Day of the Rangers

The Battle of Mogadishu 25 Years On

By: Leigh Neville, Matt Eversmann - foreword

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

On October 3, 1993, Task Force Ranger was dispatched to seize two high-profile lieutenants of a Somali warlord. Special Forces troops were transported by ground vehicles and helicopters, and the mission was meant to be over within the hour. They quickly found themselves under heavy fire, and two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down. With a hastily organized relief column many hours away, the American troops faced a desperate battle for survival.  

Focusing on the stories of the soldiers on the ground and in the air, Day of the Rangers reveals the experiences and recollections of the Special Forces units, including the Rangers, Delta operators, and Nightstalker crews who fought in the battle of Mogadishu.  

Published to mark the battle's 25th anniversary and using recently declassified documents and new interviews with many of the participants, Day of the Rangers is a fascinating and revealing new history of a battle that would influence American Special Forces for decades to come.

©2018 Leigh Neville (P)2018 Tantor

Wow. Great story

The story told fills in many details about that fateful mission as told by members of Task Force Ranger that were not heard from in the "Black Hawk Down" book. It It's great to know that my old unit, the 10th Mountain Div., fought bravely and were not incompetent as depicted in the movie.

Rangers lead the way

Amazing first hand review of the rangers in one of the most tragic USSOC missions to that date.

Awful narration

Probably a good book, but had to stop in the first chapter due to the monotone sleepy narrator.

Great Book

Great detail and explanation of the lead-up to and the events of October 3rd and 4th as well as the aftermath and lessons learned. I thought it was well-written and with the amount of time that’s passed the author was able to talk to more now-retired participants and build a more accurate and complete picture than Bowden did. I wish there was a way to see any maps and images from the book.

My only complaints are about the narrator. I found his Gen Garrison and Somali accents to be bad and distracting and his normal voice generally grating. Also found the fact that he didn’t take the tiny amount of time it would’ve taken to learn how to correctly pronounce basic military acronyms that are frequently used throughout the book such as JOC and NODs really annoying.

Fantastic and informative

Worth listening to in order to get a better informed looked Into what happened and what those men went through

Sad, but compelling ~

Great listen. strange to hear that from all that was learned (tactics, equipment, etc), our military never seems to learn. or flat out ignores our history by repeating similar mistakes.

recommend

Great listen. Great info. I have read 3 separate books on the Oct 3 raid by TF Ranger and this was a good complement.
I would have preferred a reader more familiar with military terms.
I understand Jocko can't read every book.

Better than Blackhawk Down.

Better than Blackhawk down. Tons of information and first hand accounts. Very well written and performed. Joe B isn’t one of the best narrators but did well.

good read so far but enjoy Black Hawk Down better

I enjoy this book so far but I think it's a little bit more technical than entertaining. I find the history of this battle very fascinating so I will eventually finish the book

good book

I was always curious how Mister Bowden's book would stand up to a firsthand account. now I know. thanks Matt.

A fantastic source of info.

Phenomenal accounts of Operation Gothic Serpent from all angles and brimming with great accurate information.

Excellent story retold better than the original.

The story re-tells the Black Hawk Down story. This is obviously done many years later and with more reference to source material than the Bowden book. This books blends analysis and story beautifully. Many references are made to interviews with personnel and mentions the bigger intelligence activities around the event.
Finally it talks about the big screen inaccuracies and myths.
My advice would be to read Black Hawk Down, watch the movie including the behind the scenes, watch the multiple documentaries, do a little bit of online browsing then read this book to round it all off nicely.
This books translates well to an audiobook however I recommend a little bit of research first including maps and a brief description of the key points of the day.