the detail you could want, tactical level details, through to operational intents, to campaign level strategic thinking. This is most important when hearing how the SAS were brought into the campaign design of General McChrystal. If you treat this book as an edification as to how contemporary counter-terrorist operations were conceived and operated with SOF execution, you will be nothing less than amazed. Incredible stuff, truly.
I am ex-British Army, and currently writing my PhD on the use of intelligence, as well as researching on the use of special forces, and this book is one of the finest texts available to educate. This is because instead of glorifying gun battles and giving us nerdy details of the raids (Andy McNab has unfortunately corrupted the market in this regard) Urban instead details how the SAS operated throughout the Iraq campaign. We get all the detail you could want, tactical level details, through to operational intents, to campaign level strategic thinking. This is most important when hearing how the SAS were brought into the campaign design of General McChrystal. If you treat this book as an edification as to how contemporary counter-terrorist operations were conceived and operated with SOF execution, you will be nothing less than amazed. Incredible stuff, truly.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A really interesting insight into what was going on in the 2003 Iraq war (post invasion).
If like me you got sick of seeing and hearing the same old government press releases via 24 hour news about the events then this book shows what some of the special forces and intelligence departments were doing.
The use of mobile technology and JSTARS to locate and track targets was very interesting and reveals much about the kind of war that was happening in Iraq. It also lends some inside information on how the military machine fights terrorists and other groups. 'Asymmetrical Warfare' I think was Donald Rumsfeld's description of it, maybe this is it?
The book also reveals many of the shortcomings of the military strategy in Iraq alongside the mismanagement of special forces unique abilities. It also reveals the success and near miss of some of these SF operations and the hunt for some of the worst terrorists we have ever seen.
This is the best book on modern special forces warfare I have read so far and it is highly recommended. I got through this in no time.
If like me you got sick of seeing and hearing the same old government press releases via 24 hour news about the events then this book shows what some of the special forces and intelligence departments were doing.
The use of mobile technology and JSTARS to locate and track targets was very interesting and reveals much about the kind of war that was happening in Iraq. It also lends some inside information on how the military machine fights terrorists and other groups. 'Asymmetrical Warfare' I think was Donald Rumsfeld's description of it, maybe this is it?
The book also reveals many of the shortcomings of the military strategy in Iraq alongside the mismanagement of special forces unique abilities. It also reveals the success and near miss of some of these SF operations and the hunt for some of the worst terrorists we have ever seen.
This is the best book on modern special forces warfare I have read so far and it is highly recommended. I got through this in no time.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
BBC journalist Mark Urban uses his contacts in the defence and intelligence establishment to give the reader of Task Force Black the inside track on what "Tier 1" Special Forces were doing in Iraq; whilst the front cover of the book specifically mentions the SAS, a good deal of the book concerns the United State's covert operators, Delta Force.
Urban's book certainly contains enough descriptions of door-kicking assaults, house raids, kidnaps and rescues to satisfy those who like to read about modern warfare but he spends an equal amount of time on military political manoeuvring and the concepts behind the strategies. So whilst we get first hand accounts of the rescue of British hostage Norman Kember and his Christian Peacemaker Team, or the killing of the leading fanatical Islamist Abu al-Zarqawi, we also get to learn about Major-General Stan McChrystal's concept of building networks, or of the Iraqi Awakening movement.
For those interested in the political dimension, Mark Urban uses much terminology of modern political discourse - the kind that seeks to make what is obvious, unclear and murder seem acceptable. When one hundred-plus American soldiers are killed in one month, the losses are referred to as "shockingly high"; when over fifty women and children are killed (not in one incident) this is referred to as merely "regrettable." As a consequence, Urban falls into the pro-war camp, promoting myths supportive of establishment objectives: al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) didn't exist until British and American forces invaded Iraq; the US-UK military presence attracted these fighters to Iraq, the consequence of which provided retroactive justification for why Western soldiers were waging the war in the first place. This kind of nonsense is given the facade of respectability by Mark Urban, a leading journalist who really should know better.
Readers who have learnt about the WikiLeaks revelations concerning the routine kidnap, extortion, torture and even murder committed by members of the Iraqi National Army and police and the lack of interest in this by British and American troops, will find some evidence in this book that supports these terrible events. "Concern" is expressed that British and American governments are arming and training Iraqi state forces who then brutalise their own people, is mentioned by Urban but not discussed at great length. There is, of course, substantial precedent for Western forces supporting state gangsters as a bulwark against the favoured bogeyman of the day, perhaps most extensively documented in the area of U.S. relations with Central America during the 1980s. All of this passes without too much concern by Urban because it is the price of building "stability" - again, more state-supporting dogma by a high priest of the secular religion that is mainstream journalism.
