My Friend the Mercenary
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $20.72
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
James Brabazon
-
By:
-
James Brabazon
About this listen
James Brabazon is narrating this story of war, violence, and political intrigue. He wanted a war. And, for his sins, he got one. James Brabazon was an ambitious young war reporter when he entered the chaos of the Liberian Civil War in 2002. Running with the infamous LURD rebels, he survived numerous deadly ambushes, the privations of dysentery and a dramatic hundred-mile escape from Government troops through dense equatorial jungle. He even had a bounty put on his head.
Surrounded largely by child soldiers high on drugs, Brabazon was accompanied by Nick du Toit, a South African mercenary with a dark past. They quickly became best friends. Before long, Nick promised James the scoop of his life: a front seat, beside Simon Mann, in an audacious coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea. And the offer was too good to refuse.…
©2010 James Brabazon (P)2011 Audible LtdListeners also enjoyed...
-
Cry Havoc
- By: Captain Simon Mann
- Narrated by: Captain Simon Mann
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 intention was to remove one of the most brutal dictators in Africa in a privately organized coup d’état. The plot had the tacit approval of Western intelligence agencies, and Mann had already planned, overseen, and won two wars in Angola and Sierra Leone. So why did it go so wrong?
-
-
Average
- By Miriam Majome on 08-23-15
-
Congo Mercenary
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare tells how his force of mercenaries, 5 Commando, put down a Comunist-backed rebel uprising in the Congo. As they restored law and order, town by town, he and his men freed 1800 nuns and priests. His men also learned what it means to be real soldiers.
-
-
Nice to hear an unapologetic account
- By S. H. Moore on 01-16-20
By: Mike Hoare
-
Mike Hoare's Adventures in Africa
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Go with Mike on foot accros Basutoland; by motorbike from Cape Town to Cairo; to sea in a 36-foot ketch; into the Kalahari desert - and more. In the final chapter he describes how he and his wife move to an Edenic island in the Okovanga delta, and the terrible and wonderful events that took place there.
-
-
Filled with Outdated Stereotypes of Africans
- By Anthony Nana Kwamu on 01-14-20
By: Mike Hoare
-
Last Stands
- Why Men Fight When All Is Lost
- By: Michael Walsh
- Narrated by: Michael Walsh
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is heroism? What are its moral components - altruism, love, self-sacrifice? Why was it once celebrated, and now often dismissed as anachronistic? In this dramatic and readable account of last stands in history - famous or otherwise - Walsh explores the stakes that led men at very different times and places to face overwhelming odds and certain death for the sake of family, home and country.
-
-
Excellent historical facts
- By Mark Twain on 02-18-21
By: Michael Walsh
-
The Road to Kalamata
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare describes how his 4 Commando supported Moise Tshombe's breakaway state of Katanga against both the UN forces, and the Baluba tribesmen who used poison arrows, pit traps, marijuana, spells, jungle drums...and even reorted to ritual torture and cannibalism.
-
-
another great book by hoare
- By Chris on 08-29-24
By: Mike Hoare
-
The Seychelles Affair
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare tells how he planned to overthrow the militant socialist government of the Seychelles, what went wrong at Mahé airport, and of his trial and imprisonment in South African jails....
-
-
Fantastic insight on the Seychelles Affair
- By Amazon Customer on 07-06-21
By: Mike Hoare
-
Cry Havoc
- By: Captain Simon Mann
- Narrated by: Captain Simon Mann
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 intention was to remove one of the most brutal dictators in Africa in a privately organized coup d’état. The plot had the tacit approval of Western intelligence agencies, and Mann had already planned, overseen, and won two wars in Angola and Sierra Leone. So why did it go so wrong?
-
-
Average
- By Miriam Majome on 08-23-15
-
Congo Mercenary
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare tells how his force of mercenaries, 5 Commando, put down a Comunist-backed rebel uprising in the Congo. As they restored law and order, town by town, he and his men freed 1800 nuns and priests. His men also learned what it means to be real soldiers.
