Civilian Warriors cover art

Civilian Warriors

The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Civilian Warriors

By: Erik Prince
Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The founder of Blackwater offers the gripping, previously untold story of the world's most controversial military contractor.

Blackwater is one of the most misunderstood companies of our time. As Erik Prince, its founder and former CEO, writes:

"Hundreds of American citizens employed by private military contractors, or PMCs, would lose their lives helping our government wage wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, only to have their memory tarnished by the unfair and/or ignorant depiction of PMCs as profiteers, jackbooted thugs, or worse."

Because of the secrecy requirements of Blackwater's contracts with the Pentagon, the State Department, and the CIA, Prince was unable to speak out when his company's opponents spread false information. But now he's free to tell the often shocking story of Blackwater's rise and fall.

Blackwater hired Special Forces veterans and others with the skills and courage to take on the riskiest security jobs in the world. As its reputation grew, demand for its services escalated. Its men eventually completed nearly 100,000 missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Prince's narrative includes newly revealed details about many controversial events. It debunks myths that have been spread by TV shows and movies. It honors our armed forces while challenging the Pentagon's top leadership. Above all, it will make people rethink exactly who the "good guys" and "bad guys" have been since 9/11.

©2013 Erik Prince (P)2013 Penguin Audio Afghan & Iraq Wars Military Military & War Military science True Crime White Collar & Corporate Crime War Espionage

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Razor 03 cover art
Black Ops cover art
Hogs in the Sand cover art
No Easy Day cover art
Code over Country cover art
First into Action cover art
The Operator cover art
All Secure cover art
A Pretext for War cover art
Dereliction of Duty cover art
Immediate Action cover art
One Hundred Victories cover art
Born Twice cover art
Gray Work cover art
Last Team Out of Kabul cover art
Murphy's Law cover art

Critic reviews

"Prince’s book belongs on the shelf next to the memoirs of the other Iraq and Afghanistan war chieftains...we need Prince’s story to help us understand the history of the post- 9/11wars and the myriad roles contractors played in these conflicts." (The Washington Post)

All stars
Most relevant  
Fun, exciting and a great argument for the free market. Thank you Eric Prince for what you have achieved and for making the world a better place

great book, which gets straight into the action

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hope they make a movie out of this book. The truth deserves to be told to more people. Excellent book

Totally changed my perception of private military contractors

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really enjoyed hearing one side of the story most won’t have heard. Slightly sad ending to an illustrious beginning. Definitely worth a listen though.

Interesting insight

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A great revealing book providing a different perspective on what happened in the Blackwater story. Well written and good narration.

The other perspective

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Gives a really good insight into the workings of private military. I have a new outlook on the stereotype now. Well worth a listen

Really good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had the pleasure of knowing quite a few Blackwater and Triple C guys in Iraq. Always professional always on top of their game

It was great to hear the behind the scenes story, I must applaud the honesty in the telling of this story, not just professional but private life too. That took bravery. Well done. Blackwater will I'm sure, be missed

Truthfully

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great to hear the real truth. I’ve heard so much lies through the news.

Definitely worth a listen 👏🏻

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved it ! I was so shocked to hear some of the injustices Blackwater dealt with. Truly Eye Opening. 👊🏻

Had to be told.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is a no nonsense take on how the private sector can provide niche capabilities to warfare which are far superior to public sector capabilities.

Sadly, it is also a no nonsense take on how such superiority goes unappreciated. Instead of accolades, the private sector often becomes subject to unjustifiable activism motivated by nothing more than a desire to spread lies and cut down successful people.

This book is a must read for anyone who does business with any western government. It makes it clear that no matter how good your work is: private businesses doing business with governments are always set up to fail.

Excellent book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you consider the audio edition of Civilian Warriors to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the steady growth of the Blackwater company and how it relates to world events.

What does Jeff Gurner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He reads this perfectly. Right tone and pacing. Superb.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The death of Blackwater contractors and the effects on the family.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful book from an insiders point of view. Clearly the opinions of PMC is a grey area and this is very biased towards the positives. However it's very well written and read and shows the progression and need for such organisations. Mr Price for his faults, really understands his subject. And that comes across.

Interesting insight

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews