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My Friend the Mercenary

My Friend the Mercenary

by JamesBrabazon (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2010

    $4.20
Synopsis

In a fly-blown bar in West Africa, war reporter James Brabazon found himself discussing military plans to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea with one of Africa's most notorious mercenaries - his friend Nick du Toit. The Byzantine plot, its farcical execution and its tragic consequences led to Simon Mann and a host of celebrated guns-for-hire falling victim to their own avaricious plans, Machiavellian scheming and perverse double-crosses. In a twist of fate, James Brabazon remained free. His mercenary friend wasn't as lucky. Nick du Toit was supposed to serve thirty-four years in Black Beach Prison, Africa's most notorious jail - a sentence which James could have been serving alongside him. My Friend The Mercenary recounts James's courageous journey into the Liberian war, and tell the inside story of the most infamous coup attempt in recent history. Through this gripping narrative, James Brabazon explodes the myth of the modern mercenary; and paints a moving portrait of an extraordinary friendship. It is a brutally honest book about what it takes to be a journalist, survivor and friend in the morally corrosive crucible of war.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 352
 Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Published: 03 Jun 2010
ISBN 10: 1847674399
ISBN 13: 9781847674395

Media Reviews
An outstanding memoir about the power of friendship in the morally complex theatre of war. James Brabazon is a fearless reporter and a brutally honest narrator. I couldn't put this book down. -- ANDY MCNAB
James Brabazon has written a fully-adrenalized book about civil war, mercenaries and the tiny margins by which fate determines the course of one's life. He is not only a beautiful writer but an incredibly brave reporter, and this book reflects both brilliantly. I was also in the Liberian civil war in 2003 - on the other side - and I remember hearing that there was this crazy Brit who was running with the rebels as they advanced on the capital. Brabazon's account of an attempted coup by friends of his in Equatorial Guinea is a classic story of intrigue, greed and violence in one of the most dysfunctional countries in the world. -- SEBASTIAN JUNGER
Intriguing. * * Spectator * *
If you don't want to read explicit accounts of how Liberian rebels eviscerate the bodies of their enemies, cut off their ears and testicles, and eat their vital organs, then turn away now. If you are likely to be sqeamsih about what dysentery does to your body, and the pus and other matter that ooze from your orifices when you are stranded in a rebel camp in the African bush, you will not want to read My Friend the Mercenary. -- Stephen Robinson * * Sunday Times * *
Extraordinary . . . The concluding chapters of his book present as full and convincing an account of that failed assault on Equatorial Guinea as we are likely to read. * * Scotsman * *
Brabazon's book is alarmingly frank about the professional compromises he made, reading almost like a confessional. It is a compelling insight into a devastated region that is the playground of rapacious warlords, western intelligence agents and opportunistic businessmen. * * Sunday Business Post * *
Compelling. * * Sunday Times * *
A beautifully written adrenaline rush by one of our generation's bravest journalists. -- Aidan Hartley, author of The Zanzibar Chest
Author Bio
James Brabazon is an award-winning frontline journalist and documentary filmmaker. Based in London, he has reported in over sixty countries, investigating, filming and directing in the world's most hostile environments. His awards include the Rory Peck Trust International Impact Award 2003, the Rory Peck Freelancer's Choice Award 2003, the IDA Courage Under Fire Award 2004 and the IDFA Joris Ivens Competition Special Jury Award 2004. He has also been nominated for two BAFTAs and two EMMYs. He has made thirty international current affairs films broadcast by the BBC, Channel 4, CNN, SABC and the Discovery Channel. He lectures on the ethics and practicalities of journalism in war zones and has written for the Observer, the Independent and the Guardian.