This book is not only true, but is still currently in the news. The recent charges against 14 of the mercenaries for killing innocent civilians (women and children) will keep this story on the front pages for quite some time to come. As for the writing itself , the author won a pulitzer prize for the story. What more needs to be said? I live very near one of the men in the story so I had a special interest in reading it. It is a book for all to read regardless of your views on the war. You will find things out that no T.V. or newspaper will take the time to report....HIGHLY RECOMENDED!!!!!!!!!!!

As an honorably discharged Viet Nam era veteran I try to keep an insightful eye on the transformations that seem to inevitably take place in every war... as assuredly as night follows day. From the battle field strategies maneuvering battalions... to the increasing use of sniper teams... to the current... almost unbelievable use of large... larger... and largest... *PRIVATE ARMIES*. Call them mercenaries (merc's) if you desire... but in today's reality it has almost become a militarized-privatized-Fortune-500 Army. There's an old expression that says "art imitates life"... well I am a witness to "life imitating art"! About a year ago I read a military novel that was built around a Bill Gates type character... who instead of owning Microsoft... he owned a gigantic private military company that would fight America's wars. I thought that was a ridiculous premise... until I read this book. One of the many deceitful things that the author pulls out from behind a very thick government curtain, is how a large company gets a contract from the state department for security forces... then that large company... sub-contracts the contract to a smaller company... who sub-contracts to another smaller contractor... Ad Nauseam. Embedded in the heretofore unexplored upsurge in "merc's" in Iraq, is the fact that the Government doesn't include the number of "sub-contracted" private army personnel, when they divulge to the public how large a fighting force they're using. The government also hasn't been including the "merc's" in their casualty counts.

Once the reader feels indoctrinated into the daily brutality of the war in Iraq... and is shocked as to the almost "lawlessness" of the military contractor's... just when you feel you can't be taken aback any further... you're hit with the legal order that governs "merc's": "COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY ORDER NUMBER 17 (CPA-ORDER 17) GRANTED MERCENARIES AND OTHER CONTRACTORS IMMUNITY FROM IRAQI LAW. THE IMMUNITY WAS TO REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL THE DEPARTURE OF THE FINAL ELEMENT OF THE MNF (MULTINATIONAL FORCES) FROM IRAQ, OR UNTIL THE NEW IRAQI GOVERNMENT OVERTURNED IT. THAT, EVERYONE KNEW, WAS UNLIKELY AT LEAST IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE." The "merc's" were basically given a license to kill... and their utter disdain for treating the local people with respect... defeats the entire concept of winning the Iraqi's hearts. As the author Steve Fainaru (whose brother Mark, is the co-author of the book "Game Of Shadows" that unleashed documented evidence against Barry Bonds and his steroid use.) travels with one military contractor and becomes close with some of their employees, he gets a call from home that his elderly cancer ridden Father is close to dying. This is a beautifully written pivotal point in the story. The entire direction of the story changes... and the author handles it like the beauty of a metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly. Though there was death all around him in Iraq... this is more than the dying of a man's Father... it is the utter loving compassion of a son to a Father... and it is the strength and dignity of a Father facing death... with an energy for life... even though cancer... has taken his natural energy.

What happens next would not be believed if created in a movie script. Right after Steve leaves Iraq the "merc" that he had personally gotten closest to, was part of a group of "merc's" that were taken hostage. The ensuing part of the story leads the reader through the sad... yet beautiful ending of a Father's life... and the untold horrors of the hostage situation... through the eyes of the author and the hostage's poor anguished families. This story will open your eyes to a "new" part of today's war that has not been scrutinized near enough... and it will open your heart... on more than one front. This is simply an exquisite reporting job by the author.

I recently completed this read. I found Mr. Fainaru's depiction of the experiences and lives of the mercenaries to be frank, eye opening, sometimes humorous and in many cases very heartrending.

Steve describes the chronological events in graphic detail and paints a picture of life and death in Iraq. His portrayal of the months leading up to and the last days of Jon Cote's life describe a young man obviously tortured by events from his past and struggling to find peace. His outlet, the Iraq War.

The spotlight on the irrational decisions and careless actions of Jon's employer, that set the stage for the events that stole Jon's life and those of his comrades, as well as, Mr. Fainaru's descriptions of the actions of other unscrupulous private security companies, show how volatile situations are for those serving or simply surviving in Iraq.

I would recommend this book to others seeking to read a well written human interest on the War in Iraq.

Big Boy Rules is one of the most important books to emerge from Iraq. I knew Steve while reporting in Iraq and he was one of the smartest, most tenacious journalists in the field. This book is well-written, compassionate, and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the war in Iraq and all its shadowy tentacles. - Rick Jervis, former Baghdad Bureau Chief, USA TODAY.

Author Steve Fainaru's detailed and emotional story about contract mercenaries fighting in Iraq is not only timely, but also presents a side of that war that needs to be shown. In his book, "Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries fighting In Iraq" , we get a sometimes ugly realization that this war is being waged in an unprecedented way. It certainly makes one stop and rethink the direction this country has taken with how this war and future wars will be fought.

Fainaru lets the reader actually know these me. They are not some faceless warrior. That is what makes this book stand out. He interviews them and finds out what makes them who they are and why some of them are there. It is by letting us see the very human side of this story that makes all that happens ever so more emotional and tragic.

The book is not some dry impersonal tale of a war. The author takes us on a personal journey with some of those men fighting and dying there. The book will make you think. It will make you angry. It will might even move some readers to tears. What it won't ever do is bore you! The book is entertaining and action filled. It is well written and is sure to win this author much praise for his literary skills. This book is brilliantly crafted. The book is worthy of The Military Writer's Society of America's top book rating of FIVE STARS! It is really that good! I personally recommend it.

I guess one who doe's not know or who has never experienced Iraq, would give all stars to this book. Yes it is a good read. However the author stopped short and left out key details on certain subject matter. I got the feeling it was an effort to extort a certain response from the readers. Some of the stories told did not happen, some did not happen even close to the way he discribe. Which may not matter much. However the omission of key details is a definite attempt to produce a desired impact on the reader. For example, the author remarked negatively numerous times about the armor of the vehicles. He left out that the armor worked. Why? He stated that Paul walked up to him and out of the blue, Paul said he was an alcoholic. That did not happen, so what was the authors reason for writing that? He condemed Crescent Security for not manning the the convoy with appropriate security. Why did he fail to tell the part that those 7 left more than an hour earlier than thier scheduled time and did not inform the other 20 Iraqi security members. There many other statements and twisted facts the author was grossly incorrect about. So I must question the acuracy of the other parts of the book.

This is a brilliant book. Steve Fainaru puts a very human face on this largely unknown aspect of the war in Iraq after spending considerable time with numerous mercenaries in the field. It is a personal account as well; Fainaru grew close to several mercs who later were abducted and killed, and at the same time he was dealing with his brother's potential incarceration (for refusing to reveal the source of grand jury testimony in the BALCO steroids investigation) and his father's death from lung cancer. The way he dovetails all this is quite skillful and powerful. Fainaru doesn't hide his affection for the victims in Iraq and their families back home, but he doesn't hide their warts, either. Fainaru won a Pulitzer Prize for his stories in the Washington Post on this topic, and it's easy to see why. "Big Boy Rules" is truly an amazing job of reporting and writing--a very compelling read.

I finished reading "Big Boy Rules" last night. I hope the Cote, Young, Munns, Reuben, Withrow, and Nussbaumer families find comfort in knowing the truth is out, and the story of their sons, brothers, fathers, husbands, and friends is being told.
The book is very well written. As despicable as the outcome is, Steve Fainaru did a fantastic job of capturing the life of Jon, the strength of the Cote family, and the corruption that led to this tragedy.

This story must be told! The public may never be aware of the '...mayhem of Iraq...'. My son Jonathon is the main character in this book. Jon was a US Army veteran, 82nd Airborne Unit, who did tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq. His story is parallel to many other Americans who are attracted to the contracting life in Iraq whether it be for the money, the excitement or the fact that they don't feel they fit in anymore after having served in the war. The United States is putting hired help behind the front lines to ease the burden of its understaffed and overworked armed forces. That's the price we pay for having an all volunteer military. By paying civilians to handle tasks previously handled by the military, the administration is freeing up U.S. troops to do the actual fighting. But the use of contractors also hides the true costs of war. Their dead aren't added to official body counts. Their duties and profits are hidden by closed mouthed executives who won't give details to Congress as their coffers and roles swell. It is estimated that there is one contractor for every 10 foreign soldiers in Iraq; 10 times the private involvement in the first Gulf War in which I served. The bigger the contractor, the more the influence they have to establish the rules of engagement there. Who could have conceived the results factually detailed in this book. You will enjoy it!
Jon's story is at www.FreeCote.com.