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Blackwater
624 pages
A chilling, meticulously documented descent into the shadow world of privatized warfare and unchecked corporate power.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like uncovering a massive, terrifying secret hidden in plain sight. It is a propulsive, dread-soaked piece of investigative journalism that grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go. The prose is sharp and relentlessly factual, yet it reads with the breathless tension of a political thriller. As you move from the bloodied streets of Fallujah to the flooded ruins of New Orleans and the backrooms of Washington, the mood shifts from shock to a deep, simmering outrage. It is an essential, hard-hitting experience for readers who crave unvarnished truths about the modern military-industrial complex, offering a chilling portrait of unaccountable power and the terrifying reality of war for profit.
- Mood
- tense
- chilling
- outraged
- dread-soaked
- Tone
- urgent
- indignant
- investigatory
- hard-hitting
- critical
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- the privatization of war · unaccountable power · corporate greed · the human cost of conflict · shadow governments
- The writing
- Sharp, meticulously researched, and relentlessly paced, blending hard facts with narrative drive.
- The arc
- Moves from shocking initial revelations to a sustained, simmering outrage at systemic impunity.
- Who it's for
- Readers who devour hard-hitting investigative journalism and want to understand the dark, hidden mechanics of modern warfare and political power.
Content notes
- graphic violence
- war crimes
- civilian casualties
- political corruption
About the book
On September 16, 2007, machine gun fire erupted in Baghdad's Nisour Square leaving seventeen Iraqi civilians dead, among them women and children. The shooting spree, labeled "Baghdad's Bloody Sunday," was neither the work of Iraqi insurgents nor U.S. soldiers. The shooters were private forces working for the secretive mercenary company, Blackwater Worldwide. This is the explosive story of a company that rose a decade ago from Moyock, North Carolina, to become one of the most powerful players in the "War on Terror." In his gripping bestseller, awardwinning journalist Jeremy Scahill takes us from the bloodied streets of Iraq to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the chambers of power in Washington, to expose Blackwater as the frightening new face of the U.S. war machine.
Description from Open Library.
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