
Big Boy Rules
America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq
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Narrated by:
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Patrick Lawlor
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By:
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Steve Fainaru
About this listen
Washington Post reporter Steve Fainaru traveled with several groups of security contractors to find out what motivates them to put their lives in danger every day. What emerges is a searing, revealing, and sometimes darkly funny look at the men who live and work in the battlefields of Iraq: some are desperate, some are confused, and some are just out for a lark. Some disappear into the void that is Iraq and are never seen again. It's not a pretty picture that Fainaru reveals, but it is brutally real and shockingly honest.
Big Boy Rules is an unforgettable leap into the mayhem of Iraq and into the dark recesses of the minds of American policymakers and the warriors they hire.
©2008 Steve Fainaru (P)2008 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
Read it in two days
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I especially liked Patrick Lawler's performance, which made me feel as if I were actually experiencing the events being described. To borrow another reviewers words about a different book, "Patrick Lawlor could read the tax code and make it sound interesting."
Great read.
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A must read....
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More a journalists notebook than a tactical book.
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Where does Big Boy Rules rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Very well, The author does tend to interject a lot of his personal story and life into the narrative as he covers modern security/civilian contractors but that aspect was actually compelling and well written.Who was your favorite character and why?
My favorite character was Jon Cote. He was representative of so many of our guys and gals in Iraq.What does Patrick Lawlor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Good narrative pace and tone.Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made me MAD! When you use locals as contractors, treat them like garbage and then fire them that SCREAMS to me "security breach!" but many of these guys seemed to be "sleepwalking" their time commitments. The tragedy that occurred was 100% avoidable.Stunning look at Future War in the Present
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The world of the private security forces
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very well researched and entertaining account
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Thank you...
Amazing
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Disappointed
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light on story, heavy on memoir
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