What do you think?
Rate this book
Cry Havoc
For the first time since he was released from five years' incarceration in some of Africa's toughest prisons, making worldwide headlines, Simon Mann breaks his silence to tell everything Simon Mann's remarkable firsthand account of his life reads like a thriller, taking readers into the world of mercenaries and spooks, of murky international politics, big oil and big bucks, action, danger, love, despair, and betrayal. On March 7, 2004, former SAS soldier and mercenary Simon Mann prepared to take off from Harare International Airport. His destination was Equatorial Guinea; his was intention to remove one of the most brutal dictators in Africa in a privately organized coup d'etat. The plot had the tacit approval of Western intelligence agencies and Mann had planned, overseen, and won two wars in Angola and Sierra Leone. So why did it go so wrong? Here he reveals the full involvement of Mark Thatcher in the coup d'etat, the endorsement of a former prime minister, and the financial involvement of two internationally famous members of the House of Lords. He also discusses how the British government approached him in the months preceding the Iraq War, to suggest ways in which a justified invasion of Iraq could be engineered. He also discusses the pain of telling his wife Amanda, who gave birth to their fourth child while he was incarcerated, that he believed he would never be freed.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published October 27, 2011
59 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Simon Mann
6 books4 followersSimon Francis Mann was a British mercenary and former officer in the SAS. He trained to be an officer at Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Scots Guards. He later became a member of the SAS. On leaving the military, he co-founded Sandline International with fellow ex-Scots Guards Colonel Tim Spicer in 1996. Sandline operated mostly in Angola and Sierra Leone, but a contract with the government of Papua New Guinea attracted a significant amount of negative publicity in what became known as the Sandline affair.
On 7 March 2004, Mann is alleged to have led the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup attempt. He was arrested by Zimbabwean police in Harare airport along with 64 other mercenaries. He eventually served three years of a four-year prison sentence in Zimbabwe, and less than two years of a 34 years and four months sentence in Equatorial Guinea.
On 7 March 2004, Mann is alleged to have led the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup attempt. He was arrested by Zimbabwean police in Harare airport along with 64 other mercenaries. He eventually served three years of a four-year prison sentence in Zimbabwe, and less than two years of a 34 years and four months sentence in Equatorial Guinea.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
October 9, 2012
Mann, of course, was the Brit who lead the planned Wonga coup on Equatorial Guinea back in 2004, right when I was living in Zimbabwe, where Mann was arrested with 69 of his men, about to pick up weapons for the last leg of their journey to overthrow Obiang.
After a few years in jail in Zim, Mann was traded for oil and shipped out to Equatorial Guinea, where he was pardoned after another 18 months, after first being convicted to some 35 years, then turning in as much evidence as possible.
The second half of the book, detailing the time from his capture up to his release, is readable, but only barely. Mann's style is horrid, reads like a pretentious adventure story written by an incapable 12 year old.
Apparently, Mann already had an editor shaving off tens of thousands of words from his manuscript. If only the man had done some actual editing. Then, there are the factual mistakes, particularly in the first half of the book, where Mann tells of his military escapades before the 2004 attempted coup, which is a painful exercise and test of endurance to get through.
And a map where the DRC is still called Zaire? Really?
Only the first chapter of the book is interesting enough and sets a tone and expectation that's not met anywhere else in Mann's writings. Here, Mann tells of the events directly leading up to the arrests. Perhaps the worst, specifically during the first half of the book, is Mann's continuous attempts to exonerate himself from the veneer of his life as a glorified mercenary, pretending, and claiming over and over, that the wars he fought with his Executive Outcomes were for the good of the people they were fighting for, with Obiang almost being the messenger of death himself.
Sadly, in the end, there is hopelessly little that can be gleaned from this book on the politics and dealings of a modern coup. Mann rambles a lot, but says very little.
After a few years in jail in Zim, Mann was traded for oil and shipped out to Equatorial Guinea, where he was pardoned after another 18 months, after first being convicted to some 35 years, then turning in as much evidence as possible.
The second half of the book, detailing the time from his capture up to his release, is readable, but only barely. Mann's style is horrid, reads like a pretentious adventure story written by an incapable 12 year old.
Apparently, Mann already had an editor shaving off tens of thousands of words from his manuscript. If only the man had done some actual editing. Then, there are the factual mistakes, particularly in the first half of the book, where Mann tells of his military escapades before the 2004 attempted coup, which is a painful exercise and test of endurance to get through.
And a map where the DRC is still called Zaire? Really?
