---
product_id: 4351143
title: "Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death"
price: "€ 44.48"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 7
url: https://www.desertcart.nl/products/4351143-black-hearts-one-platoons-descent-into-madness-in-iraqs-triangle
store_origin: NL
region: Netherlands
---

# Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death

**Price:** € 44.48
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death
- **How much does it cost?** € 44.48 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nl](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/4351143-black-hearts-one-platoons-descent-into-madness-in-iraqs-triangle)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

desertcart.com: Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death: 8601404664120: Frederick, Jim: Books

Review: Fantastic...riveting - Black Hearts is the most extraordinary work of nonfiction. Jim Frederick tells the story of the entire deployment of a group of soldiers in the Triangle of Death who suffered the most terrible losses and were under attack almost every day. They lived outside the wire in "the most dangerous place at the most dangerous time" in Iraq. Black Hearts is not just for those who like war books, it's a book for anyone who wants to read about characters, about human character, how it is tested, about how war really is (some passages are difficult to read, so raw and real), how humans interact, how they behave under the kind of pressure most of us will never have to suffer. This book is for anyone who wants to read a beautifully crafted tale, sensitively and fairly handled. You feel as if you were there, watching the soldiers the whole time, willing them to step back two inches, a step that would spare the insurgent a clean shot; urging leaders to choose this course of action, not the one that results in yet more losses, with little overall gain; urging those who ended up committing the worst crimes of the war to hold back, to dig deeper, find the good in their character, to spare the innocent Iraqis their lives, their brothers-in-arms the inevitable tainted-by-association. Black Hearts is about leadership, about friendship, about the extraordinary tests on the character of a person, why those who endure the same things cope, or don't. It's about why some people choose to behave the way they do. (The chapter on the rape of the girl and murder of her family by 4 soldiers --all now in jail in the US -- is extremely difficult to stomach.) There's nothing Hollywood -- though it would make the most incredible movie actually -- or sanitized about Black Hearts, so real are the characters and images conveyed. We need to know this is what war is without, thankfully, not debating the been-there-done-that pros and cons of going into this particular war. This is the best and most emotive book, not just war book but book, I have read in years. Some scenes made me weep openly. It has changed the way I think about men at war, about character, good and bad, right and wrong, how not every leader is a good one, not every soldier is a hero -- a point Frederick makes very well, -- mostly because soldiers and leaders are human, too. But it also makes you realize how an army needs to sort those who can lead from those who obviously cannot, that is those whose errors in judgment have catastrophic consequences, those whose orders decide whether people live or die and, for those that live, how they live, how they cope, how they work within the larger group, how they rebuild their lives outside the wire, inside, if they're lucky enough, and how they deal when they return home. This is stuff we need to know and think about. It would be an amazing book were it fiction. The fact it is not makes it all the more riveting and shocking. Frederick is an extremely talented writer. I absolutely recommend Black Hearts to all desertcart customers.
Review: Gripping, heartbreaking, infuriating - "Black Hearts" is a brilliant description of combat as seen through the eyes of Bravo Company in the darkest days of the Iraq War. It serves as a case study for the negative impacts of poor leadership in today's Army and the general effects of heavy combat on young and strung-out soldiers. Frederick tells his story masterfully, obviously passionate about his subject, but remaining subjective enough to where he is able to describe things in such a manner that the reader is able to make their own decisions. This story is nothing short of a tragedy, and by the end, the reader is absolutely appalled at much of the cast of characters, many of whom work to bring about a series of horrible events for all parties involved.. The description of daily life is unbelievable for anyone who thinks they knew what the war was like for American troops. The multi-day stints at poorly defended checkpoints manned by three or four privates with zero supervision is something I didn't realize happened. The descriptions of combat are also top-notch, particularly one very gripping passage about the mental anguish soldiers faced while simply driving around, wondering if each second would be their last at the hands of a massive IED. Many characters in the story are sympathetic, generally at the platoon or company level, while the battalion level leadership is shown to be infuriatingly incompetent. I was especially incensed at the end, where you find out (SPOILER ALERT) that Kunk was promoted to colonel and Bravo's sympathetic yet clearly incompetent commander is an operations officer somewhere in the Army. Frederick doesn't make these judgements, but it is difficult not to make them yourself, for right or wrong. The abduction of US troops and the murder of an Iraqi family, while horrifying in their own right and very well described, are almost caveats to the overall story about this ill-fated group of men trying to survive their year in Iraq. Overall, this is an incredible book that serves to show a lot of what was (and still is) wrong with the Army's senior leadership. Still, even though there are antagonists at every level here, Frederick isn't indicating the US Army; there are good guys too, and plenty of them, which the author makes extremely clear. I'm glad to see the Army is taking this book seriously and using it as a learning tool for its leaders. This is a hugely important book and I can't thank Jim Frederick enough for writing it.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #27,277 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2 in Iraq History (Books) #5 in Iraq War Biographies #13 in Iraq War History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,682) |
| Dimensions  | 5.14 x 1 x 8.03 inches |
| Edition  | 33338th |
| ISBN-10  | 0307450767 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0307450760 |
| Item Weight  | 12.8 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 464 pages |
| Publication date  | February 1, 2011 |
| Publisher  | Crown |

