ESCAPING THE AMAZON: A South African Breaks Out of the French Foreign Legion, Cheats Death, and Finds Peace

I really enjoyed this book. It was about the perfect length - not too detailed that you ever got bored, but felt like you also got your money's worth. The author does a great job of not sugar coating anything, but also being honest about the things he enjoyed too. I feel like so many memoirs come at you with an agenda, whereas this one was just plain entertaining. Worth the read whether you're interested in the Legion or not.

Great book. Could not put it down

This was an excellent book... Written in the quick writing style that I love. It's an honest account of a mans life yet speak about all men who want the adventure and yet long for normality. It's the strange antithesis of a mans quest. Book can be read in under 3 hours.

Tries to make desertion noble. Hats off to 5 year johnny. When he found the legion not entertaining, he quit.

I liked his story and his reason for getting out. Losing a family member is tough, he now had to move on for others. His short training had paid off to survive further in life. I recommend this book for another adventure.

The location of Alex's story, and the pace of the adventure was reminiscent of Papillon. I literally could not put this book down, and when I had to, I looked forward to picking it up again. Definitely a book I will be reading again. I thought adventurers like this were long gone. But Alex, Conner and Vasile blow that out of the water. I am giving it four stars due to editorial errors. On a next addition, I would love to see pictures and maps.

I so enjoyed this book. Extremely well written and kept me gripped to the end.

Well written account of one man's journey in joining the legions and his personal challenges and experiences along the way.. Amazing first hand experience of self growth and learning

This book has everything hardship comeraderie escape and near death episodeshow how survived is a mystery unto itself .about 10 times better than papillion and unlike pappy this one isnt fictionBut each person would have to trust their own instincts, to how much is embelishment and did actually happen . Given the author was helped with the book

This is well written and an easy read. While the story is about about one man's escape from the Legion, the underlying tale is a more complex overview of many bad choices. The author is open and honest about his motivations and the decisions that created the experience. He accepts ownership of all of his actions. I struggled with repeated references, post-desertion, that he was still a Legionnaire; a term he uses arbitrarily to suit his feelings at any given moment in time. While the title was indeed earned, it was also abandoned when he chose to leave without fulfilling his obligation. But that's just my opinion.Still an interesting read.

Very good read, warts and all, a true adventure,cutting through the romantic idea of the legion , throughly recommended 👍

This a real tale of people,from all walks of life ending up in real comrades through adversity and pain of all sorts

Very detailed account of the author's time in the legion, how he escaped. Easy read, doesn't deviate. I've read a few books about the legion and they are tough by any standing. But the book is worth a read.