Only the first chapter of the book is interesting enough and sets a tone and expectation that's not met anywhere else in Mann's writings. Here, Mann tells of the events directly leading up to the arrests. Perhaps the worst, specifically during the first half of the book, is Mann's continuous attempts to exonerate himself from the veneer of his life as a glorified mercenary, pretending, and claiming over and over, that the wars he fought with his Executive Outcomes were for the good of the people they were fighting for, with Obiang almost being the messenger of death himself.
Sadly, in the end, there is hopelessly little that can be gleaned from this book on the politics and dealings of a modern coup. Mann rambles a lot, but says very little.
January 5, 2020
I still remember sitting up in my armchair when footage of a chained Simon Mann in jailbird overalls appeared on my TV screen, followed by scenes of him in an Equatorial Guinea (EG) courtroom. ‘Failed coup d’etat’ and ‘mercenary Simon Mann’ read the news network’s subtext, so that I was instantly intrigued.
Simon Mann, former Scots Guard and SAS turned mercenary, attempted to pull off a coup in EG with the alleged backing of Maggie Thatcher’s son Mark and the government of Spain, amongst others – a fact made all the more intriguing by all named backers’ subsequent denial of their involvement. There was a whiff of scandal about the whole affair and I scoured the internet for further background to it. I was left with more pressing questions for which I needed answers: what drives a soldier of fortune like Simon Mann? What masters does a modern day condottiero serve and do their motivations only consist of cash? What really goes on behind the scenes in Africa and other parts of the developed world? In years that followed I added Mann’s autobio to my reading list and resolved to one day pick it up.
But I was somewhat disappointed to discover a narrative which is crudely cobbled together and seemingly unable to reveal all of the juicier parts of the drama. Plus it also contains many frustrating cryptic references to the likes of ‘the Barrel Boyz’ and ‘the Boss’ – please Mr Mann, pray do tell more. But he doesn’t, even though the insights he has obtained from a life of (in my very layman’s view and certainly from a financial point of view) successful soldiering in theatres like Angola and Sierra Leone are not entirely drab and uninteresting. Based on this autobio it seems to me that being a soldier of fortune is largely all about a scramble for finance from different international players before putting the boot in fast and hard. Throughout Mann also stresses that he would only get involved in a conflict if he felt he was helping the good guys.
Some reviewers have made light of this insistence, to the point of mockery. But I’m not sure that Mann emphasises his motivations out of a need to obtain anyone’s respect or approval. After all, he does not hold back on the grim and gritty aspects of soldiering, such as when he reveals that the SAS are trained to do anything – ANYTHING – to achieve their objectives. I get the feeling that what anyone else thinks about him and his career is very secondary to him.
His experiences present a picture of a world which is what most cynics would expect: a place where various international manipulators backed by the planet’s strongest nation states (be it US, UK, China, Spain etc.) are engaged in a desperate scramble to obtain first dibs on the world’s resources, as well as political and economic control in the increasingly important region of black Africa. It’s basically all just a subtle form of modern day colonialism executed through a mix of derring-do, dirty deeds and ownership, not that most of us need telling.
There are other interesting revelations in the book: Mann’s privileged (but by his own admission: miserable) upbringing in the UK. Interestingly we learn that his dad and granddad were both captains of the English cricket team and campaigned in both world wars, so that the boy Simon felt the need to at least be a success in war, given that he did not set the sporting world alight.
His narrative also makes it clear that corporations from the world’s most developed countries (and these same countries' governments) would rather deal with a developing nation headed up by a tyrannical despot or one that is torn apart by civil war, thereby saving themselves the expenses and procedures which must be taken into account when doing business in a well-regulated, developed country. All of which underlines the importance of a leader in a developing country who can unite his nation’s people behind progressive causes to further advance their society. Easier said than done, but it is clear from Mann’s story that other nations are always going to be more interested in exploiting another country instead of helping it out. As for his low opinion of the UN, it’s probably already shared by most.
Ultimately however, there is no disguising the fact that Mann was a profiteering soldier of fortune (check out the plans which he allegedly provided at the request of the British government to spark off a conflict with Saddam's Iraq), just like the other players in his game, many of whom were probably more ruthless and uncivilised than him. The race for resources is a dangerous game, with no holds barred. Vested interests served by the likes of the CIA and M16 – and the accompanying mysterious deaths of one’s colleagues - are only some of the worries which occupy a mercenary commander’s mind, apart from obtaining the required financing and the weapons to win the battle at hand.
