Book Recommendations

[Medusa]

I'm going to go ahead and judge the book by the cover. Blackwater isn't a mercenary army. Both historical usage and modern international law would not classify them as such. If you are an American in a conflict America is a part of and sanctioned by the American government, you are not a mercenary. Using the term incorrectly is either intentionally inflammatory or shows a lack of understanding of a very basic relevant fact. In either case, I would suspect the author's work based on that alone.

I commend actually reading a book before critiquing it. But it’s certainly easier to skip it, I’ll grant. At the time it was written, there was a substantial period where Blackwater troops, many of whom were foreign nationals, were not subject to the UCMJ and also got immunity from acts performed in theater. That in my view is a merc, whatever name you’d like to give it.

If Blackwater can deploy, as they claimed, in brigade strength, that makes them something more than a group of enthusiasts, does it not ? If not an army, then certainly a powerful force able to do tremendous harm.

Anyway, so far in this thread I’ve avoided judging books i haven’t read, and expected better of you.

[Joe in PNG]

Magical Realism was a fad among the more the literary cognoscenti and the folks who really got it rolling were Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Jorge Borges. They tend to be the kind of books that normal people read and mutter "when the fuck is something going to happen" for several chapters before giving up in disgust. Dresden or Hearne tend to set up very early that there is an element of magic in the book, and try very carefully to make it internally consistent. In Magical Realism, it will come out of nowhere, arguably at the whim of the author, and will give MFA grad students plenty of of grist to grind in the mill of that the author MEANT when he or she included it.

In other words, the kind of book people read in order to impress people they really don't like. Or at least say they've read.

While spending your own time and money to do things you can't stand to impress people you don't like (and who often don't care or notice) isn't quite Hell on Earth, it's still a pretty miserable time.

[Coyotesfan97]

"Doc" in the audible format is most excellent. Thanks!

I used one of my Audible credits. Can’t wait to listen to it.

[Yung]

I've been wanting to buy Kita Busse's Smart Move for a while now. Has anyone read it already?

This is a good compilation of titles with an excellent premise that was related to what I was discussing with a fellow pistol student the other day.

https://www.activeresponsetraining.n...utional-memory

[BehindBlueI's]

I commend actually reading a book before critiquing it. But it’s certainly easier to skip it, I’ll grant. At the time it was written, there was a substantial period where Blackwater troops, many of whom were foreign nationals, were not subject to the UCMJ and also got immunity from acts performed in theater. That in my view is a merc, whatever name you’d like to give it.

If Blackwater can deploy, as they claimed, in brigade strength, that makes them something more than a group of enthusiasts, does it not ? If not an army, then certainly a powerful force able to do tremendous harm.

Anyway, so far in this thread I’ve avoided judging books i haven’t read, and expected better of you.

With finite resources one must decide how much time and treasure to dedicate to any one pursuit or object. Incorrect use of "mercenary" tells me his enough to say it's not worth my time or money. Being subject to UCMJ is not what makes a mercenary, nor does it mean being unaccountable. If the government grants immunity, well, criminals get that every day for some perceived asset they possess.

Has Blackwater ever deployed against US interests to the highest bidder? Are there members solely profit motivated? I had a 2 year taste of the minor leagues of overseas contracting. We weren't mercenaries and I'm not wasting my time with anyone selling that narrative.

[Medusa]

Like most books I read, this was a library book. I just posted the cover because I figured I’d start doing that for books I read and post about in this thread.

The normal definition of mercenary is what it is. Read the book or don’t, but bloviating on a book you haven’t read is not the same as simply deciding what books to read, which we all of course must do. You don’t want to read a book, cool. You’re untroubled by people in war zones not in the us military with immunity from the UCMJ and civilly, cool. You’re good with tax money paying these people, awesome.

The book absolutely suggests profit motive is key, along with sentiments of Christian superiority in the leadership. There is a good deal of space given to their hiring and deployment of foreign ex soldiers. There’s space given to Blackwater’s sua sponte armed deployment to New Orleans and some of the violence it engaged in there. Space given to the actual statements by its principals and leadership expressing beliefs that are troubling AF. That’s why I think the book is a worthy read.

With finite resources one must decide how much time and treasure to dedicate to any one pursuit or object. Incorrect use of "mercenary" tells me his enough to say it's not worth my time or money. Being subject to UCMJ is not what makes a mercenary, nor does it mean being unaccountable. If the government grants immunity, well, criminals get that every day for some perceived asset they possess.

Has Blackwater ever deployed against US interests to the highest bidder? Are there members solely profit motivated? I had a 2 year taste of the minor leagues of overseas contracting. We weren't mercenaries and I'm not wasting my time with anyone selling that narrative.

[Medusa]

I used one of my Audible credits. Can’t wait to listen to it.

Did you like The Sparrow or did it disappoint?

[Coyotesfan97]

Did you like The Sparrow or did it disappoint?

I like it but I haven’t finished it. I got sidetracked on other books. Life of a bookworm I guess.

[BN]

Did you like The Sparrow or did it disappoint?

I read Doc and Epitaph and enjoyed both. I also read Sparrow and enjoyed it. Some real 1950's science fiction type stuff going on for a while. I now have Children of God out of the library.

[BehindBlueI's]

Read the book or don’t, but bloviating on a book you haven’t read is not the same as simply deciding what books to read, which we all of course must do. You don’t want to read a book, cool. You’re untroubled by people in war zones not in the us military with immunity from the UCMJ and civilly, cool. You’re good with tax money paying these people, awesome.

Are you looking for conversation on why the title is pejorative and thereby informative of the author's (hardly novel) narrative or just wanting to make a little jab?

The book absolutely suggests profit motive is key, along with sentiments of Christian superiority in the leadership.

I, for one, am shocked that a book with an incorrect pejorative in the title then goes on to paint the subject in a harsh light.

Perhaps this quote will look familiar to you:

Since I have and have had to live it, I don’t choose to spend time educating those who ask obtuse questions in bad faith

I feel the exact same about this book. I do not believe it is written objectively or in good faith based on the reasons I've already laid out. Or am I to pretend it's likely to be a fair and balanced look at the underlying subject matter despite the obvious disconnect?