-
-
Nice to hear an unapologetic account
- By S. H. Moore on 01-16-20
By: Mike Hoare
-
Mike Hoare's Adventures in Africa
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Go with Mike on foot accros Basutoland; by motorbike from Cape Town to Cairo; to sea in a 36-foot ketch; into the Kalahari desert - and more. In the final chapter he describes how he and his wife move to an Edenic island in the Okovanga delta, and the terrible and wonderful events that took place there.
-
-
Filled with Outdated Stereotypes of Africans
- By Anthony Nana Kwamu on 01-14-20
By: Mike Hoare
-
Last Stands
- Why Men Fight When All Is Lost
- By: Michael Walsh
- Narrated by: Michael Walsh
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is heroism? What are its moral components - altruism, love, self-sacrifice? Why was it once celebrated, and now often dismissed as anachronistic? In this dramatic and readable account of last stands in history - famous or otherwise - Walsh explores the stakes that led men at very different times and places to face overwhelming odds and certain death for the sake of family, home and country.
-
-
Excellent historical facts
- By Mark Twain on 02-18-21
By: Michael Walsh
-
The Road to Kalamata
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare describes how his 4 Commando supported Moise Tshombe's breakaway state of Katanga against both the UN forces, and the Baluba tribesmen who used poison arrows, pit traps, marijuana, spells, jungle drums...and even reorted to ritual torture and cannibalism.
-
-
another great book by hoare
- By Chris on 08-29-24
By: Mike Hoare
-
The Seychelles Affair
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare tells how he planned to overthrow the militant socialist government of the Seychelles, what went wrong at Mahé airport, and of his trial and imprisonment in South African jails....
-
-
Fantastic insight on the Seychelles Affair
- By Amazon Customer on 07-06-21
By: Mike Hoare
-
Black Ops
- The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior
- By: Ric Prado
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Enrique Prado found himself in his first firefight at age seven. The son of a middle-class Cuban family caught in the midst of the Castro Revolution, his family fled their war-torn home for the hope of a better life in America. Fifty years later, the Cuban refugee retired from the Central Intelligence Agency as the CIA equivalent of a two-star general. Black Ops is the story of Ric’s legendary career that spanned two eras, the Cold War and the Age of Terrorism.
-
-
Impressive and Inspiring!
- By medardo on 03-12-22
By: Ric Prado
-
We Dared to Win
- The SAS in Rhodesia
- By: Hannes Wessels, Andre Scheepers - with
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Andre Scheepers grew up on a farm in Rhodesia, learning about the bush from his African childhood friends, before joining the army. A quiet, introspective thinker, Andre started out as a trooper in the SAS before being commissioned into the Rhodesian Light Infantry Commandos, where he was engaged in fireforce combat operations. He then rejoined the SAS. Andre writes vividly about his experiences, his emotions, and his state of mind during the war, and reflects candidly on what he learned and how war has shaped his life since.
-
-
The tragic story behind the story
- By wade on 02-07-21
By: Hannes Wessels, and others
-
Born Twice
- Memoir of a Special Forces SOG Warrior
- By: Dale Hanson
- Narrated by: Dale Hanson
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dale Hanson takes us from a northern Minnesota boyhood to the incredible stresses of US special operations during the Vietnam War, the deadly world of MAC-V-SOG, the top-secret Special Forces project that conducted America’s secret war against the Communist forces on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Shrouded in mystery and equipped with exotic weaponry, SOG operators suffered casualty rates in excess of 100 percent for three successive years.
-
-
Politics
- By Anonymous User on 11-30-23
By: Dale Hanson
-
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters
- The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa
- By: Jason Stearns
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the heart of Africa is Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal and unstaunchable war in which millions have died. And yet, despite its epic proportions, it has received little sustained media attention. In this deeply reported book, Jason K. Stearns vividly tells the story of this misunderstood conflict through the experiences of those who engineered and perpetrated it.
-
-
First book I've found that explains DRC
- By Amazon Customer on 09-09-17
By: Jason Stearns
-
Congo Warriors
- By: Mike Hoare
- Narrated by: Mike Hoare
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Col. Mike Hoare's favorite book consisting of 21 short stories, giving new insight into the minds and hearts of the adventurers who became mercenary soldiers. It captures the spirit of mercenary soldiering.