All of which ultimately led to the undoing of Mann’s coup against the merciless flesh-eating Obiang, dictator of EG. Following his capture and brutal treatment in Zimbabwe, Mann was flown to EG and left to rot in its horrific Black Beach prison. Although he had to rat his guts out in EG in order to make it back to his family, it was in EG that other more inspiring traits of Mann came to the fore: he was put through months of what should have been soul-destroying and brain-damaging solitary confinement, yet emerged from them relatively unscathed through a self-imposed regimen of intense physical training, creative writing (fiction involving a leading female character named Kass), reading books and, perhaps most crucially: forgiveness.
So although he's not necessarily a 'Mandela on Robben Island' equivalent, our Mann's account of his sufferings in the notorious Black Beach prison is significant when it comes to understanding the stuff he’s made of. For all his big grins in public, he’s evidently also as hard as a coffin nail.
In this book he attempts to capture his story in a curt, blokey style. Yet after a few pages in I found it be a combination of naming what is basically a never-ending list of fellow profiteers, combined with ongoing description of the mundane business as usual tasks required to manage a modern-day mercenary outfit. Which about a quarter of the way through started to make the book a bit challenging to read. And the way in which the EG, Angola and Sierra Leone narratives are cobbled together does not reflect well on the book’s structural editor.
Perhaps the main overarching problem with this book is that Mann was too close to the whole EG drama and muzzled at every turn by lawyers. By all accounts it looks like I should have instead read The Wonga Coup by Adam Roberts, a book I’ll seek to pick up in coming months.
Simon Mann, former Scots Guard and SAS turned mercenary, attempted to pull off a coup in EG with the alleged backing of Maggie Thatcher’s son Mark and the government of Spain, amongst others – a fact made all the more intriguing by all named backers’ subsequent denial of their involvement. There was a whiff of scandal about the whole affair and I scoured the internet for further background to it. I was left with more pressing questions for which I needed answers: what drives a soldier of fortune like Simon Mann? What masters does a modern day condottiero serve and do their motivations only consist of cash? What really goes on behind the scenes in Africa and other parts of the developed world? In years that followed I added Mann’s autobio to my reading list and resolved to one day pick it up.
But I was somewhat disappointed to discover a narrative which is crudely cobbled together and seemingly unable to reveal all of the juicier parts of the drama. Plus it also contains many frustrating cryptic references to the likes of ‘the Barrel Boyz’ and ‘the Boss’ – please Mr Mann, pray do tell more. But he doesn’t, even though the insights he has obtained from a life of (in my very layman’s view and certainly from a financial point of view) successful soldiering in theatres like Angola and Sierra Leone are not entirely drab and uninteresting. Based on this autobio it seems to me that being a soldier of fortune is largely all about a scramble for finance from different international players before putting the boot in fast and hard. Throughout Mann also stresses that he would only get involved in a conflict if he felt he was helping the good guys.
Some reviewers have made light of this insistence, to the point of mockery. But I’m not sure that Mann emphasises his motivations out of a need to obtain anyone’s respect or approval. After all, he does not hold back on the grim and gritty aspects of soldiering, such as when he reveals that the SAS are trained to do anything – ANYTHING – to achieve their objectives. I get the feeling that what anyone else thinks about him and his career is very secondary to him.
His experiences present a picture of a world which is what most cynics would expect: a place where various international manipulators backed by the planet’s strongest nation states (be it US, UK, China, Spain etc.) are engaged in a desperate scramble to obtain first dibs on the world’s resources, as well as political and economic control in the increasingly important region of black Africa. It’s basically all just a subtle form of modern day colonialism executed through a mix of derring-do, dirty deeds and ownership, not that most of us need telling.
There are other interesting revelations in the book: Mann’s privileged (but by his own admission: miserable) upbringing in the UK. Interestingly we learn that his dad and granddad were both captains of the English cricket team and campaigned in both world wars, so that the boy Simon felt the need to at least be a success in war, given that he did not set the sporting world alight.
His narrative also makes it clear that corporations from the world’s most developed countries (and these same countries' governments) would rather deal with a developing nation headed up by a tyrannical despot or one that is torn apart by civil war, thereby saving themselves the expenses and procedures which must be taken into account when doing business in a well-regulated, developed country. All of which underlines the importance of a leader in a developing country who can unite his nation’s people behind progressive causes to further advance their society. Easier said than done, but it is clear from Mann’s story that other nations are always going to be more interested in exploiting another country instead of helping it out. As for his low opinion of the UN, it’s probably already shared by most.
