Marching with the Devil

Legends, Glory and Lies in the French Foreign Legion

David Mason

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English

Hachette Australia
01 August 2017

Biography; Memoirs; True war & combat stories; Special & elite forces

Series: Hachette Military Collection

A real-life boy's own adventure, Marching with the Devil is a hell-raising account of five years in the infamous French Foreign Legion.

'In 1894 a French Foreign Legion General said, "Legionnaires, vous etes faits pour mourir, je vous envoie la ou on meurt." Legionnaires, you are made for dying, I will send you where you can die. When I was in my mid-teens and first read those words they were powerful and confronting. I read them as a challenge and an invitation. The words, and the feelings they evoked, remained with me until I was ready. On 20 May 1988, I enlisted in the French Foreign Legion.'

Searching for something he wasn't finding in his life in Australia, David Mason joined the French Foreign Legion. This is a frank account of how Mason came first in basic training, trained other Legionnaires, went to Africa, did sniper, commando and medic training and took part in two operations, both in the Republic of Djibouti where a civil war nearly crippled the nation. It tells of his daily life in the Legion, in the training regiment, in Africa and with the Legion's Parachute Regiment.

But more than this: it reveals his disillusionment, frustration and disappointment with the much mythologised Legion, and how the Legion today is not what it seems - or could be. Now part of the Hachette Military Collection.

By: David Mason
Imprint: Hachette Australia
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 126mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 280g
ISBN: 9780733639135
ISBN 10: 0733639135
Series: Hachette Military Collection
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 01 August 2017
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

David Mason has been a part owner of an opal mine, worked on a cattle station and on a prawn trawler. He holds a BA (Hons), an LLB, a Grad Dip and an LLM (with Merit) from the Australian National University, a MDefStud from the University of New South Wales (ADFA), and a Grad Dip in Military Law from the University of Melbourne. He is admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Australian Capital Territory, and as a Barrister of the High Court of Australia. He is also a Major in the Australian Army Reserve Legal Corps and has been decorated by the Australian, French and United States governments. David was named Australia's Adventurer of the Year and awarded the Gold Medal of the Australian Geographic Society following his trek across Australia. He is the author of WALK ACROSS AUSTRALIA and MARCHING WITH THE DEVIL.

Reviews for Marching with the Devil: Legends, Glory and Lies in the French Foreign Legion

Marching with the Devil quickly turns into an insightful and honest account of an unpretentious Aussie's experiences in one of the most ramshackle and soul-destroying military organisations on Earth. - COURIER-MAILSince its creation in 1831, the French Foreign Legion has become the stuff of myth, fiction and dreams . . . Anyone thinking of joining up would be well advised to read this book first. - SUN-HERALDRemarkable - THE AGEA strangely compulsive read about one man's quest for self knowledge. - MEN'S HEALTHMason left a comfortable life in Australia to test himself in the crucible of the legion, and he writes about it 20 years after his service time, necessary to give himself the distance and context he needed to write about an extraordinary and painful experience. - SUNDAY MAIL It s a rollicking, readable memoir of extreme adventures. - Burnie Advocate