No military unit - not even the SAS - has been more glamourised, fictionalised, or been the subject of more myth-making than the French Foreign Legion. But despite the hype, quality first-hand accounts of life in the ranks of France s cosmopolitan elite colonial force are relatively rare. This is one of the finest of that select group. It is the work of the adopted son of the famous Russian writer Maxim Gorki. Pechkoff served in the Legion during the Great War, and later in North Africa. He was on peacekeeping duties in Algeria, and fought in the Rif Wars of the 1920s against the forces of the great tribal guerilla leader Abd-el-Krim. This memoir is based on the author s diaries, and was written while he was recovering from wounds in a hospital in the Moroccan capital, Rabat. Pechkoff gives vivid accounts of his rough, tough Legion comrades, and of fierce military action. He was one of a special Group Mobile assigned to relieving Legion outposts besieged by the Rif rebels, and his accounts of the fighting pays tribute to the heroism of both sides. A first-class military memoir which gives the truth behind the romantic Beau Geste image, this book has a foreword by the famous French writer Andre Maurois, a map of Morocco, the music for the legion s anthem Marche de la Legion Etrangere , a frontispiece drawing of a Legionairre, and an appendix giving a brief history of the Legion from its foundation in 1831. A must-have book for all lovers of the Legion and its literature, and for all students of desert and guerilla warfare.

The French Foreign Legion has built a reputation as one of the world’s most formidable and colorful military institutions. Established as a means of absorbing foreign troublemakers, the Legion spearheaded French colonialism in North Africa during the nineteenth century. Accepting volunteers from all parts of the world, the Legion acquired an aura of mystery and a less-than-enviable reputation for extreme brutality within its ranks. Voices of the Foreign Legion explores how the Legion selects its recruits, their native lands, and why these warriors seek a life full of hardship and danger. It analyzes the Legion’s brutal attitude toward discipline, questions why desertion has been a perennial problem, and assesses the Legion’s remarkable military achievements since its formation in the year 1831. This is the real story of the Legion, featuring firsthand accounts from the men who have fought in its ranks. Its scope ranges from the conquest of the colonies in Africa and the Far East through the horrors of the two world wars, to the bitter, but ultimately hopeless, battle to maintain France’s far-flung imperial possessions. The story is brought fully up-to-date with accounts and anecdotes from those contemporary foreign legionnaires who continue to fight for French interests around the globe. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Strippers, zombies, fugitives and jewel thieves. These were just some of the characters who inhabited the weird, wild films of director Stephen C. Apostolof in the 1960s and 1970s. But Apostolof's own life was every bit as improbable as the plots of his lurid movies. Escaping the clutches of the communists in his native Bulgaria, he came to America in 1952 and decided on a whim to reinvent himself as a Hollywood filmmaker, right down to the cigars, sunglasses and Cadillacs. He produced a string of memorable sexploitation classics, including the infamous Orgy of the Dead. Along the way, he married three times, fathered five children and forged a personal and professional relationship with the notorious Ed Wood, Jr. Drawing on rare archival material and interviews with those who knew him best, this first biography of Apostolof chronicles the life and career of a cult film legend.