Ultimately however, there is no disguising the fact that Mann was a profiteering soldier of fortune (check out the plans which he allegedly provided at the request of the British government to spark off a conflict with Saddam's Iraq), just like the other players in his game, many of whom were probably more ruthless and uncivilised than him. The race for resources is a dangerous game, with no holds barred. Vested interests served by the likes of the CIA and M16 – and the accompanying mysterious deaths of one’s colleagues - are only some of the worries which occupy a mercenary commander’s mind, apart from obtaining the required financing and the weapons to win the battle at hand.
All of which ultimately led to the undoing of Mann’s coup against the merciless flesh-eating Obiang, dictator of EG. Following his capture and brutal treatment in Zimbabwe, Mann was flown to EG and left to rot in its horrific Black Beach prison. Although he had to rat his guts out in EG in order to make it back to his family, it was in EG that other more inspiring traits of Mann came to the fore: he was put through months of what should have been soul-destroying and brain-damaging solitary confinement, yet emerged from them relatively unscathed through a self-imposed regimen of intense physical training, creative writing (fiction involving a leading female character named Kass), reading books and, perhaps most crucially: forgiveness.
So although he's not necessarily a 'Mandela on Robben Island' equivalent, our Mann's account of his sufferings in the notorious Black Beach prison is significant when it comes to understanding the stuff he’s made of. For all his big grins in public, he’s evidently also as hard as a coffin nail.
In this book he attempts to capture his story in a curt, blokey style. Yet after a few pages in I found it be a combination of naming what is basically a never-ending list of fellow profiteers, combined with ongoing description of the mundane business as usual tasks required to manage a modern-day mercenary outfit. Which about a quarter of the way through started to make the book a bit challenging to read. And the way in which the EG, Angola and Sierra Leone narratives are cobbled together does not reflect well on the book’s structural editor.
Perhaps the main overarching problem with this book is that Mann was too close to the whole EG drama and muzzled at every turn by lawyers. By all accounts it looks like I should have instead read The Wonga Coup by Adam Roberts, a book I’ll seek to pick up in coming months.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2017
A very well written retelling of a failed coup attempt from a man who had already led two successful ones.
The thing about this book is it also confirms a lot of what we already know.
The USA and others like regime change and while sometimes it's on the surface about humanitarian concerns, underneath it really is all about money. Oil, Minerals, Diamonds etc and ensuring that all the big contracts, the big business goes to the powerful western governments backed companies, not the actual people they will be claiming to help.
Sure, they might release them from tyranny but they will still be robbing them of their resources..
Simon Mann of course claims to be on the side of the angles, he is going into do a bloodless coup, to save the people. But of course he would say that. Simon Mann appears to have made a shit load of money out of these adventures before it all went wrong. I don't blame him for that. He was working with the approval (official or otherwise) of many governments who be would be in right behind him to divvy up the spoils before the new 'friendly' governments where even in their shiny palaces.
There are a lot of books out there that clearly show how the many governments of the world are causing wars for profit, for arms sales, for oil. What ever. They thrive on conflict. It makes the world go round. This is just one of those stories. And it's a very good read.
The thing about this book is it also confirms a lot of what we already know.
The USA and others like regime change and while sometimes it's on the surface about humanitarian concerns, underneath it really is all about money. Oil, Minerals, Diamonds etc and ensuring that all the big contracts, the big business goes to the powerful western governments backed companies, not the actual people they will be claiming to help.
Sure, they might release them from tyranny but they will still be robbing them of their resources..
Simon Mann of course claims to be on the side of the angles, he is going into do a bloodless coup, to save the people. But of course he would say that. Simon Mann appears to have made a shit load of money out of these adventures before it all went wrong. I don't blame him for that. He was working with the approval (official or otherwise) of many governments who be would be in right behind him to divvy up the spoils before the new 'friendly' governments where even in their shiny palaces.
There are a lot of books out there that clearly show how the many governments of the world are causing wars for profit, for arms sales, for oil. What ever. They thrive on conflict. It makes the world go round. This is just one of those stories. And it's a very good read.
April 23, 2025
Simon Mann's accounts of his exploits in African wars, prisons and various dubious enterprises are both engrossing and shocking. It really is the stuff of movies and Freddie Forsythe novels.
How one feels about this book is probably a reflection of how one feels about Mann. In his words, he was always doing the right things for the right reasons. His reasoning and justification run parallel to Romans 12:9-18 in the Bible. The reader, however, needs to make up their own mind.
Mann can be seen as a warmonger, a colonial throwback exploiting Africa, a bringer of peace, a businessman, a man betrayed by 'brothers-in- arms', a reckless adventurer, a political manipulator, or simply a patsy in the hands of greater powers.
