Book - Big Boy Rules by Steve Fainaru

One of the central figures in a new non-fiction book written by Washington Post reporter Steve Fainaru is Jonathan Cote. 

Cote, who worked for Crescent Security in Iraq, was kidnapped with four of his colleagues on November 16, 2006. He was 23-years old at the time of his kidnapping. In April 2008, Cote's remains were recovered and identified. Fainaru would later discover from autopsy reports that Cote was beheaded. 

The book is up close and personal. Fainaru travelled to Iraq and rode security missions with Cote just days before the kidnappings. From what I've read about the book - Fainaru doesn't hold back.

Big Boy Rules - America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq
By Steve Fainaru
Da Capo Press
November 2008

Synopsis from the publisher:

"Washington Post" reporter Steve 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.

Additional Reading

Detailed new book offers deep drama of Cote saga
By Dan Herbeck, The Buffalo News, October 29, 2008

Excerpt: Fainaru is convinced that the bodies of the abducted men would never have been found if Cote’s stepmother, Nancy M. Cote, was not a prominent federal agent who headed the Buffalo office of the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration. After more than a year of fruitless efforts by the FBI, a DEA agent in Iraq got the information that led to the recoveries.

Cote’s spirit rules pages of new book
By Donn Esmonde, The Buffalo News, November 16, 2008