## Images

![Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/817r75d+IrL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fantastic...riveting
*by B***R on February 9, 2010*

Black Hearts is the most extraordinary work of nonfiction. Jim Frederick tells the story of the entire deployment of a group of soldiers in the Triangle of Death who suffered the most terrible losses and were under attack almost every day. They lived outside the wire in "the most dangerous place at the most dangerous time" in Iraq. Black Hearts is not just for those who like war books, it's a book for anyone who wants to read about characters, about human character, how it is tested, about how war really is (some passages are difficult to read, so raw and real), how humans interact, how they behave under the kind of pressure most of us will never have to suffer. This book is for anyone who wants to read a beautifully crafted tale, sensitively and fairly handled. You feel as if you were there, watching the soldiers the whole time, willing them to step back two inches, a step that would spare the insurgent a clean shot; urging leaders to choose this course of action, not the one that results in yet more losses, with little overall gain; urging those who ended up committing the worst crimes of the war to hold back, to dig deeper, find the good in their character, to spare the innocent Iraqis their lives, their brothers-in-arms the inevitable tainted-by-association. Black Hearts is about leadership, about friendship, about the extraordinary tests on the character of a person, why those who endure the same things cope, or don't. It's about why some people choose to behave the way they do. (The chapter on the rape of the girl and murder of her family by 4 soldiers --all now in jail in the US -- is extremely difficult to stomach.) There's nothing Hollywood -- though it would make the most incredible movie actually -- or sanitized about Black Hearts, so real are the characters and images conveyed. We need to know this is what war is without, thankfully, not debating the been-there-done-that pros and cons of going into this particular war. This is the best and most emotive book, not just war book but book, I have read in years. Some scenes made me weep openly. It has changed the way I think about men at war, about character, good and bad, right and wrong, how not every leader is a good one, not every soldier is a hero -- a point Frederick makes very well, -- mostly because soldiers and leaders are human, too. But it also makes you realize how an army needs to sort those who can lead from those who obviously cannot, that is those whose errors in judgment have catastrophic consequences, those whose orders decide whether people live or die and, for those that live, how they live, how they cope, how they work within the larger group, how they rebuild their lives outside the wire, inside, if they're lucky enough, and how they deal when they return home. This is stuff we need to know and think about. It would be an amazing book were it fiction. The fact it is not makes it all the more riveting and shocking. Frederick is an extremely talented writer. I absolutely recommend Black Hearts to all Amazon customers.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gripping, heartbreaking, infuriating
*by S***Z on June 29, 2013*

"Black Hearts" is a brilliant description of combat as seen through the eyes of Bravo Company in the darkest days of the Iraq War. It serves as a case study for the negative impacts of poor leadership in today's Army and the general effects of heavy combat on young and strung-out soldiers. Frederick tells his story masterfully, obviously passionate about his subject, but remaining subjective enough to where he is able to describe things in such a manner that the reader is able to make their own decisions. This story is nothing short of a tragedy, and by the end, the reader is absolutely appalled at much of the cast of characters, many of whom work to bring about a series of horrible events for all parties involved.. The description of daily life is unbelievable for anyone who thinks they knew what the war was like for American troops. The multi-day stints at poorly defended checkpoints manned by three or four privates with zero supervision is something I didn't realize happened. The descriptions of combat are also top-notch, particularly one very gripping passage about the mental anguish soldiers faced while simply driving around, wondering if each second would be their last at the hands of a massive IED. Many characters in the story are sympathetic, generally at the platoon or company level, while the battalion level leadership is shown to be infuriatingly incompetent. I was especially incensed at the end, where you find out (SPOILER ALERT) that Kunk was promoted to colonel and Bravo's sympathetic yet clearly incompetent commander is an operations officer somewhere in the Army. Frederick doesn't make these judgements, but it is difficult not to make them yourself, for right or wrong. The abduction of US troops and the murder of an Iraqi family, while horrifying in their own right and very well described, are almost caveats to the overall story about this ill-fated group of men trying to survive their year in Iraq. Overall, this is an incredible book that serves to show a lot of what was (and still is) wrong with the Army's senior leadership. Still, even though there are antagonists at every level here, Frederick isn't indicating the US Army; there are good guys too, and plenty of them, which the author makes extremely clear. I'm glad to see the Army is taking this book seriously and using it as a learning tool for its leaders. This is a hugely important book and I can't thank Jim Frederick enough for writing it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by M***K on July 24, 2020*

The book is extremely well written by a professional journalist. Throughout the book the writer tries to remain objective about the circumstances of the descent into madness. I left the book reflecting on how any military professional could find themselves in this situation if they were presented with as challenging circumstances. It is extremely compelling reading. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the Iraq conflict and military ethics.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death
- Just War and Human Rights: Fighting with Right Intention (Suny Press Open Access)
- The Morality of War

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.nl/products/4351143-black-hearts-one-platoons-descent-into-madness-in-iraqs-triangle](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/4351143-black-hearts-one-platoons-descent-into-madness-in-iraqs-triangle)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Netherlands*
*Store origin: NL*
*Last updated: 2026-03-05*