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Product Description
Product Description
On 7th March 2004, former SAS soldier and mercenary Simon Mann prepared to take off from Harare International Airport with an aeroplane full of heavy weaponry and guns for hire. Their destination: the former Spanish colony of Equatorial Guinea. Their mission: to remove one of the most brutal dictators in Africa in a privately organised coup d'etat. The plot had the tacit approval of Western intelligence agencies and, according to Mann, the backing of a European government and the endorsement of a former British Prime Minister. Simon Mann had personally planned, overseen and won two wars in Angola and Sierra Leone. Everything should have gone right. Why, then, did it go so wrong? When Simon was released from five years' incarceration in two of Africa's toughest prisons, he made worldwide headlines. Since then, he has spoken to nobody about his experiences. Now, he is telling everything, including: * His belief that the CIA deliberately compromised the coup to court favour with Equatorial Guinea's President Obiang, in return for access to the country's vast oil resources. * How the British government approached Simon in the months preceeding the Iraq war, asking him to suggest ways in which a justified invasion of Iraq could be engineered. * The financial involvement of a controversial and internationally famous member of the British House of Lords in the plot, backed up by banking records. * Simon will also tell of his pain when he had to tell his wife, Amanda, who gave birth to their fourth child while he was incarcerated, that he believed he would never be freed.
About the Author
Simon Mann is from a strong military background. His paternal grandfather served with the Scots Guards in the Great War and his maternal grandfather served as a senior engineer in the South African Division in World War II. His father and three uncles also served in the Scots Guards in World War II, his father winning two MCs and a DSO. Born into the Mann brewing dynasty, Simon Mann went to Eton and then Sandhurst. The Scots Guards and the SAS followed. Simon then became a businessman, drifting slowly but surely into the world of security consultancy and intelligence for hire. Mann rejoined the British Army for the first Gulf War, serving on the staff of General Sir Peter de la Billiere. From there, Simon became an oil man, a move which threw him into the Angolan Civil war in 1993. This was followed by his involvement in the civil war in Sierra Leone form 1994 to 1996. In 2004, he was arrested in Zimbabwe because of his involvement in the plot to overthrow the ruling tyrant of Equatorial Guinea. Simon has seven children and now lives by the sea with his wife, Amanda.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This for me was a must read book. Given the press speculation, repeated Government denials in the UK media and the personalities involved you had to read Simon Mann's first hand and exceptionally personal account of the events to get to the truth of what happened during this failed coup. Given the circumstances of his recording of the facts you just have to roll with the punches as it jumps from location to location, times and events. It provides the reader with a real insight as to what Simon Mann was going through personally at every stage of the mission planning, execution and his evential capture and internment. Cut away the fact that you may not agree with his politics or his thirst for financial gain through what he hoped would be the successful execution of the mission it is a rivetting read and a true personal account. There is much more that is not said in the book but it will keep you enthraled. It captures his moods as they happen, his survivors instinct while in captivity, his mental strength and discipline all combined to develop strategies to keep one step ahead of the prison staff, while throughout there is the constant threat of deportation and execution. The narrative provides the reader with a microspope with which to examine Simon Mann who is truly a remarkable character. Thoroughly enjoyable and strongly recommended.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was somewhat perturbed at the beginning of the book with written shorthand commentary. Does that make sense? The story improved chapter by chapter and I became engrossed. It was an interesting comparison to the WONGA COUP which I had read previously. Talk about two sides of a coin! As in Blood Diamonds reviewed above I knew of or had met some of the characters within. This made the book even more interesting to me. Once again I am confused as to why the SAS cap badge is used on the cover. The author served but his experiences within the Regiment are not a part of the script. I find the use of the cap badge somewhat misleading and only there to sell copies.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An interesting story per se. A great deal of audacity comes through reading this. How Mann and his cohorts attempted to seize a country for the sake of business interests tells a lot about the perception interest groups have about African countries and the twisted assumption of some that `everything is permitted in that part of the world". There are echoes of the political thriller Triple Agent Double Cross in it. Overall, this is a book work recommending to others who are interested to know the ongoing in that part of the world.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
appallingly written
Should have been a been a great story - having read 'the Wonga coup' I was looking forward to Simon's side of the story. Read more
Published 1 month ago by dar
A Living Hell
Read the book leaving Gibraltar for London... a part of one of Simon's dreams? ( arriving/leaving Gib), probably a few SAS on my BA flight...nearly always are on that route! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs Juliet Hambro
Awful writing
The writing is just awful. Unclear use of abbreviations, disjointed sentences and random tangents. I appreciate much of this was written in prison but was there no editor to make... Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Dabill
-100 Dont bother
A minus 100 rating. (you are forced to rate out of 5 unfortunately) No female I know would wish to read even the first page. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Helena Catz
How much more vivid it could have been, dammit.
This is an extraordinary story. But the writing is dreadful - which is a great pity because Simon Mann is undoubtedly one of Britain's foremost military entrepreneurs, greater even... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gregory Waggett
Missed Opportunity
So, Simon Mann went to Eton. And Sandhurst. He is an aristocrat from a well-known military family of achievers and royalists. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mike Turner
A thought provoking read, that leaves many questions
This book tells that tale of the infamous so-called Mark Thatcher plot, to overthrow the President of the small African country and former Spanish colony known as Equatorial... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ms. J. M. Austin
Dissapointed
It's not a brilliant book by any mean. I doubt if most if it is even truthful, especially having read My Friend the Mercenary, which I thought was an absoulutely amazing book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Colcot
Amazing Story Not So Well Told
First of all, this is an excellent and gripping story - definitely one of those true life tales that's stranger and more compelling than fiction, so it is a great read. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Nick Pendrell
PAPPI KAK
Warning! To all readers who have waited for this side to be told be prepared to be disappointed.
First, not sure why so many names, places, and simple facts had to be changed... Read more
First, not sure why so many names, places, and simple facts had to be changed... Read more
Published 5 months ago by M134Hunter
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