Special Guest: Mark Bowden

Most people know Mark Bowden as the best-selling author of the book, Black Hawk Down, the basis for the 2001 film by the same name. But this is only one small part of a collection of books Mark has written that detail some of the most instrumental US military operations in modern history. In the last several years he has covered the Iran Hostage Crisis, the hunt for Pablo Escobar, and the final chapter of Osama Bin Laden, as seen through the eyes of those that were there on the ground, and all the while capturing the human element amidst the profuse inhumanity of armed conflict. His most recent book tells the story of the fall of the city of Hue, Vietnam's intellectual and cultural capital, during the 1968 Tet Offensive, and the Americans' struggle to take the city back. Hue 1968 is an incredible book that captures a polarizing slice of military history that badly deserves preservation. Like the book, this is an incredible episode you don't want to miss! "Black Hawk Down" | "Hue 1968" | "The Finish" | "Killing Pablo" | "Guests of the Ayatollah" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices