This book was an interesting read. It brought forward a lot of information on private military firms, and in particular the history of Blackwater (as you may have guessed from the title). However, it is obvious very early in the book that the author is far from unbiased. Mr Scahill frequently and bitterly refers to private military contractors as "mercenaries" (as though Blackwater is no different from the real mercenaries Gaddafi used against his own people). He spares no effort to demean conservatism and private enterprise. Despicably, more than once throughout the book he sews anti-Christian sentiment, while he shows no discernable opposition to or dislike of the Islamic terrorists who have taken the lives of so many and whom Blackwater fought to rid the world of. Bottom line? This book is a good read, especially in the post-Christmas winter blahs or the hot boring days of summer. There are few, if any, books out there that will provide as much information on the intriguing world of private military firms as this one. Just remember: when reading this book, turn your head a ways to the right, because Mr Scahill is doing a long larboard-leaning doughnut on this ride.

A very informative book that gives interesting insight into PMC's (private military contractor), but from the first page on the author only tries to destroy the reputation of Blackwater PMC (now called Xe Services LLC), and it's owner Erik Prince. While Blackwater was involved in a couple negative incidences in Iraq, it shouldn't completely destroy their reputation since they have done a lot of good for the United States armed forces, police forces at all levels, and even special operations forces from other NATO nations by providing them with top quality training, and they have also kept many individuals from the US State Department safe while they were in Iraq, Afghanistan, et al. I would recommend this book, but read it with a grain of salt.

A very informative somewhat alarming account about how war seems to have become less about freeing a people and more about how many companies can move in to profit on the aftermath.