Provides a close-up look at the life and times of Bob Denard, an elusive French mercenary who plied his trade throughout Africa, following his career of intrigue, violence, and murder up to his 1989 disappearance. 17,500 first printing. Weinberg, a young British journalist with ties to South Africa, is intrigued with African politics. When she heard about French mercenary Bob Denard and his exploits on the tiny Comoros Islands, she vowed to travel there and track down the truth about his role in the overthrow of one president and the death of another. The Coromos, known for their ylang-ylang flowers, which are used in French perfumes, and for Mount Karthala, the world's largest active volcano, are home for approximately 480,000 Muslims of Arabic, Malayo-Polynesian, and African descent. Weinberg provides a thumbnail sketch of the islands' lively history as a center for maritime trade, magnet for pirates, and scene of European power struggles, a tradition that continued into the 1970s and 1980s. That's where Denard comes in. A mercenary who survived some very messy missions in Africa, Denard ended up in the Coromos, where his role in the assassination of President Abdallah is still debated. Weinberg is a bit of a novice, but she certainly knows how to tell a good story and sheds some light on the clandestine world of one slick soldier of fortune. Donna Seaman Used Book in Good Condition