Big Boy Rules - by Steve Fainaru (Paperback)

About the Book

"Washington Post" reporter Fainaru traveled with several groups of security contractors to find out what motivates them to put their lives in danger every day. What emerges is a searing, revealing, and sometimes darkly funny look at the men who live and work on the battlefields of Iraq.

Book Synopsis

From Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Steve Fainaru comes an unforgettable journey into Iraq's parallel war--a world filled with tens of thousands of armed men roaming Iraq with impunity, doing jobs the military can't or won't do. Fainaru reveals in gritty and shocking detail what drives these men to do the world's most dangerous work.

Review Quotes

American Author's Association
"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...It certainly makes one stop and rethink the direction this country has taken with how this war and future wars will be fought...Entertaining and action filled...Brilliantly crafted."

"Washington Times," 2/1/09
"Compelling, brutal, disturbing."

"Time Magazine," November 2008
"[A] harrowing expose."

"Penthouse," December 2008
"If you read only one book about the war in Iraq, make it this one."

"Army Times, Marine Corps Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times," 11/24/08
""Big Boy Rules" is another eye opener -- and, in the end, a tear-inducer -- about the loose ties and loose management of contractors' employees."


"Washington Post Book World," 12/14/08
"The most vivid account to date of the misfits, thugs, and outright psychotics who kill with impunity under corporate flags...this book is consistently engaging and powerfully instructive."

"Minneapolis Star Tribune"
""Big Boy Rules" [is] on the must-have list...Fainaru's skill lies in unwrapping the folly of the war on a personal level that is both enlightening and chilling."

"Norfolk Virginian-Pilot," 1/18/09
"A valuable addition to the small but growing body of books on the privatization of warfare. His book is a gritty, ground-level examination of how the lines of accountability become blurred when a nation farms out an unpopular war to hired hands...Fainaru poses a host of compelling questions."

"Metro Spirit," 12/08
"Chilling, gripping and stunning in its delivery, method and detail...A must-read book for any American the least bit concerned with the actions, reputation, and circumstances of American activity overseas."


"Washington Post Book World," 12/14/08
"The most vivid account to date of the misfits, thugs, and outright psychotics who kill with impunity under corporate flags...this book is consistently engaging and powerfully instructive."

"Minneapolis Star Tribune"
""Big Boy Rules" [is] on the must-have list...Fainaru's skill lies in unwrapping the folly of the war on a personal level that is both enlightening and chilling."

"Metro Spirit," 12/08
"Chilling, gripping and stunning in its delivery, method and detail...A must-read book for any American the least bit concerned with the actions, reputation, and circumstances of American activity overseas."

"Seattle Post Intelligencer,"12/08
"An important, timely, scathing new book."


"San Francisco Chronicle," 11/28/08
"If Jeremy Scahill's provocative "Blackwater" is an eye-opener about the political ties and big finances of one contractor, then "Big Boy Rules" is another eye-opener--and in the end a tear-inducer--about the loose ties and loose management of contractors' employees"

"St. Louis Post-Dispatch," 11/30/08
""Big Boy Rules" reads more like a novel than a newspaper as it weaves Cote's life into the larger story of the shoot-'em-up security contractors."

"Seattle Post Intelligencer," 12/5/08
"An important, timely, scathing new book"

"Time Magazine," 11/14/08
"[A] harrowing expose."

"Kirkus," 10/15/08
"Fainaru takes to heart the old journalistic adage, 'show, don't tell, ' as he portrays men seeking to escape difficult personal circumstances, who crave adventure even if it means losing their lives...An informative, dramatic look at a significant, often unexamined, aspect of contemporary military culture."

Thomas E. Ricks
"Steve Fainaru tells a story that is at the heart of the war in Iraq: the U.S. military's unprecedented reliance on mercenaries. It is a dark tale that until now has remained largely untold, and is related brilliantly here. To understand this war, you must read this book."

Thomas E. Ricks, senior military correspondent, "The Washington Post," and author of "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2003-05"
"Steve Fainaru tells a story that is at the heart of the war in Iraq: the U.S. military's unprecedented reliance on mercenaries. It is a dark tale that until now has remained largely untold, and is related brilliantly here. To understand this war, you must read this book."

About the Author

Steve Fainaru is a foreign correspondent for the Washington Post. In 2008 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. He lives in El Cerrito, California.