Merc: American Soldiers of Fortune

by Jay Mallin, Robert K. Brown

The “fast-paced, fascinating, often shocking” account of hired guns and their heroic adventures in hotspots around the world—includes photos ( Milwaukee Journal ).Merc is a classic; first published in 1979, its characters and stories are as vivid and worthy of retelling today. American soldiers of fortune have seen action on nearly every battlefield in history—from the Revolutionary War to modern times, men like John Early, a member of the famed Selous Scouts who hunted terrorists in Rhodesia. They fight because they enjoy combat, for causes in which they passionately believe, for money, or simply for adventure.The mercs profiled in this book range from West Point graduates and Harvard poets to former CIA agents and ex-cons. They are men like William Morgan, a guerrilla leader in the Cuban uprising against Fulgencio Batista, later imprisoned and executed by Fidel Castro; David Marcus, raised in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, who went on to a brilliant career in law and reform politics and died in 1947 fighting for the survival of a tiny new nation called Israel; William Brooks, Vietnam Special Forces veteran who, down and out in a cheap Paris hotel, joined the French Foreign Legion and ended up in a remote African outpost where he lived on Coke, salt tablets, and paregoric while fighting Somali insurgents; and George Bacon, an ex-CIA operative in Laos with mysterious connections, who died fighting Cubans in Angola.Because their private histories parallel the larger history of unconventional warfare and political upheaval, Merc provides insight into global conflicts—but most of all it is a fast-paced, eye-opening account of a little-known but fascinating way of life.

Genres: Military Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Hizonfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating accounts of Americans fighting in other countries’ wars. Published in 1979 by the editor of the magazine Soldier of Fortune, the politics, worldview and beliefs at that time may raise an eyebrow now, but the book gives us an excellent, ground-level peek on those covert conflicts like the CIA involvement in Laos and Cuba, low intensity conflicts in Nicaragua, flashpoints like Angola, Mozambique and Rhodesia, high profile clashes like the Arab-Israeli wars and a chapter on historical involvement of American soldiers of fortune post 1776 to World War 2.

The rating is bolstered by the content itself. However, the book seems to be haphazardly edited with lots of typos and uneven writing style and voice. The chapter on historical American mercs are crammed in the last chapter when it could be an excellent intro. While the story of Americans in the Foreign Legion took 3 chapters, 2 of them pertaining to one person.

Overall, a diverting read even if some parts are a little confusing and convoluted.