-
-
Superb stories from a little known conflict.unlike
- By Mrs. on 08-02-17
By: Mike Hoare
-
Dead Center
- A Marine Sniper's Two-Year Odyssey in the Vietnam War
- By: Ed Kugler
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raw, straightforward, and powerful, Ed Kugler's account of his two years as a Marine scout-sniper in Vietnam vividly captures his experiences there - the good, the bad, and the ugly. After enlisting in the Marines at 17, then being wounded in Santo Domingo during the Dominican crisis, Kugler arrived in Vietnam in early 1966. As a new sniper with the 4th Marines, Kugler picked up bush skills while attached to 3d Force Recon Company, and then joined the grunts.
-
-
If not the best certainly tied for the best
- By Rose Dawn Blanton on 08-04-15
By: Ed Kugler
-
A Handful of Hard Men
- The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia
- By: Hannes Wessels
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is difficult to find another soldier's story to equal Captain Darrell Watt's in terms of time spent on the field of battle and challenges faced. Even by the lofty standards of the SAS and Special Forces, one has to look far to find anyone who can match his record of resilience and valor in the face of such daunting odds and with resources so paltry. In the fight, he showed himself to be a military maestro. After 12 years in the cauldron of war, his cause slipped from beneath him, and Rhodesia gave way to Zimbabwe.
-
-
Fantastic Story- Title says it all... Hard Men
- By rowca on 10-05-17
By: Hannes Wessels
-
I Am Soldier of Fortune
- Dancing with Devils
- By: Robert K. Brown, Vann Spencer
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-eight years ago Robert Brown launched an upstart magazine from his basement called Soldier of Fortune, which pushed the bounds of journalism to its limits with his untamed brand of reporting - - a camera in one hand, a gun in the other, and soon thereafter he discovered that he’d established a worldwide community. His wildly popular, notorious magazine became an icon for action-seekers in the U.S. and around the world. In this long-awaited book, Brown tells his own story.
-
-
Very interesting story
- By Amazon Customer on 03-07-24
By: Robert K. Brown, and others
-
11-22-63
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Craig Wasson
- Length: 30 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King - who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer - takes listeners on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.
-
-
I Owe Stephen King An Apology
- By Kelly - Write Well Academy on 04-16-12
By: Stephen King
-
Mukiwa
- A White Boy in Africa
- By: Peter Godwin
- Narrated by: Peter Godwin
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In unforgettable tales of innocence lost under African skies, we follow Godwin's awakening to the often savage struggle between Whites and Blacks, his horror when he is forced to fight in a civil war he detests, and his experiences as a journalist covering the country's violent transition to Black rule as Rhodesia's colonial era comes to an end and the new state of Zimbabwe is born from its bloody ashes. Mukiwa is a poignant, compelling memoir and an invaluable addition to the literature of southern Africa.
-
-
Captivating, poignant memoir.
- By Nakaale on 10-04-20
By: Peter Godwin
-
The Triple Agent
- The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA
- By: Joby Warrick
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In December 2009, a group of the CIA’s top terrorist hunters gathered at a secret base in Khost, Afghanistan, to greet a rising superspy: Humam Khalil al-Balawi, a Jordanian double-agent who infiltrated the upper ranks of al-Qaeda. For months, he had sent shocking revelations from inside the terrorist network and now promised to help the CIA assassinate Osama bin Laden’s top deputy. Instead, as he stepped from his car, he detonated a 30-pound bomb strapped to his chest, instantly killing seven CIA operatives....
-
-
Great modern history story
- By Melissa on 08-11-11
By: Joby Warrick
-
The Irishman (Movie Tie-In)
- Originally published as: I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran and Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa
- By: Charles Brandt
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Irishman is an epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th Century. Spanning decades, Sheeran’s story chronicles one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history, the disappearance of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoffa, and offers a monumental journey through the hidden corridors of organized crime: its inner workings, rivalries, and connections to mainstream politics.
-
-
Don't give up!
- By Grace Azul on 05-30-10
By: Charles Brandt
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
Hunting Che
- How a U.S. Special Forces Team Helped Capture the World's Most Famous Revolutionary
- By: Mitch Weiss, Kevin Maurer
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Che Guevara was a threat to American foreign policy - and when he turned his attention to Bolivia in 1967, the Pentagon made a decision: Che had to be eliminated. Hunting Che follows the exploits of Major Ralph "Pappy" Shelton, Felix Rodriguez, and Gary Prado - the Bolivian Ranger commander who ultimately captured him. With the White House and the Pentagon secretly monitoring every move, Shelton and his team changed history.
-
-
Interesting
- By robert on 07-22-24
By: Mitch Weiss, and others
-
Cry Havoc
- By: Captain Simon Mann
- Narrated by: Captain Simon Mann
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 intention was to remove one of the most brutal dictators in Africa in a privately organized coup d’état. The plot had the tacit approval of Western intelligence agencies, and Mann had already planned, overseen, and won two wars in Angola and Sierra Leone. So why did it go so wrong?
-
-
Average
- By Miriam Majome on 08-23-15
-
The Shattered Lens
- A War Photographer's True Story of Captivity and Survival in Syria
- By: Jonathan Alpeyrie, Stash Luczkiw
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Capturing history was Jonathan Alpeyrie's job, but he never expected to become a news story himself. For a decade, the French-American photojournalist weaved in and out of over a dozen conflict zones. But, during his third assignment to Syria, Alpeyrie was betrayed by his fixer and handed over to a band of Syrian rebels. For 81 days, he was bound, blindfolded, and beaten. Over the course of his captivity, Alpeyrie kept his spirits up and strived to see, without his camera lenses, the humanity in his captors.
-
-
Everyone should read this
- By Magdoll on 11-14-18
By: Jonathan Alpeyrie, and others
-
The Vortex
- A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation
- By: Scott Carney, Jason Miklian
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In November 1970, a storm set a collision course with the most densely populated coastline on Earth. Over the course of just a few hours, the Great Bhola Cyclone would kill 500,000 people and begin a chain reaction of turmoil, genocide, and war. The Vortex is the dramatic story of how that storm sparked a country to revolution.
-
-
One of the Best books this year!
- By Nazir on 05-26-22
By: Scott Carney, and others
-
My War Gone By, I Miss It So
- By: Anthony Loyd
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With elegance and unsparing honesty, special correspondent for The Times of London, Anthony Loyd records this harrowing account of modern war. My War Gone By, I Miss It So exposes the unspeakable terror, visceral thrill of combat, and countless lives laid waste in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II. Unsatisfied by a brief stint in the British army and driven by the despair of drug dependence, the author was searching for excitement when he set out for Bosnia in 1993.
-
-
Fun book. Low anti Serb bias for an Anglo
- By Paul on 09-14-17
By: Anthony Loyd
-
Under the Wire
- Marie Colvin's Final Assignment
- By: Paul Conroy
- Narrated by: James Clamp
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marie Colvin, described as "the greatest war correspondent of her generation", was killed in a rocket attack in February 2012 while reporting on the desperate suffering of civilians inside Syria's besieged Homs. Paul Conroy, who had forged a close bond with Colvin as they put their lives on the line time and time again to report from some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones, was with her.
-
-
A riveting read
- By S. Perreten on 01-24-14
By: Paul Conroy
-
Hunting Che
- How a U.S. Special Forces Team Helped Capture the World's Most Famous Revolutionary
- By: Mitch Weiss, Kevin Maurer
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Che Guevara was a threat to American foreign policy - and when he turned his attention to Bolivia in 1967, the Pentagon made a decision: Che had to be eliminated. Hunting Che follows the exploits of Major Ralph "Pappy" Shelton, Felix Rodriguez, and Gary Prado - the Bolivian Ranger commander who ultimately captured him. With the White House and the Pentagon secretly monitoring every move, Shelton and his team changed history.
-
-
Interesting
- By robert on 07-22-24
By: Mitch Weiss, and others
-
Cry Havoc
- By: Captain Simon Mann
- Narrated by: Captain Simon Mann
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 intention was to remove one of the most brutal dictators in Africa in a privately organized coup d’état. The plot had the tacit approval of Western intelligence agencies, and Mann had already planned, overseen, and won two wars in Angola and Sierra Leone. So why did it go so wrong?
-
-
Average
- By Miriam Majome on 08-23-15
-
The Shattered Lens
- A War Photographer's True Story of Captivity and Survival in Syria
- By: Jonathan Alpeyrie, Stash Luczkiw
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Capturing history was Jonathan Alpeyrie's job, but he never expected to become a news story himself. For a decade, the French-American photojournalist weaved in and out of over a dozen conflict zones. But, during his third assignment to Syria, Alpeyrie was betrayed by his fixer and handed over to a band of Syrian rebels. For 81 days, he was bound, blindfolded, and beaten. Over the course of his captivity, Alpeyrie kept his spirits up and strived to see, without his camera lenses, the humanity in his captors.
-
-
Everyone should read this
- By Magdoll on 11-14-18
By: Jonathan Alpeyrie, and others
-
The Vortex
- A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation
- By: Scott Carney, Jason Miklian
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In November 1970, a storm set a collision course with the most densely populated coastline on Earth. Over the course of just a few hours, the Great Bhola Cyclone would kill 500,000 people and begin a chain reaction of turmoil, genocide, and war. The Vortex is the dramatic story of how that storm sparked a country to revolution.
-
-
One of the Best books this year!
- By Nazir on 05-26-22
By: Scott Carney, and others
-
My War Gone By, I Miss It So
- By: Anthony Loyd
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With elegance and unsparing honesty, special correspondent for The Times of London, Anthony Loyd records this harrowing account of modern war. My War Gone By, I Miss It So exposes the unspeakable terror, visceral thrill of combat, and countless lives laid waste in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II. Unsatisfied by a brief stint in the British army and driven by the despair of drug dependence, the author was searching for excitement when he set out for Bosnia in 1993.
-
-
Fun book. Low anti Serb bias for an Anglo
- By Paul on 09-14-17
By: Anthony Loyd
-
Under the Wire
- Marie Colvin's Final Assignment
- By: Paul Conroy
- Narrated by: James Clamp
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marie Colvin, described as "the greatest war correspondent of her generation", was killed in a rocket attack in February 2012 while reporting on the desperate suffering of civilians inside Syria's besieged Homs. Paul Conroy, who had forged a close bond with Colvin as they put their lives on the line time and time again to report from some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones, was with her.
-
-
A riveting read
- By S. Perreten on 01-24-14
By: Paul Conroy
-
Dadland
- By: Keggie Carew
- Narrated by: Pippa Haywood, Robert Bathurst, Tom Golding, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Keggie Carew grew up in the gravitational field of an unorthodox father who lived on his wits and dazzling charm. As his memory begins to fail, she embarks on a quest to unravel his story and get to know who her father really was.
-
-
Superb. Best memoir/history book
- By Readerwith opinions on 11-25-22
By: Keggie Carew
-
After the Monsoon
- An Ernst Grip Novel
- By: Robert Karjel
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Swedish army lieutenant drops dead on a shooting range in the desert. Was it an unfortunate accident - or something more nefarious? Ernst Grip, an agent of the Swedish security police, is sent to the Horn of Africa to find out. Once he’s on the ground, however, he quickly discovers he’s on his own. No one wants him snooping around - especially not the US Embassy’s CIA station. Which is no surprise, given that military transport planes are leaving from the base carrying untraceable pallets loaded with cash.
-
-
Difficult book to review. Pulse-pounding? Not.
- By Richard Delman on 08-18-18
By: Robert Karjel
-
I Am Soldier of Fortune
- Dancing with Devils
- By: Robert K. Brown, Vann Spencer
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-eight years ago Robert Brown launched an upstart magazine from his basement called Soldier of Fortune, which pushed the bounds of journalism to its limits with his untamed brand of reporting - - a camera in one hand, a gun in the other, and soon thereafter he discovered that he’d established a worldwide community. His wildly popular, notorious magazine became an icon for action-seekers in the U.S. and around the world. In this long-awaited book, Brown tells his own story.
-
-
Very interesting story
- By Amazon Customer on 03-07-24
By: Robert K. Brown, and others
-
Inside the Jihad
- My Life With Al Qaeda, A Spy's Story
- By: Omar Nasiri
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inside the Jihad is the story of a double agent operative working for UK and French intelligence by infiltrating Al Qaeda training camps. During his time in the camps, Nasiri met all of the top terrorist leaders, including Osama bin Laden, and engaged in a wide range of illegal activities. Strikingly well-written and gripping, Inside the Jihad is a terrifying, suspenseful read.
-
-
Waste of time
- By Andy Webber on 07-17-07
By: Omar Nasiri
-
Pumpkinflowers
- A Soldier's Story
- By: Matti Friedman
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using humor, pop culture, and even musical references, Michael Friedman re-creates the wartime experience in a narrative that is part memoir, part journalism, part military history. The years in question were pivotal ones, seeing the perfection of a type of warfare that would eventually be exported to Afghanistan and Iraq and has come to seem like the only kind of warfare in existence - wars in which there is never any clear victory, but not quite enough lives are lost to rally the country against it.
-
-
Israeli Defense Fighter’s Story of War in Lebanon
- By Debbie on 05-02-19
By: Matti Friedman
-
Operation Pineapple Express
- By: Scott Mann
- Narrated by: Lt. Col. Scott Mann
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In April 2021, an urgent call was placed from a Special Forces operator serving overseas. The message was clear: Get Nezam out of Afghanistan now. Nezam was part of the Afghan National Army’s first group of American-trained commandos; he passed through Fort Bragg’s legendary Q course and served alongside the US Special Forces for over a decade. But Afghanistan’s government and army were on the edge of collapse, and Nezam was receiving threatening texts from the Taliban.
-
-
amazing, uplifting, heart wrenching
- By Lisa L. Weinley on 09-13-22
By: Scott Mann
-
The Devil Came on Horseback
- Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur
- By: Brian Steidle, Gretchen Steidle Wallace
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Devil Came on Horseback is an intense, vivid autobiographical report from the heart of violent Darfur and a call to action by a former American Marine who became a military observer for the African Union. The first extensive on-the-ground account of the genocide in Sudan, it leads us through the tragic impact of an Arab government bent on destroying its black African citizens and the frustrating complexity of international inaction.
-
-
A review from a local point of view
- By Ahmed on 11-12-12
By: Brian Steidle, and others
-
Out of Captivity
- Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle
- By: Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, Tom Howes, and others
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Out of Captivity, Gonsalves, Stansell, and Howes recount for the first time their amazing tale of survival, friendship, and, ultimately, rescue, tracing their five and a half years as hostages of the FARC. Their story takes you inside one of the world's most notorious terrorist organizations, going behind enemy lines with vivid and haunting imagery.
-
-
Fascinating!
- By James C on 07-04-10
By: Marc Gonsalves, and others
-
Zero Footprint
- The True Story of a Private Military Contractor's Covert Assignments in Syria, Libya, and the World's Most Dangerous Places
- By: Simon Chase, Ralph Pezzullo
- Narrated by: Eric Brooks
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Armored cars, burner phones, top-notch weaponry, and top-secret missions - this is the life of today's private military contractor. Like author Simon Chase, many PMCs were once the world's top military operatives, and since retiring from outfits like US Navy SEAL TEAM Six and the UK's Special Boat Service, they have devoted their lives to executing missions too sensitive for the government to acknowledge. Chase reveals here for the first time the operations too hazardous and politically volatile to be officially sanctioned by his employers.
-
-
Read Amazon reviews, not Audible reviews
- By Andrew M on 02-22-16
By: Simon Chase, and others
-
I Lost My Love in Baghdad
- A Modern War Story
- By: Michael Hastings
- Narrated by: Michael Hastings
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At age 25, Michael Hastings arrived in Baghdad to cover the war in Iraq for Newsweek. He had at his disposal a little Hemingway romanticism and all the apparatus of a 21st-century reporter: cell phones, high-speed Internet access, digital video cameras, fixers, drivers, guards, and translators.
-
-
Sad story...