Personally, having read his accounts, I believe he is, in many ways, little bits of all these descriptors. But, more so, he is a survivor and Cry Havoc is a record of the strength of will and character to fight for survival and prove himself.
Simon Mann is not the greatest writer. His style is, at times, awkward and jerky, but the book is compelling. I just want to know whose identity he is still protecting? No surprise, Mark Thatcher comes out of it all badly.
How one feels about this book is probably a reflection of how one feels about Mann. In his words, he was always doing the right things for the right reasons. His reasoning and justification run parallel to Romans 12:9-18 in the Bible. The reader, however, needs to make up their own mind.
Mann can be seen as a warmonger, a colonial throwback exploiting Africa, a bringer of peace, a businessman, a man betrayed by 'brothers-in- arms', a reckless adventurer, a political manipulator, or simply a patsy in the hands of greater powers.
Personally, having read his accounts, I believe he is, in many ways, little bits of all these descriptors. But, more so, he is a survivor and Cry Havoc is a record of the strength of will and character to fight for survival and prove himself.
Simon Mann is not the greatest writer. His style is, at times, awkward and jerky, but the book is compelling. I just want to know whose identity he is still protecting? No surprise, Mark Thatcher comes out of it all badly.
June 20, 2012
Brilliant background to the failed coup in Equatorial Guinea . Mann is no author but what a life, what a cracking story.
February 6, 2015
This reads like one of those, 'What I Did This Summer' essays you wrote your first day back at school..
October 14, 2015
If I could give this book a negative rating--a least a no star rating--I would. It has been the most horrible read I have ever experienced. I purchased the book at a J'burg airport during a layover, very much looking forward to reading it based on the cover promises. I hated every page I read, but I continued reading in the hopes somehow the book would get better but also so that I could judge the book as a whole.
The writing is absolutely horrible. What did the editor do?!? And to think that Mann intended the sell of it to provide for his partner Amanda's and their 7 children with a livelihood from its sales, was pathetic. Then again, I did throw away my money on it.
The whole book read like the ramblings of a man with a grandious complex, but instead, to me, it came across as a pathetic man who needed to make anything a big deal for and about him. Prison in any part of a developing country is surely a horror, but he had the best treatment and fortune one can have! Yet he wrote as if the 5 years he spent between the prisons in Zimbabwe and EG were the worse one can suffer--he had almost royalty treatment in both!
I despised how he tried to make himself all-important at every turn (I was part of the beginning planning of the Iraq invasion, I was key to this war, that group, this organization...I was able to swear at the guards while others could not, all the prisoners respected me, etc etc).
Save your eye sight, time and energy. Do not read this book. It could have been an interesting--enlightening, even--book if all the personal crap and mental issues of Mann was removed and writing made good, with some historical facts and background included. Then again, it might have been only a 5 page book.
I hated every moment spent reading this book. I want my time and money back.
The writing is absolutely horrible. What did the editor do?!? And to think that Mann intended the sell of it to provide for his partner Amanda's and their 7 children with a livelihood from its sales, was pathetic. Then again, I did throw away my money on it.
The whole book read like the ramblings of a man with a grandious complex, but instead, to me, it came across as a pathetic man who needed to make anything a big deal for and about him. Prison in any part of a developing country is surely a horror, but he had the best treatment and fortune one can have! Yet he wrote as if the 5 years he spent between the prisons in Zimbabwe and EG were the worse one can suffer--he had almost royalty treatment in both!
I despised how he tried to make himself all-important at every turn (I was part of the beginning planning of the Iraq invasion, I was key to this war, that group, this organization...I was able to swear at the guards while others could not, all the prisoners respected me, etc etc).
Save your eye sight, time and energy. Do not read this book. It could have been an interesting--enlightening, even--book if all the personal crap and mental issues of Mann was removed and writing made good, with some historical facts and background included. Then again, it might have been only a 5 page book.
I hated every moment spent reading this book. I want my time and money back.
January 23, 2012
Worth sticking with as the first half does jump between the conflicts (coups)that Mann was involved in. In that first half there is a lot of name dropping.
The best parts of the book are all about Mann's physical and mental survival of his incarceration in Zimbabwe and Equitorial Guinea.
The best parts of the book are all about Mann's physical and mental survival of his incarceration in Zimbabwe and Equitorial Guinea.
January 22, 2012
Boys adventure into the darkness of the African continent. A good insight into the friendship of spooks, politicians, business and mercenaries and how they connive to give us just enough bread to survive another day while they own the bakery they seized in our names.
