Reviews for War Dog: Fighting Other People's Wars: The Modern Mercenary in Combat

The average rating for War Dog: Fighting Other People's Wars: The Modern Mercenary in Combat based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-07-25 00:00:00 David Johnson Mr. Venter, a long time correspondent on African conflicts and Jane's employee, has written a very nice introduction to the various mercenary operations of Africa in the last half century. The book begins with a meandering overview of many of the conflicts covered elsewhere in the book - Biafra, Angola, Sierra Leone, and others. The book then delves into the 2000 Sierra Leone conflict, in particular covering the exploits of Ex-SADF chopper pilot and co-author with Venter of "Chopper Boys" Neal "Nellis" Ellis and his compatriots as they do their best to combat the RUF rebels on behalf of the government with a single Hind chopper. This part of the book goes on for sometime before he jumps back in time to cover the exploits of "Mad" Mike Hoare in the Congo and some of the characters of the Biafran Civil War. It then goes on to discuss some of the adventures of men such as Dana Drenkowski in Rhodesia and Chad; exploits which I had never heard of before and a nice diversion. the It also covers some of Nellis' ill-fated adventures in the Bosnia conflict in the early 1990's before coming back to Nellis again in Sierra Leone. Finally, the book covers in a decent amount of detail the much regaled and maligned operations of Executive Outcomes in Angola and Sierra Leone before finishing up with a cursory (and largely unnecessary) look at PMC's in Iraq. As others have said, this book can be a bit hard to read at times. The first Sierra Leone account goes on a bit long for my liking, but for anyone interested in that conflict or the ins and outs of mercenary air units, it is a fine account. The other accounts of the 1960's Congo, Biafra, and Executive Outcomes do much to whet the readers thirst about these conflicts if the reader has even a passing interest in them, but is not by any means comprehensive. This, I believe, is due to Venter's vocation as a journalist and not a historian and as a result he is better able to discuss and recount those conflicts in which he had some personal involvement in - ie: Sierra Leone (where he was even obliged to carry an AK-47 in the event that they were shot down!), Biafra, and Executive Outcomes two best known missions. The others where he relies on secondary or tertiary information are less robust, but still interesting. If nothing else, Venter provides what amounts to an entertaining and excellent annotated bibliography for those looking for more information, and I have bought no less than a half a dozen books that I did not eve know existed until cracking the pages of this. The books also does an excellent job of providing insight on some of the most interesting characters in the mercenary world such as American Bob MacKenzie and South African Cobus Classens. Finally, it provides a wealth of good color photos, though they do not always correspond with the topics discussed. For such a cheap price for a book on a topic as esoteric as this, you'll have a hard time beating this book as a primer if you have a bit of patience with the writing style.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-04-22 00:00:00 Shaun Coleman Having spent many months on various assignments in war zones in Africa, this book is one of, if not the best and most detailed compilation of details of various highly effective and highly ineffective mercenary groups fighting in Africa up until the current day. African bush wars are invariably notable for their extreme brutality, including the use of particularly viscous child soldiers, amputations and cannibalism, and the often pathetic disorganization of the standing armies of various countries. It demonstrates how a skilled and well-equipped mercenary force can settle violent disputes when called upon to do so, being usually heavily outnumbered during the process. Contrary to popular misinformed western opinions, the overwhelming number of mercs fighting in various hotspots are black, not white. It is highly recommended for anyone who is seriously interested in Africa in it's normal context, rather than the usual descriptions of the touchy-feely animal-watching destinations experienced by naive tourists. It is a fascinating read. Some background knowledge of African conflicts is desirable, but not necessary.