- By kathryn on 01-01-09
By: Michael Hastings
-
The Forever War
- By: Dexter Filkins
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through the eyes of Dexter Filkins, we witness the chain of events that began with the rise of the Taliban in the 1990s, continued with the attacks of 9/11, and moved on to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Forever War allows us a visceral understanding of today's battlefields and of the experiences of the people on the ground, warriors and innocents alike. It is a brilliant, fearless work, not just about America's wars after 9/11, but ultimately about the nature of war itself.
-
-
A memorable "read"
- By TCinDC on 02-16-09
By: Dexter Filkins
-
American Spartan
- The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant
- By: Ann Scott Tyson
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some have called him "Lawrence of Afghanistan". To the Pashtun tribesmen he is "Commander Jim", leader of the "bearded ones". He is Army Special Forces Major Jim Gant, one of the most charismatic and controversial U.S. commanders of modern memory, a man who changed the face of America's war in Afghanistan when his critical white paper, "One Tribe at a Time", went viral at the Pentagon, the White House, and on Capitol Hill in 2009.
-
-
THE TRUE ARMY OF ONE!!!"THE SPARTAN"
- By Hunter on 07-17-14
By: Ann Scott Tyson
What listeners say about My Friend the Mercenary
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RichA
- 02-09-18
Well written and performed.
Brought back memories of my past relationships while in the military. Well worth the listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gustav Kruger
- 07-24-21
Awesome
Very well done , I always wanted to know the story about Nick and now I know. Thanks for penning this important journey.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Thomas
- 02-12-16
War reporting at its finest!
This has to be one of the best 1st person accounts of West African conflict. Once you start this story, you can only see it to the end. Good luck!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Phil Armstrong
- 04-08-15
Solid performance, slow second half
I really enjoyed this book overall. A good story recounting the tale of a man's experience filming war with another man he doesn't know and soon befriends due to their living situation in Liberia. The writing is raw and poetic and gives a vivid description of what life in wartime Africa truly is from behind the lens of a journalist.
The only thing I didn't care for was the second half of the book's emphasis on minutiae. Without spoilers, the author goes into extreme detail about operations that I found to be pretty dull. He recounts it from a third person perspective instead of his own. It lacks the much of the emotional flare of the first half of the book where his writing reflects his own personal point of view. By the end of the book, I was actually nostalgic for the first half when he talks about his excursion to Liberia.
But, complaints aside, I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in mercenary work and war time journalism. I think Brabazon is good writer and narrator.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JLBOSHOFF
- 10-13-20
Couldn't stop listening
Loved this book and all the detail, the narration is perfect. I would recommend this to anyone.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Phil
- 07-24-11
Gripping
This is a truly fantastic book. I was totally bowled over by the story and couldn't stop listening. There's not much more to say, really, except that I recommend this book very, very highly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tam Shaner
- 07-26-23
amazingly researched and told
so well written and gripping disregarded parts of my life to finish. loved how it told the story of west Africa.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Glen
- 06-20-12
Cool
Loved this book. The performance was not my favorite, but good enough. Highly recommend!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joshua White
- 07-19-20
A great adventure
I loved this book, to be honest,, it's taken me a while to finish it. it's a slow read in the beginning bit things pick up and its a lot more complex then I thought it would be. James has a hell of story to tell.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Directionline
- 10-10-14
The best book I have aborbed in years
What made the experience of listening to My Friend the Mercenary the most enjoyable?
The best part about this audiobook, in my opinion, is that James Brabazon reads it himself. You feel so much closer to the experience with the author reading it. He is telling his story. I loved that approach. More authors should read their own work for audible.com.
What did you like best about this story?
That a strong relationship forms between a young journalist who never really had a father an older mercenary who has a son but was never really was there for him growing up. James Brabazon and Nick du Toit take the place of the opposite's absent father and son. Nick, the father, the protector, the experienced one. James, the son, the motivator, the curious one. Very strong subtext in this story.
Which scene was your favorite?
All the adventures they experience in the jungles of Liberia. Also when 30 year old Brigadier-General Deku says goodbye to James. "We are ready. And we're prepared." A very powerful scene.
If you could give My Friend the Mercenary a new subtitle, what would it be?
By any means necessary.
Any additional comments?
Looking forward to listening to more book written and read by Mr James Brabazon. Bravo James, this book was phenomenal! Thank you!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful