Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass or Blackwater

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Written by Himself

Author: Frederick Douglass

Douglass's graphic depictions of slavery, harrowing escape to freedom, and life as a newspaper editor, eloquent orator, and impassioned abolitionist.

See also: Do the Right Thing or Barack Obama

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

Author: Jeremy Scahill

Meet Blackwater USA, the powerful private army that the U.S. government has quietly hired to operate in international war zones and on American soil. With its own military base, a fleet of twenty aircraft, and twenty-thousand troops at the ready, Blackwater is the elite Praetorian Guard for the "global war on terror"— yet most people have never heard of it. It was the moment the war turned: On March 31, 2004, four Americans were ambushed and burned near their jeeps by an angry mob in the Sunni stronghold of Falluja. Their charred corpses were hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River. The ensuing slaughter by U.S. troops would fuel the fierce Iraqi resistance that haunts occupation forces to this day. But these men were neither American military nor civilians. They were highly trained private soldiers sent to Iraq by a secretive mercenary company based in the wilderness of North Carolina. Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army is the unauthorized story of the epic rise of one of the most powerful and secretive forces to emerge from the U.S. military-industrial complex, hailed by the Bush administration as a revolution in military affairs, but considered by others as a dire threat to American democracy.

Publishers Weekly

Scahill's liberal horror story is about the company that has deployed many of the "private contractors" who have assisted the U.S. military in Iraq and been responsible for more than its share of death and disorder. Scahill, a regular contributor to the Nation, amps up the scare language in his study of both Blackwater and the wealthy, ultra-conservative Prince family that founded the company, but luckily, Weiner does not. With his booming baritone reined tightly in check, Weiner coolly and calmly delivers the bad news. The parade of scaremongering may grow wearying, but Weiner maintains his composure throughout, offsetting Scahill (to a degree) by virtue of his unyielding temperateness. Simultaneous release with the Nation hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 26). (Nov.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Table of Contents:

The Face of Blackwater 1

Introduction Baghdad's Bloody Sunday 3

Ch. 1 Making a Killing 49

Ch. 2 The Little Prince 65

Ch. 3 Blackwater Begins 89

Ch. 4 Fallujah Before Blackwater 113

Ch. 5 Guarding Bush's Man in Baghdad 125

Ch. 6 Scotty Goes to War 145

Ch. 7 The Ambush 155

Ch. 8 "We Will Pacify Fallujah" 169

Ch. 9 Najaf, Iraq: 4.04.04 181

Ch. 10 "This Is Fdr the Americans of Blackwater" 197

Ch. 11 Mr. Prince Goes to Washington 209

Ch. 12 Caspian Pipeline Dreams 231

Ch. 13 Blackwater's Man in Chile 245

Ch. 14 "The Whores of War" 275

Ch. 15 The Crash of Blackwater 61 305

Ch. 16 Cofer Black: The Gloves Come Off 329

Ch. 17 Death Squads, Mercenaries, and the "Salvador Option" 349

Ch. 18 Joseph Schmitz: Christian Soldier 365

Ch. 19 Blackwater Down: Baghdad on the Bayou 359

Ch. 20 "The Knights of the Round Table" 409

Epilogue: Blackwater Beyond Bush 447

Acknowledgments 465

Notes 469

Index 585