Autorenbild.
6 Werke 66 Mitglieder 4 Rezensionen

Über den Autor

Hinweis zur Begriffsklärung:

(eng) Gallagher wrote a number of books and literary pieces using David Hogan and Henry O'Neill as a pseudonym

Werke von Frank Gallagher

Getagged

Wissenswertes

Gebräuchlichste Namensform
Gallagher, Frank
Andere Namen
Hogan, David,
O'Neill, Henry
Geburtstag
c.1893
Todestag
c.1962
Geschlecht
male
Nationalität
Ireland
Geburtsort
Cork, Ireland
Berufe
journalist
writer
Organisationen
The Irish Press
Fianna Fáil
Kurzbiographie
Frank Gallagher trained as a journalist in Cork and joined the IRA following the Easter Rising. During the War of Independence he worked in the Publicity Department on the Irish Bulletin and was several times imprisoned. He later became editor of An Phoblacht and was the first editor of the Irish Press newspaper. From 1939-48 and 1951-4 he served as head of the Government Information Bureau under Fianna Fáil Governments. For a time he was also for a time a deputy director of Raidio Eireann.
Hinweis zur Identitätsklärung
Gallagher wrote a number of books and literary pieces using David Hogan and Henry O'Neill as a pseudonym

Mitglieder

Rezensionen

This book was like sitting down at the bar with a bunch of guys and listening to war stories. I loved it. It took me back to those days when, as a program manager, I visited my contractor team in Baghdad and listened to their stories. They were not protective detail like Gallagher but they had plenty of stories to tell.

Frank Gallagher does an excellent job of keeping it real and keeping it interesting. You can rest assured that they never had a boring day. It takes a special type to do the job they did. They are basically adrenaline junkies so boredom is not an option for them.

Back in 2003-2004 the country of Iraq had no official government. The Coalition Provisional Authority was established and J. Paul Bremer was appointed as ambassador. For the first time ever an American civilian was running the government of another country. This did not set well with some Iraqis and certainly not with the insurgents. Bremer became the most threatened man in the world. This threat carried over to the Blackwater detail leader who was responsible for the detail team. That leader was Frank Gallagher.

The book was hard to put down as tense month followed tense month. The detail team's goal - keep Bremer alive. Allow Bremer to do his job without even thiking about what his protectors were doing. Gallagher had the additional responsibility of looking after his men. He did a phenomenal job of protecting Bremer whose safety always came first and dealing with the needs of his men. These guys have strong egos. Some men assigned to the detail did not pass muster and were quickly put on a return flight home. Everyone had to be top notch. Mess up and someone could die. Not an option!

I loved reading of the ballet-like movement of the drivers - how the lead car and follow car always smoothly moved into position to protect the car with the ambassador. These drivers were magical. As he says in the book, speed was critical for safety. With the military all I encountered was a very fast drive along the airport road in an MRAP. There was none of the artistry exhibited by Bremer's team.

The book is action packed. His descriptions are so real I could visualize myself back there. So grab a beer and kick back. You are off on an exhilarating ride.
… (mehr)
 
Gekennzeichnet
BettyTaylor56 | 1 weitere Rezension | Oct 26, 2014 |
I can honesty say that I don't remember hearing about the big Blackwater scandal. Of course, I don't follow the news too much. I feel that the news that is reported is not a true and accurate account of events and is one sided. Not really freedom of speech. Plus it is so depressing to read the news anymore. All I see is crime, killings, and children dying. This is why I stick to the world of books. So anyways back to this book. If you have read my reviews then you are familiar with the fact that I enjoy reading military themed non-fiction books. I saw this book and was intrigued to know what it is like to protect the most threatened man in the world.

I have to say that it is no walk in the park. One of the funniest things I read was when Frank got the call to be part of the Blackwater team. He thought no big deal he would be gone for 30 days and come back. Man was he in for a rude awakening. I applaud guys like Frank and his team for what they do. It takes a special kind of person to risk their lives every day for someone else. I will know add people like Frank to my list of people to respect besides the military men and women. It is easy to honor the military as they are front and center but easy to forget about people like Frank. Again, you will never hear all the good things that these guys do but you will remember the bad from the scandal. This book really gave me a very insightful look into what it really is like to protect the most threatened man in the world.

Warning as there is language used in this book.
… (mehr)
 
Gekennzeichnet
Cherylk | 1 weitere Rezension | Sep 30, 2014 |
This is a very intense read and it is difficult both to rate and review it. Gallagher poured all his emotions into writing this diary during his stay in prison while on hunger strike. At times the diary is difficult to read as Gallagher is bent on sacrifice while at other periods he wants to survive. There is also a macabre piece in where the author converses with Death himself almost reminiscent out of the film The Seventh Seal. While it can be difficult to read it is still worth reading given the historical context and the setting.… (mehr)
 
Gekennzeichnet
thegeneral | Nov 13, 2011 |
A rigorous analysis of the history of Irish partition. The section on gerrymandering by the Unionist state is well documented and argued with very useful maps and tables included.
 
Gekennzeichnet
thegeneral | Mar 16, 2007 |

Dir gefällt vielleicht auch

Nahestehende Autoren

Statistikseite

Werke
6
Mitglieder
66
Beliebtheit
#259,059
Bewertung
4.0
Rezensionen
4
ISBNs
8

Diagramme & Grafiken