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My Friend the Mercenary: A Memoir
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Review
A classic story of intrigue, greed and violence. --Sebastian Junger
Outstanding . . . I couldn't put this book down.
--Andy McNab
Outstanding . . . I couldn't put this book down.
--Andy McNab
Product Description
In a fly-blown bar in West Africa, British war reporter James Brabazon found himself being briefed on covert military plans to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea by 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 ruthless double-crosses. In a twist of fate, James Brabazon remained free. His mercenary friend wasn't so lucky. Nick du Toit was sentenced to serve thirty-four years in Black Beach prison, Africa's most notorious jail - a sentence which James could have been serving alongside him. Their unlikely friendship began two years earlier on the bloody battlefields of the Liberian civil war. With Nick as his bodyguard, James was the only journalist to film behind rebel lines. Establishing him as a brave and talented filmmaker, the war tested James's physical and moral boundaries to the limit - and opened a door on to a dangerous world of mercenaries, spies and violent regime change. MY FRIEND THE MERCENARY recounts James's courageous journey into the Liberian war, and tells 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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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is not usually the sort of book I would go for but having read the extracts in The Times I thought I would give it a whirl and I am glad I did. Once I had picked it up I couldn't put it down.
Th first part of the book covers in gory detail the author's experiences in Liberia as a journalist with the mercenary Nick du Toit who he hired to protect him and the growing friendship between the two men. Not for the squeamish or faint-of- heart.
In the second part of the book the action moves to Simon Mann and the infamous Wonga coup - which luckily for his health and sanity James Brabazon missed out on experiencing personally. If life imitates art, then this is Frederick Forsyth's The Dogs of War writ large and terrible; it is almost as if Simon Mann and his merry band had set out to recreate the novel's plotline except that real-life is not quite so tidy nor good and evil so clearly demarcated. And the emotions and motivatitions it portrays run the full gamut from courage and endurance in great adversity to greed and utter stupidity.
The narrative is gripping and fast-paced and Nick du Toit emerges as the anti-hero who engages our sympathy, if only for his survival against all the odds from the torture and hell of Black Beach prison in Equatorial Guinea.
And having read this, I have just crossed regime-change off my list of 101 Things To Do Before I Die.
Th first part of the book covers in gory detail the author's experiences in Liberia as a journalist with the mercenary Nick du Toit who he hired to protect him and the growing friendship between the two men. Not for the squeamish or faint-of- heart.
In the second part of the book the action moves to Simon Mann and the infamous Wonga coup - which luckily for his health and sanity James Brabazon missed out on experiencing personally. If life imitates art, then this is Frederick Forsyth's The Dogs of War writ large and terrible; it is almost as if Simon Mann and his merry band had set out to recreate the novel's plotline except that real-life is not quite so tidy nor good and evil so clearly demarcated. And the emotions and motivatitions it portrays run the full gamut from courage and endurance in great adversity to greed and utter stupidity.
The narrative is gripping and fast-paced and Nick du Toit emerges as the anti-hero who engages our sympathy, if only for his survival against all the odds from the torture and hell of Black Beach prison in Equatorial Guinea.
And having read this, I have just crossed regime-change off my list of 101 Things To Do Before I Die.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I enjoyed this book very much and found it a gripping, informative and often saddening read. I read quickly through the last 100 pages because by that time I'd had enough of the plans of the plunderers and how they go awry. To me the book seemed to be summed up by its title: it was mostly about a friendship and how it endured in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. Alas the real victims (except for Rocket) of the mercenary parasites and their self-serving destruction didn't seem to get much attention at all... oh, sorry, there is a brief paragraph in the acknowledgements at the end of the book. The author is big on the issue of moral choices but I was left wondering what choices the innocent were given... The lack of that left me with a lack of sympathy for the suffering of Nick and his cohorts.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book packs a mighty punch. A nerve-wrecking story told in sharp, spare and precise prose, it reads more like a thriller than a memoir.
The first section of the book covers Brabazon's experiences in Liberia during that country's brutal civil war. It is an astonishing account, full of the worst horrors of modern conflict: marauding child soldiers, executions and cannibalism of prisoners. The tales of atrocities are striking for the author's use of detail ("the close-up, messy process of gutting a human being") and his honesty. He does not stint in describing the complex emotions he felt as a witness to such events - or in tracing how long weeks on the frontline messed with his moral compass.
