Book- Voices of the Foreign Legion

The French Foreign Legion has gained a reputation as one of the most formidable of military institutions.

Accepting volunteers from all parts of the globe, the Legion has acquired an aura of mystery – and a less than enviable reputation for brutality within its ranks.

Voices of the Foreign Legion considers how recruits are selected and trained, where they come from and why they seek a life of

hardship and danger.

This is the real story of the Legion, featuring many, superb first-hand narratives from the men who have served in its ranks.

It ranges from the conquest of France’s colonies in Africa and the Far East, through the horror of the two world wars to the bitter but ultimately doomed battles to maintain France’s imperial possessions.

The story is brought up to date with accounts and anecdotes from those legionnaires who continue to fight for French interests around the world.

Praise for Voices of the Foreign Legion:

'Voices of the Foreign Legion is a profound, life-changing experience’ - Publishers Weekly

'These compelling stories of the Foreign Legion, sometimes brutal, are imprinted on the page.

It is impossible to remain unmoved' - The Times

'Gilbert's book is characterized by the original testimonies of the legionaries. Interesting reading, and not just for enthusiasts’ -

Military History

Adrian Gilbert is a military historian with a special interest in 20th-century warfare.

His latest book is Challenge of Battle: The Real Story of the British Army in 1914, which includes a rigorous analysis of the BEF's performance set within a dramatic narrative of the First World War's opening campaign.

Among his other books are POW: Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1939-45, the best-selling Sniper One-on-One, and The Imperial War Museum Book of the Desert War, the latter volume part of a series that won the Duke of Westminster's Medal for Military Literature.

293 pages.