Task Force Black still gets a good review because Mark Urban does deliver on his promise to give us the goods about the "secret war in Iraq." As with many books on modern warfare, Mark Urban is perhaps just too close to his subject to get sufficient perspective on what is being committed in the cause of Western political objectives: the Iraqi bodycount, oil and state corruption are all brushed aside in favour of high technology, military acronyms and the proxy thrill of the 2am raid on a hostile target house ("alpha"), as doors are kicked in and rooms are "cleared."
Urban's book certainly contains enough descriptions of door-kicking assaults, house raids, kidnaps and rescues to satisfy those who like to read about modern warfare but he spends an equal amount of time on military political manoeuvring and the concepts behind the strategies. So whilst we get first hand accounts of the rescue of British hostage Norman Kember and his Christian Peacemaker Team, or the killing of the leading fanatical Islamist Abu al-Zarqawi, we also get to learn about Major-General Stan McChrystal's concept of building networks, or of the Iraqi Awakening movement.
For those interested in the political dimension, Mark Urban uses much terminology of modern political discourse - the kind that seeks to make what is obvious, unclear and murder seem acceptable. When one hundred-plus American soldiers are killed in one month, the losses are referred to as "shockingly high"; when over fifty women and children are killed (not in one incident) this is referred to as merely "regrettable." As a consequence, Urban falls into the pro-war camp, promoting myths supportive of establishment objectives: al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) didn't exist until British and American forces invaded Iraq; the US-UK military presence attracted these fighters to Iraq, the consequence of which provided retroactive justification for why Western soldiers were waging the war in the first place. This kind of nonsense is given the facade of respectability by Mark Urban, a leading journalist who really should know better.
Readers who have learnt about the WikiLeaks revelations concerning the routine kidnap, extortion, torture and even murder committed by members of the Iraqi National Army and police and the lack of interest in this by British and American troops, will find some evidence in this book that supports these terrible events. "Concern" is expressed that British and American governments are arming and training Iraqi state forces who then brutalise their own people, is mentioned by Urban but not discussed at great length. There is, of course, substantial precedent for Western forces supporting state gangsters as a bulwark against the favoured bogeyman of the day, perhaps most extensively documented in the area of U.S. relations with Central America during the 1980s. All of this passes without too much concern by Urban because it is the price of building "stability" - again, more state-supporting dogma by a high priest of the secular religion that is mainstream journalism.
Task Force Black still gets a good review because Mark Urban does deliver on his promise to give us the goods about the "secret war in Iraq." As with many books on modern warfare, Mark Urban is perhaps just too close to his subject to get sufficient perspective on what is being committed in the cause of Western political objectives: the Iraqi bodycount, oil and state corruption are all brushed aside in favour of high technology, military acronyms and the proxy thrill of the 2am raid on a hostile target house ("alpha"), as doors are kicked in and rooms are "cleared."
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Explosive insight int SAS in Iraq
I selected this book to take on holiday as I enjoy biographies I and could not leave it down.Gave an excellent overvue to the work done by the SAS in Iraq. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Hughie
Entirely forgettable
I love a good book on military history. But I like my books packed with action and gripping reality. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Andy
SAS groupie
This book attempts to sensationalise the part played by the SAS in Iraq. Sorry but I get the impression the author is a groupie and what is more the SAS come across as the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by fergus
analysis of military ops in a complex environment with politics being...
Bit dry but evidently well researched. Analysis of the politics, power plays and general chaos that pervades both the region and war were well covered and gave a nuanced view of... Read more
Published 7 months ago by P Cavanagh
Could have been better
Quite disappointed with this book, I expected much more descriptions of operations and gun battles. It's more of an analysis of the British in Iraq with its failures and successes,... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Colcot
Task Force Black
I was looking forward to reading this book after reading some positive reviews. But in the end I didn't even finish it, and I am an avid reader of this genre. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Dave Bedford
appropriate parallels...
Well, I started off with some enthusiasm and initially it was all fairly easy going, reasonably interesting and everything looked promising. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr Smith
Task Force Black
This book is great according to my son. He wishes to pursue a career in the forces, and this book encourages him to read whilst learning that things don't always go to plan and... Read more
Published 10 months ago by LAR
Book review
I was a little disappointed with this book. I expected to be given a fuller insight into some of the SAS operations and activities rather than the wider war in Iraq, including the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by DG
Task Force Black
This is a great read about what the Special forces of our allies do when supporting us.As a yank veteran of Iraq I am of course proud of our SF forces. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Jeffrey Furgerson
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