Yet the story is far from unremittingly bleak. Brabazon captures the humour and spirit of the characters caught up in the war, from the spliff-smoking rebel commander Deku to the retinue of refugees, journalists and spies he meets along the way. It is also strangely redemptive to read how, amid the carnage, he forged a lasting friendship with his shady mercenary bodyguard, Nick du Toit.
Beyond the zipping bullets and booming rocket-propelled grenades, the book is also compelling when the author describes the difficult process of coming home: having flashbacks of rotting corpses while on a date with his girlfriend, for example. It is a powerful and, again, sharply honest insight into the trauma that his experiences inflicted.
The final third disentangles the story of the coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea, the `project' that Nick du Toit took on after Liberia. It offers a fascinating insider's view into the world of modern espionage and just how one sets about toppling a government in the twenty-first century. No doubt essential reading for anyone with an interest in the coup. My one quibble might be that the level of detail in this section can be slightly overwhelming - and misses some of the humanity and simple nail-biting tension of the Liberian stories.
Yet it's a minor point and overall the book deserves five stars: if you are looking for a true story with action, adventure and insight, you will not find anything better.
The first section of the book covers Brabazon's experiences in Liberia during that country's brutal civil war. It is an astonishing account, full of the worst horrors of modern conflict: marauding child soldiers, executions and cannibalism of prisoners. The tales of atrocities are striking for the author's use of detail ("the close-up, messy process of gutting a human being") and his honesty. He does not stint in describing the complex emotions he felt as a witness to such events - or in tracing how long weeks on the frontline messed with his moral compass.
Yet the story is far from unremittingly bleak. Brabazon captures the humour and spirit of the characters caught up in the war, from the spliff-smoking rebel commander Deku to the retinue of refugees, journalists and spies he meets along the way. It is also strangely redemptive to read how, amid the carnage, he forged a lasting friendship with his shady mercenary bodyguard, Nick du Toit.
Beyond the zipping bullets and booming rocket-propelled grenades, the book is also compelling when the author describes the difficult process of coming home: having flashbacks of rotting corpses while on a date with his girlfriend, for example. It is a powerful and, again, sharply honest insight into the trauma that his experiences inflicted.
The final third disentangles the story of the coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea, the `project' that Nick du Toit took on after Liberia. It offers a fascinating insider's view into the world of modern espionage and just how one sets about toppling a government in the twenty-first century. No doubt essential reading for anyone with an interest in the coup. My one quibble might be that the level of detail in this section can be slightly overwhelming - and misses some of the humanity and simple nail-biting tension of the Liberian stories.
Yet it's a minor point and overall the book deserves five stars: if you are looking for a true story with action, adventure and insight, you will not find anything better.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent Book
This book was an excellent read and I couldn't put it down. It was not only well written but it of gave me an insight into the work of reporters living on the front line and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. J. Allan
Amazing
This has to be one of the best books that I have ever read. Full of action and the horrors of wars,but touched with some humanity and the contradictions in how people can be kind... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Colcot
Mmmm.... A lesson in hubris
This review refers to the Audio Book
As an Afrikaans speaking South African and former member of the South African Defense Force (SADF), I found the authors... Read more
As an Afrikaans speaking South African and former member of the South African Defense Force (SADF), I found the authors... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Pockets
Excellent read !
This was an amazing read. An education, a metaphor, and an insightful gutsy novel. I could not put this down but I had to, to work, sleep and then read on when time management... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Garry
You gotta read this book...
It's the REAL story of Africa. Not the politically correct propoganda rubbish that the buffoons in the Western media fed us. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Robbo
Its been emotional
What an incredible book. Before reading it I considered the synopsis and thought, yeah it could be interesting, I was clearly not prepared for such a disturbing, funny (at the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Cpq
A good read
A very enjoyable read, even if a bit gruesome in places. It tailed off towards the end and got a bit bogged down in different theories.
Published 19 months ago by LOG
My Friend the Mercenary
An absolutley cracking read, the author pushes himself to the limit both mentally and physically in order to bring the plight of one country to the international eye. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mark
A book of two halves
My Friend the Mercenary is a strange and rather compelling book. The two main characters are a journalist with left wing leanings, James Brabazon and his South African body... Read more
Published 21 months ago by SCM
happy
I really enjoyed this book, very well written.It was . MY FRIEND THE MERCENARY. and that is what it is.
Published 22 months ago by Patrick Troy
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