Book description
David Mason graduated from the Australian National University with a
law degree and an honours degree. Like those around him, he could easily
have settled for a life of share portfolios, good suits, new cars and
big houses. But David wanted more - he wanted a challenge, an adventure,
something beyond the ordinary that would test him physically and
mentally. He looked around to see what he could do. Working in an
open-cut mine . . . done that. Running a marathon . . . hmm, not hard
enough. Climbing Everest . . . maybe? Joining the French Foreign Legion
. . . perfect! MARCHING WITH THE DEVIL is the gripping true story of
what happened when an Australian lawyer left his comfortable existence
and joined the legendary French Foreign Legion. He stayed for five years
and served time in the elite Parachute Regiments. With the motto 'March
or Die', the legion has a history of pain, grief and glory. David Mason
takes us behind the myth to reveal exactly what happens: the adventure,
the danger, the drinking, the fighting and the lies that sustain the
legend. '...an insightful and honest account of an unpretentious
Aussie's experiences in one of the most ramshackle and soul-destroying
military organisations on Earth' In 1988, rather than pursue a legal
career, David Mason joined the French Foreign Legion. He stayed for five
years and served in the Legion's elite Parachute Regiment. In 1998,
alone with three camels, he walked across Australia at its widest point,
carrying out the first recorded solo east-to-west crossing of the
Simpson Desert. For this expedition he was awarded the Gold Medal of the
Australian Geographic Society. David works in the Department of Defence
as a lawyer, is an Army Reserve Major in the Australian Army Legal Corps
and has served tours as a civilian adviser in Bougainville and three
times in Iraq. In 2010 he returned from a year-long tour to Iraq, where
he led a legal team working on the Rule of Law in the Iraqi Ministry of
Interior.
