Voices of the Foreign Legion: The History of the World's Most Famous Fighting Corps

Voices of the Foreign Legion: The History of the World's Most Famous Fighting Corps by Adrian Gilbert Skyhorse, HK$200

Forget Beau Geste. The 1926 silent film based on the P.C. Wren novel about the Foreign Legion presents a romantic mirage.

In reality, as historian Adrian Gilbert shows, life in the legion is hellish. A soldier quoted in Gilbert's portrait of the unique French force recounts how, after a 72-hour mountain march, the men faced a kit inspection. That meant sorting their gear, fighting for space in the washrooms, then ironing everything - 'only to fail the repeat inspection and have to go through the whole soul-destroying cycle again'.

'It was total insanity,' the Legionnaire says. 'We hadn't a hope of making any of the kit-inspection deadlines. But that was precisely the point. We were being asked to do the impossible - and the training cadre wanted to see how we reacted to pressure, exhaustion, mayhem, futility and maybe even despair.'

No wonder recruiting sergeants are wary about any aspirant from a comfortable background. Staying power is imperative because captured deserters take a beating that borders on torture.

Some documented punishment episodes make such ugly reading that they border on pornographic. But Gilbert is only telling it like it is.