From Xenophon's Anabasis to today's soldiers of fortune in Africa and the Middle East, the mercenary has been one of the constants of warfare, wreaking havoc throughout history. Their weapons, tactics, training, strengths and weaknesses are all examined, as is the legality of employing and deploying mercenaries, and the unsavoury reputation that haunts the 'merc' even under the modern guise they have adopted in the new golden age of mercenaries as Private Military Companies such as Blackwater. Packed with quotes and first hand accounts from mercenaries throughout history, this volume casts new light onto the murky world of the mercenary and captures the transformation the mercenary has undergone, from condottiere to hired gun, from Cold war era dogs-of-war to today's so called security consultants.
- ISBN10 1846034760
- ISBN13 9781846034763
- Publish Date 10 November 2010
- Publish Status Transferred
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Osprey Publishing
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 320
- Language English