Anthony Mockler
![The New Mercenaries: The History of the Hired Soldier from the Congo to the Seychelles Anthony Mockler]( "The New Mercenaries: The History of the Hired Soldier from the Congo to the Seychelles Anthony Mockler")
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By: Paragon House Publishers
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Subjects -> History -> Asia -> Seychelles
Subjects -> History -> Military Science
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Sociology -> General
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
THE standard reference on mercenary troops. 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
This is the single most comprehensive book on mercenaries , period. Mockler combines the scholarship of an Oxford professor, which he is, with the flair of a journalist, which he is, to tell the story of modern mercenaries. He also goes into the definition, the history and the future of the subject. Mercenaries are becoming more common and more respectable today (please refer to them as private sector contract military trainers). You can see them on the evening news training the Bosnian army
Ho-Hum Rehash of the Mercenary Heyday 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Anthony Meckler's "The New Mercenaries" covers the violent post-colonial period in Africa from about 1960 to 1981. Included are summaries of mercenary actions in Mozambique, Angola, the Congo, and elsewhere in that troubled continent. Names of noteworthy soldiers of fortune who appear in the book are "Mad Mike" Hoare, "Black Jack" Shramme, Bob Denard and others. Oddly, very little is mentioned about counter-terror campaigns in Rhodesia following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). Perhaps this is because Rhodesia was a legitimate government, as opposed the the main thrust of Meckler's viewpoint - that the mercenaries in Africa were a law unto themselves, which was in some cases very true.Although the work is scholarly (Meckler is after all an academician), and is the result of so-so research (by reading newspaper clippings, it often appears), the book reads like what it is - a boring compilation of stale facts and anecdotes, and is further compromised be being liberally sprinkled with the author's pointless remarks and opinions. Perhaps this was an attempt to liven up a real snoozer.
Although the book would be helpful to someone researching African politics, military history researchers won't find much of use in "The New Mercenaries".