December 28, 2017
The author offers his perspective on the matter of the EG Coup attempt and prison life. An interesting read, albeit also a difficult one: Short sentences, repetitions, lack of structure, general chaos...
The book lacks reflection on corruption and armed conflict. For example, most problems in this book are solved by dishing out cash to officials and the author does not consider this as problematic. So you want to go out there to topple a (supposedly) violent and corrupt dictator? The author's obvious solution: Buy weapons, hire mercenaries, bribe your way through, kill (or accept that some people might get killed) during the coup, and get paid through (oil) money afterwards. No logical problem with this.
In summary: A very superficial, chaotic, but somewhat entertaining book (if you dont think much about the actual topics he touches upon).
The book lacks reflection on corruption and armed conflict. For example, most problems in this book are solved by dishing out cash to officials and the author does not consider this as problematic. So you want to go out there to topple a (supposedly) violent and corrupt dictator? The author's obvious solution: Buy weapons, hire mercenaries, bribe your way through, kill (or accept that some people might get killed) during the coup, and get paid through (oil) money afterwards. No logical problem with this.
In summary: A very superficial, chaotic, but somewhat entertaining book (if you dont think much about the actual topics he touches upon).
June 16, 2022
I enjoy a good war story and there are none better than those told by the soldiers that fight in them. I listened to Mann reading his own story. His deadpan way of talking about his horrific experiences during a protracted incarceration made them all the more believable. No over-dramatisation, just what happened. It was a stark reminder about the corruption of officialdom (particularly in Africa, but certainly not confined to Africa). There’s a faint whiff of the meddlesome CIA in there, up to their usual tricks, not to mention the spoilt child of Margaret Thatcher, Mark, attempting to cover his own arse and damn the consequences to anyone else.
Written simply with down-to-earth candour, this book is worth the read. Better still if you can find an audio version, read by the author.
Written simply with down-to-earth candour, this book is worth the read. Better still if you can find an audio version, read by the author.
July 4, 2024
After reading “My Friend the Mercenary” by James Brabazon, who was present for much of what was written in this book, I had high hopes for Mann’s version of events. However, his rambling writing style was hard to follow in the audiobook version that I was listening to. Also, he takes a lot of credit for perceived positive events and quickly distances himself from the more unsavoury ones. I more or less called the bs on this one and stopped reading after a handful of chapters. It was too chaotically written and needed to be planned out better as a quality book should be.
December 13, 2024
Mann, although not the best authors, I believe portrayed himself and his escapades relatively neutrally in this book. Almost with a degree of self awareness to his weakness and struggle in the second half of the book.
The book is framed almost as a ‘12 year olds adventure novel’ similar to those in which he refers to in the beginning of the book. Suggests an element of dramatised storytelling, but nonetheless was a captivating read.
A fantastic and quite a chilling story of an interesting period in global politics.
The book is framed almost as a ‘12 year olds adventure novel’ similar to those in which he refers to in the beginning of the book. Suggests an element of dramatised storytelling, but nonetheless was a captivating read.
A fantastic and quite a chilling story of an interesting period in global politics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2025
“…their law is very British. To understand that, think of the plumbing of a house in which all the parts are there, and most of them work: pumps, tanks, pipes, cisterns, taps, plugs and drains. In Zimbabwe, all those parts are made in England, but the water that flows through the plumbing of the house is all filthy: don't bathe in it, let alone drink it. The law in Zimbabwe is corrupt from top to bottom, left to right.”
Quite rich coming from a man arrested leading a group of mercenaries just before effecting a coup d'état in another African state. I was barely a teenager in Harare when I saw on TV the news of their arrest, so I’ve always wanted to know the story in-depth. I didn’t quite get that in Cry Havoc. As in the quotation above, Mann mainly writes about how badly run Africa is and how his coup would have brought democracy to Equitorial Guinea.
It’s not a tell-all on the events surrounding the botched overthrow but an attempt to sanitise his name and portray himself as the victim. He blamed the powers-that-be in London for not using their influence to get him released and Mark Thatcher for snitching on him in South Africa.
This was a pain to read, only got to finish it because I found an audiobook on Spotify which I listened to during work.
Quite rich coming from a man arrested leading a group of mercenaries just before effecting a coup d'état in another African state. I was barely a teenager in Harare when I saw on TV the news of their arrest, so I’ve always wanted to know the story in-depth. I didn’t quite get that in Cry Havoc. As in the quotation above, Mann mainly writes about how badly run Africa is and how his coup would have brought democracy to Equitorial Guinea.
It’s not a tell-all on the events surrounding the botched overthrow but an attempt to sanitise his name and portray himself as the victim. He blamed the powers-that-be in London for not using their influence to get him released and Mark Thatcher for snitching on him in South Africa.
This was a pain to read, only got to finish it because I found an audiobook on Spotify which I listened to during work.
April 7, 2021
I hate starting a book and not finishing it, but I have got to page 42 and I cannot torture myself any longer.
As an English teacher, this is possibly the worst written book I have ever read. It feels like it has been compiled as a series of simple sentences bound together by ego.
There is no evidence of any humility or humour in the author and it reads like a manual directing the audience in how to admire his intentions and pursuits.
As an English teacher, this is possibly the worst written book I have ever read. It feels like it has been compiled as a series of simple sentences bound together by ego.
There is no evidence of any humility or humour in the author and it reads like a manual directing the audience in how to admire his intentions and pursuits.
January 30, 2019
A very well elaborated insider's account on how in reality the governments are run, the leaders are put in place (while we are illusioned by one of the biggest hoax of the twentieth century called, Democracy), and who are those really pulling the strings and how they do it.
September 27, 2021
Deeply frustrating - an incredible story, but if he had paid for the services of a biographer, this would have flown off the shelves. Simon Mann is a person of many talents - writing books isn't one of them.
January 31, 2024
The book does indeed read like a thriller. Did I enjoy it? I learned a lot and it sickens me how men with big money decide, often with the sanction of some governments, which countries they will destabilize. It is usually in the third world which means Africa or the Middle East.
March 16, 2018
I enjoyed this book it was a interesting story, but I can only rate it 3 stars. Due to the writing style being little disjointed and the overzealous use acronyms.
October 24, 2018
Very interesting story but not very well written.
April 12, 2024
Interesting account of his life as a mercenary leading the well-known Executive Outcomes organisation. An expose of the murky and dangerous world of regime change.
October 22, 2020
Simon Mann as a person is a weird mix of upper class British, special operations soldier (SAS, although it appears was apparently some drama there), international businessman, abject idiot, weirdly introspective douchebag, and liar. He's also someone who has been through an incredibly traumatic experience and written a book about it. As a person, I don't know what rating you'd give him, but this is about the book.
The one thing the book desperately needs is an editor. I get the feeling no editor was going to stand up to the author vs. a bunch of self-indulgent prose. There's some good writing here but it's buried in pages and pages of shit, although the events he describes are weird enough that it's worth wading through anyway just to see where things lead in spite of the writing.
I did really like the parts about EO operations in Angola and West Africa; this seemed fairly written and showed wby private forces could be worthwhile.
The parts about the run up to the Iraq war made me furious; yet another random idiot pushing for a stupid war.
I'm not sure how honest the accounts of the coup itself were -- I'd trust Nick du Toit (on the ground in EG) a lot more than Mann. There are open questions about the level of international intelligence support for the coup and who was really in charge, and maybe there were forces which pushed them go move forward even after all the positive factors for the coup had disappeared, but it all seemed really dumb to anyone who has ever had to plan any operations in conflict zones. I mean, it is hard enough to get a bunch of people to show up on time in that kind of setting for a regular meeting, let alone running a coup on a shoestring budget with difficulties sourcing aircraft, weapons, etc. after your primary forces become unavailable due to their own wars being concluded ahead of schedule. Any reasonable person would have just cut losses and gone back to normal multi-million-net-worth lifestyle.
Basically, the lesson here appears to be "big boy rules apply when doing African coup shit". What's amazing is there were a bunch of people who appear to have learned that in Angola, Liberia, etc. and yet decided to move forward in violation of the rules.
There was a lot of information about what it's like to be in a notoriously shitty African prison in former Rhodesia, corruption/bribery/escape, lack of communications, untrustworthy lawyers and former business partners, being abducted from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea to potentially face execution, selling out yet other people, etc. As a prison psychodrama for one man in his head, it was quite engaging, and a great reminder of why going to a prison in Africa over something political is pretty bad and why people have "a few extra rounds" or a frag or something.
It's hard to judge the events overall because there were so many incentives to distort the truth on everyone's side (i.e. don't convict yourself in your autobiography....), but this is one more book which adds perspective to a truly weird African coup adventure.
The one thing the book desperately needs is an editor. I get the feeling no editor was going to stand up to the author vs. a bunch of self-indulgent prose. There's some good writing here but it's buried in pages and pages of shit, although the events he describes are weird enough that it's worth wading through anyway just to see where things lead in spite of the writing.
I did really like the parts about EO operations in Angola and West Africa; this seemed fairly written and showed wby private forces could be worthwhile.
The parts about the run up to the Iraq war made me furious; yet another random idiot pushing for a stupid war.
I'm not sure how honest the accounts of the coup itself were -- I'd trust Nick du Toit (on the ground in EG) a lot more than Mann. There are open questions about the level of international intelligence support for the coup and who was really in charge, and maybe there were forces which pushed them go move forward even after all the positive factors for the coup had disappeared, but it all seemed really dumb to anyone who has ever had to plan any operations in conflict zones. I mean, it is hard enough to get a bunch of people to show up on time in that kind of setting for a regular meeting, let alone running a coup on a shoestring budget with difficulties sourcing aircraft, weapons, etc. after your primary forces become unavailable due to their own wars being concluded ahead of schedule. Any reasonable person would have just cut losses and gone back to normal multi-million-net-worth lifestyle.
Basically, the lesson here appears to be "big boy rules apply when doing African coup shit". What's amazing is there were a bunch of people who appear to have learned that in Angola, Liberia, etc. and yet decided to move forward in violation of the rules.
There was a lot of information about what it's like to be in a notoriously shitty African prison in former Rhodesia, corruption/bribery/escape, lack of communications, untrustworthy lawyers and former business partners, being abducted from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea to potentially face execution, selling out yet other people, etc. As a prison psychodrama for one man in his head, it was quite engaging, and a great reminder of why going to a prison in Africa over something political is pretty bad and why people have "a few extra rounds" or a frag or something.
It's hard to judge the events overall because there were so many incentives to distort the truth on everyone's side (i.e. don't convict yourself in your autobiography....), but this is one more book which adds perspective to a truly weird African coup adventure.
December 22, 2021
Crazy stuff that goes on our continent. Should be read with Wonga coup by Adam Roberts for a fuller picture of what went down or did not go down. In the latter there are interesting references to Ugandan higher ups ;)
March 3, 2013
What could have been an fascinating insight into the process of setting up a coup and surviving an extended imprisonment in a Zimbabwean prison facing capital charges was spoiled by Mann's continual attempts to whitewash his involvement. Not that he denied being responsible - it was just that he used every trick in the book to try to paint himself in a positive light, even if this meant trashing the reputation of those that he relied on for his successes. Whatever venture he was describing, he would make out that he was trying to do good for the oppressed; that he was on the side of the victims; that the massive profits that he made out of hos warmongering was simply a fortuitous outcome and the not entire reason that he was prepared to wage war. Ultimately he comes across in this book as an incredibly self-centered borderline(?) sociopath who squirms from one chapter to the next trying not to let the filth he is wallowing in from tainting his pristine self-image. His thinly veiled racism throughout the book rounds of the characterization of someone for whom I ended up with so little sympathy that I struggled to finish the book.
August 3, 2015
Lets agree that to his credit Simon Mann had a story to tell. However lets also agree that Simon Mann cannot write. He had a story to tell but he is just not a story teller. You as the reader will have to work extra hard to remain on track and extract the story from within the masses of utterly incoherent, confusing, complicated and pointless ramblings. He tries to be what he deems honest but some of his self praising, heroic, messianic, do-gooder claims are to be taken with a large pinch of salt.
November 22, 2011
The style was a bit odd - kind of a boys own adventure and the time frame kept leaping to and fro between the different conflicts he was involved in. It did get a bit samey after a while - one African war tended to merge into another. But in a strange way I did enjoy reading it. Simon Mann is a fascinating character who will rise to the top wherever he finds himself and has some excellent stories to tell.
November 21, 2016
I endorse everything Edicta said about this book in her review Oct 13, 2015. It is totally ridiculous and a downright cheek that this ever got to the bookshelves, it is the most poorly written and equally badly edited book I have EVER read. Stick to whatever you're currently doing Mr Mann, but for all our sakes, let's hope its not writing another book. Goodreads why don't you allow people to give zero stars in your rating selection, because this book definitely deserved no more.
Want to read
April 8, 2016A review in the Economist Dec 3rd 2011 was pretty scathing. However as they admit a member of their team wrote the competing book The Wonga Coup. He was interviewed on BBC's Hardtalk and appeared evasive. I intend to read both books together. Review in Telegraph Nov 7th pretty scathing. For my taste the staccato writing style is painful, made worse by a heavy peppering of unnecessary acronyms.
July 17, 2021
Good book, amazing story of a man with nerve that is legendary. To risk everything he had and then to deal with the consequences when things go wrong and have the clarity of mind to survive, endure and then write about it is amazing. This man should be a household name.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews