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Bill Parris
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The Making of a Legionnaire: My Life in the French Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment Hardcover – January 1, 2004

by Bill Parris (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 61 ratings
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Penniless, divorced and AWOL from the British forces, Bill Parris volunteered for the French Foreign Legion in the early 1980s. Unlike many British volunteers to the Legion, Bill did not desert. He endured a horrendous training regime and, despite a fear of heights (!) joined the elite Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment. He discovered how women from all over the world flock to Corsica where the Legion is based - so his R&R was almost as exhausting as the jungle warfare school he was later sent to
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0297846167
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0297846161
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (January 1, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0297846167
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0297846161
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 61 ratings

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Bill Parris

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
61 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

John R. Olson
5.0 out of 5 stars Defines The Current Legion
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2013
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If you have an interest in the Legion today this is the best book available in English. The Legion changed after Algeria and Parris defines the post Algerian Legion; what they do and the mission tasking. This is certainly a personal journey from enlistment, training, to combat in Rwanda and Chad. All English Legion memoirs spend a great deal of time on training, this book follows that somewhat mandatory format. Unfortunately a great deal of Legion memoirs written in English are written by deserters. How these get published is beyond me [My 6 minutes in the Legion and everybody was really mean to me and called me names, etc.] Parris is an honorable man; did his 5 years and took his discharge. Well done. Legion books are period based: Pre WW2, Indochine, Algeria, and today. Read Simon Murray for the Algeria period and Parris for the post Algeria period. While reading this book I was following the news in Mali where the Legion is engaged. What the Legion does today is well defined by Parris. Until something else comes along, this is the book.
8 people found this helpful
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Jeffrey S. Barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars Not A Quitter When Things Got Rough
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2007
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I enjoyed this book because the author Bill Parris served his five year tour with honor and without deserting.Unlike Christian Jennings "Mouthful of Rocks" who spent most of his time whining and bitching and who later on deserted.Or in Jaimie Salazar's "Legion of the Lost"when the author does not have the intestinal fortitude to honor his contract.Not so with Bill Parris who went into the Legion with a "can do" and never quit attitude.This attitude helped him through training at the "Farm" and later on in the 2nd REP when he became a paratrooper.
Parris was brutally honest on training and his own fears especially about heights and making it through jump school.Parris recognizes his shortcomings and does an outstanding job in overcoming these obstacles.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in reading about the FFL.At the begining he alludes to a stomach illness that will eventually kill him.I wish him a long and happy life with his wife and sons.My maroon beret is off to you Mr. Parris for a good book.
4 people found this helpful
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Marco Antonio Abarca
4.0 out of 5 stars Good But Not a Classic
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2004
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In the realm of military history literature, there is the special genre of French Foreign Legion memoirs. These autobiographies range from officer perspectives like Prince Aage of Denmark's, "My Life in the Foreign Legion" to the stories of hardscrabble Eastern Europeans like Aparvay's "A Legionnaire's Journey" and Ehle's, "The Survivor".

Within this genre, there is an even more interesting subset of English Legionnaire memoirs. On one end of the continuum, there is Simon Murray's "Legionnaire". His story is of the upper class Englishman who joins the Legion to impress a woman and ends up fighting guerillas in the mountains of Algeria. Murray's account is the classic Foreign Legion tale of adventure and suffering. On the other end of the continuum is Christian Jennings' "A Mouthful of Rocks". Whereas, Simon Murray is brave and heroic, Jennings is a very charming petty thief, liar and deserter. His peace time Legion is filled with losers and malcontents. Heroics is replaced with humor.

Bill Parris', "The Making of a Legionnaire, falls somewhere in the middle of continuum. He is an ex-military man who joins the Legion because of family problems. All of the classic scenes of the Foreign Legion Memoir are present. There is the mandatory enlistment scene where the recruit knocks on the Garrison door and enters into the foreboding world of the Legion. He then proceeds onto the brutal basic training with its customary physical harshness and tough NCO's. As to be expected, Parris includes the mandatory Camerone Day and Christmas Celebrations. Bill Parris is the classic motivated professional soldier who after basic training moves onto the Second Parachute Regiment, the elite regiment in an elite force.

It is at this point, his editors really start to fail Bill Parris. As a member of the Parachute Regiment he goes onto to fight in Rwanda and in Chad. Unfortunately, these two interesting stories only get superficial treatment. It is as thought the memoir runs out of steam when it starts to get really interesting.

The "Golden Years" of the Legion fighting in North Africa and Indochina are over. Intervening in small Central African conflicts is what the Legion now does for a living. Illuminating this experience could have made this memoir very interesting. As it is, "The Making of a Legonnaire" is a good book. Parris is a good story teller and is honest with himself and his audience. This is a good first time book for a person interested in the contemporary Legion. Unforuntately, afficionados of the Legion Memoir, will be a bit dissapointed.
31 people found this helpful
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Jaime R. SALAZAR
5.0 out of 5 stars Touching Account
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2018
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It took me a decade to finally read this book. I’m glad I did. I met Mr. Parris in 2005 at a book event in London. He was a real gentleman from working class roots. There is no boasting in this very honest account. The latter chapters prove the most compelling. Parris proved to be an exceptional soldier. The grim reality of war comes out when he describes his action in Africa. His ethical reflections are touching and not what one would expect from an elite forces memoir. He comes off as a descent man. He is no longer with us. Thank you for your service.
2 people found this helpful
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D.
3.0 out of 5 stars The usual. Weak on the African party.
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2015
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The usual. Weak on the African party.
One person found this helpful
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B. Cross
5.0 out of 5 stars Best FFL book I have read so far.
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2012
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To date I have also read "Hidden Soldier" and "Legionnaire" and, although I enjoyed both of them, "The Making of a Legionnaire" is by far my favorite. The only downside of the book is that there was not more to read. I really enjoyed it and if Parris were to ever write another book about his time in the FFL I would not hesitate to but it. A fun and interesting read.
One person found this helpful
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Jav-22-
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2011
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Bill Parris manages to make the story of his 5 year service in the 2nd REP a moving, interesting and sometimes funny one. The book is really well written and focuses mostly on his training, and the major events in his 5 year stay. I wish he would have talk more about the day to day life of the legion but even lacking that it is a wonderful book.
2 people found this helpful
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laz_254
5.0 out of 5 stars Great FFL story
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2008
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An excellent story that is written quite well. Easy to understand and the author is very unpretentious in the way he relays his time in the French Foreign Legion (FFL). I've read four books on the legion and this one is pretty good. He is even-handed in his treatment of the legion's glory and foibles and that is what best conveys the author's time in the French Foreign Legion. A very good book.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

donna mccoy
5.0 out of 5 stars author Bill Parriss
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2021
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i was hooked from the first page absolute awesome read from page 1 i was rooting for him to do his nco course but alas it was not to be, but he did his 5 yrs and completed it with honour, reading about how hard every aspect of training is and even more so after training makes one understand how tough and resilient these men actually are.
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Mr. Wol Wallace
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2014
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I have read a lot about the Legion, its folklore etc. and found this to be a most worthwhile read and thoroughly entertaining. The critique by Scouseray is in my view something of a 'cheap shot' i.e. he may indeed have run across the author, formed an opinion however one thing from which he cannot detract is that Monsieur Parris did indeed win his 'Kepi Blanc', served in the REP (by repute very tough indeed) these achievements significantly more meritworthy than sitting in a guardroom
2 people found this helpful
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Redman
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2014
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This book is gripping and very well written. I enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Bill Parris was ex RAF Regt (about which I am very familiar having served with them) so I understood a lot of the details but even for those not familiar, there are good explanations.
Highly recommended.
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JPB
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read if you fancy your chances in the Legion!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2016
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This book gives a really good account of the selection process and training for the French Foreign Legion. Which includes joining the REP 2, jungle commando course in Guyana and the traditional celebrations. In my opinion this book gives the best insight into the training of the several books I have read on the subject. Only a couple of chapters cover his later time, including time in Rwanda and Chad where he sees some action. But the book is titled "The making of a Legionnaire". My main disappointed was all the photos seemed to be stock pictures.
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2017
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Not very explained in details but good book to relax
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