“Suzanne Simons is a masterful storyteller. But make no mistake—Master of War is not a work of fiction….A powerful and true account.”—Wolf Blitzer, anchor, CNN’s The Situation Room Master of War is the riveting true story of Eric Prince, the ex-Navy SEAL who founded Blackwater and built the world’s largest military contractor, privatizing war for client nations around the world. A CNN producer and anchor, Suzanne Simons is the first journalist to get deep inside Blackwater—and, as a result of her unprecedented access, Master of War provides the most complete and revelatory account of the rise of this powerful corporate army and the remarkable entrepreneur who brought it into being, while offering an eye-opening, behind-the-scenes look at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A parallel army lives on the margins of the Iraq war-nearly 100,000 armed men, invisible yet in plain sight, doing jobs the overstretched and understaffed military can't or won't do. The U.S. media call them "security contractors." They call themselves "mercs," and they operate under their own rules. 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.

Explores the private security company Blackwater USA, including the background of its founder; its relationship with the United States government; and its role in the Iraq War, the cleanup of Hurricane Katrina, and the War on Terror.

A revealing study of how private military contractors are transforming modern warfare assesses the role of the private sector in all aspects of the war against terror--from intelligence gathering and policy creation to actual combat and peacekeeping--discusses how such contractors are recruited, hired, and trained; and analyzes what this means in terms of the future of war. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

A unique, firsthand glimpse inside the modern-day French Foreign Legion describes one young American's decision to join the legendary mercenary army, the rigors of training, his postings and missions, his ultimate disillusionment with the Legion, and his dramatic desertion. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.