At the Edge of the World

The Heroic Century of the French Foreign Legion

Nonfiction, History, Military
Cover of the book At the Edge of the World by Jean-Vincent Blanchard, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jean-Vincent Blanchard ISBN: 9780802743886
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: April 4, 2017
Imprint: Bloomsbury Press Language: English
Author: Jean-Vincent Blanchard
ISBN: 9780802743886
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: April 4, 2017
Imprint: Bloomsbury Press
Language: English

The remarkable story of the French Foreign Legion, its dramatic rise throughout the nineteenth century, and its most committed champion, General Hubert Lyautey.

An aura of mystery, romance, and danger surrounds the French Foreign Legion, the all-volunteer corps of the French Army, founded in 1831. Famous for its physically grueling training in harsh climates, the legion fought in French wars from Mexico to Madagascar, Southeast Asia to North Africa. To this day, despite its reputation for being assigned the riskiest missions in the roughest terrain, the mystique of the legion continues to attract men from every corner of the world.

In At the Edge of the World, historian Jean-Vincent Blanchard follows the legion's rise to fame during the nineteenth century--focusing on its campaigns in Indochina and especially in Africa--when the corps played a central role in expanding and protecting the French Empire. As France struggled to be a power capable of rivaling the British, the figure of the legionnaire--deadly, self-sacrificing, uncompromisingly efficient--came to represent the might and morale that would secure a greater, stronger nation.

Drawing from rare, archival memoirs and testimonies of legionnaires from the period and tracing the fascinating career of Hubert Lyautey, France's first resident-general in Morocco and a hero to many a legionnaire, At the Edge of the World chronicles the Foreign Legion at the height of its renown, when the corps and its archetypically handsome, moody, and marginalized recruits became both the symbols of a triumphant colonialism and the stuff of legend.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The remarkable story of the French Foreign Legion, its dramatic rise throughout the nineteenth century, and its most committed champion, General Hubert Lyautey.

An aura of mystery, romance, and danger surrounds the French Foreign Legion, the all-volunteer corps of the French Army, founded in 1831. Famous for its physically grueling training in harsh climates, the legion fought in French wars from Mexico to Madagascar, Southeast Asia to North Africa. To this day, despite its reputation for being assigned the riskiest missions in the roughest terrain, the mystique of the legion continues to attract men from every corner of the world.

In At the Edge of the World, historian Jean-Vincent Blanchard follows the legion's rise to fame during the nineteenth century--focusing on its campaigns in Indochina and especially in Africa--when the corps played a central role in expanding and protecting the French Empire. As France struggled to be a power capable of rivaling the British, the figure of the legionnaire--deadly, self-sacrificing, uncompromisingly efficient--came to represent the might and morale that would secure a greater, stronger nation.

Drawing from rare, archival memoirs and testimonies of legionnaires from the period and tracing the fascinating career of Hubert Lyautey, France's first resident-general in Morocco and a hero to many a legionnaire, At the Edge of the World chronicles the Foreign Legion at the height of its renown, when the corps and its archetypically handsome, moody, and marginalized recruits became both the symbols of a triumphant colonialism and the stuff of legend.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book The Aesthetic Turn in Political Thought by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book Wolfish Stew by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book US Army in the Plains Indian Wars 1865–1891 by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book Can I Change Your Mind? by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book British Postcards of the First World War by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book World War II Axis Booby Traps and Sabotage Tactics by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book Secret Nation by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book Killing Bin Laden by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book We Are the Change We Seek by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book HMMWV Humvee 1980–2005 by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book Democracy and Reform in the Middle East and Asia by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book Latin American Nationalism by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book Marxist Criticism of the Hebrew Bible: Second Edition by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book The Hollywood Renaissance by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
Cover of the book Permission to Resign by Jean-Vincent Blanchard
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy