Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq - Softcover

Fainaru, Steve

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0306818388 ISBN 13: 9780306818387

Publisher: Da Capo, 2010

Synopsis

Looks at the mayhem of Iraq and the dark recesses of the minds of American policy makers and the warriors they hire.

About this title

Review:

Thomas E. Ricks, senior military correspondent, "The Washington Post," and author of "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2003-05"
"Steve Fainaru tells a story that is at the heart of the war in Iraq: the U.S. military's unprecedented reliance on mercenaries. It is a dark tale that until now has remained largely untold, and is related brilliantly here. To understand this war, you must read this book."

Thomas E. Ricks
"Steve Fainaru tells a story that is at the heart of the war in Iraq: the U.S. military's unprecedented reliance on mercenaries. It is a dark tale that until now has remained largely untold, and is related brilliantly here. To understand this war, you must read this book."

"Kirkus," 10/15/08
"Fainaru takes to heart the old journalistic adage, 'show, don't tell, ' as he portrays men seeking to escape difficult personal circumstances, who crave adventure even if it means losing their lives...An informative, dramatic look at a significant, often unexamined, aspect of contemporary military culture."

"Time Magazine," 11/14/08
"[A] harrowing expose."

"San Francisco Chronicle," 11/28/08
"If Jeremy Scahill's provocative "Blackwater" is an eye-opener about the political ties and big finances of one contractor, then "Big Boy Rules" is another eye-opener--and in the end a tear-inducer--about the loose ties and loose management of contractors' employees"

"St. Louis Post-Dispatch," 11/30/08
""Big Boy Rules" reads more like a novel than a newspaper as it weaves Cote's life into the larger story of the shoot-'em-up security contractors."

"Seattle Post Intelligencer," 12/5/08
"An important, timely, scathing new book"

"Metro Spirit," 12/08
"Chilling, gripping and stunning in its delivery, method and detail...A must-read book for any American the least bit concerned with the actions, reputation, and circumstances of American activity overseas."

"Seattle Post Intelligencer,"12/08
"An important, timely, scathing new book."
"Washington Post Book World," 12/14/08
"The most vivid account to date of the misfits, thugs, and outright psychotics who kill with impunity under corporate flags...this book is consistently engaging and powerfully instructive."

"Minneapolis Star Tribune"
""Big Boy Rules" [is] on the must-have list...Fainaru's skill lies in unwrapping the folly of the war on a personal level that is both enlightening and chilling."

"Metro Spirit," 12/08
"Chilling, gripping and stunning in its delivery, method and detail...A must-read book for any American the least bit concerned with the actions, reputation, and circumstances of American activity overseas."
"Washington Post Book World," 12/14/08
"The most vivid account to date of the misfits, thugs, and outright psychotics who kill with impunity under corporate flags...this book is consistently engaging and powerfully instructive."

"Minneapolis Star Tribune"
""Big Boy Rules" [is] on the must-have list...Fainaru's skill lies in unwrapping the folly of the war on a personal level that is both enlightening and chilling."

"Norfolk Virginian-Pilot," 1/18/09
"A valuable addition to the small but growing body of books on the privatization of warfare. His book is a gritty, ground-level examination of how the lines of accountability become blurred when a nation farms out an unpopular war to hired hands...Fainaru poses a host of compelling questions."

"Time Magazine," November 2008
"[A] harrowing expose."

"Penthouse," December 2008
"If you read only one book about the war in Iraq, make it this one."

"Army Times, Marine Corps Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times," 11/24/08
""Big Boy Rules" is another eye opener -- and, in the end, a tear-inducer -- about the loose ties and loose management of contractors' employees."

About the Author:

Washington Post reporter Steve Fainaru is the winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in international reporting for his coverage of the Iraq war. This is his third book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0306818388
• ISBN 13: 9780306818387
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288