Read more: Alum recounts locating S. Hussein

Interrogations never look like they do on “24.” Instead of beating a guy to a pulp, Eric Maddox, an OU graduate, coaxes his subjects into divulging essential information.

Maddox’s book, “Mission: Black List #1,” relates the search and capture of Saddam Hussein through the eyes of an interrogator.

Eric Maddox, an Oklahoma native and OU graduate, is that interrogator and co-author of “Mission,” alongside Davin Seay.

The book is a memoir of the days in search for those on the U.S. Department of Defense’s “Black List,” the top 55 people in Iraq for whom the Department of Defense was searching, represented by a deck of cards. The ace of spades, Saddam Hussein, was top priority and focus of the book.

This book is a straightforward account of one man’s impressive mission and that it’s success. It is written in first-person prose, the way an excited and articulate person might share a story at a party.

This style aids in the credibility of the work. Maddox doesn’t veil his story with fancy words and twisting sentences. Instead, he provides his unlikely story in unaffected prose.

Maddox helpfully takes care to define any military terms that pop into the story, and does so with words proving he can escape the jargon to relate his story.

The writer was also wise to know when names and events mentioned needed elaboration, and when they were things the general public had already heard and knew about.

The writing occasionally waxes simplistic, but the suspense of the story is enough to carry a reader through these parts. What’s impressive is that such suspense is so craftily inserted, considering that the reader already knows the ending of the story.

Piece by piece, a careful reader will also be able to collect some of Maddox’s deeper thoughts and find snippets of his sense of humor, which are tucked subtly among the more grave material. In no way will the book let someone far inside the author’s psyché, but it will provide some idea of how traumatic, terrifying or joyous these occasions were.

For a reader like me, who tends to avoid nonfiction war books – especially memoirs – this book was actually quite engaging. Maddox successfully placed interesting breadcrumbs to keep a reader’s attention throughout the plot. Though I knew where the story was going, I was still curious about what tidbits I might find along the way.

If you are interested in a more detailed and personal story about Saddam’s capture, or if you are curious about how military interrogators operate, Maddox’s “Mission” is a book to pick up. The prose has the provision of clarity in a story about a morally ambiguous war, and that story is certainly one remarkable read.