I Am Soldier of Fortune: Dancing with Devils

by Robert K. Brown, Vann Carpenter

Overview

The founder of Soldier of Fortune magazine tells his own story, from Green Beret to trailblazing combat zone journalist.
 
In 1975, former Green Beret Robert K. Brown found his true calling as the publisher of an upstart magazine called Soldier of Fortune. Brown pushed the bounds of journalism with his untamed brand of reporting—a camera in one hand, a gun in the other. He quickly established a worldwide community as his notorious magazine drew the avid attention of action-seekers across the globe.
 
Brown and his combat journalists embedded themselves with anti-Communist guerillas and freedom fighters, often training and fighting alongside the groups they reported on. Brown himself accompanied teams to work and fight with the Rhodesians; the Afghans during the Afghan-Russo war; Christian Phalange in Lebanon; ethnic minority Karens in Burma; the ethnic tribes fighting the Communist government of Laos; the army of El Salvador; and the armed forces of struggling Croatia. Brown also sent medical teams to Burma, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Afghanistan, Bosnia, El Salvador. and Nicaragua, as well as Peru after a devastating earthquake.
 
In I Am Soldier of Fortune, the exploits of Brown and his veteran teams are revealed for the first time in all their gonzo glory, even as the US military, public, and polite diplomatic society sometimes shunned their endeavors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612001944
Publisher:	Casemate Publishers
Publication date:	01/10/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	408
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Lieutenant Colonel Robert K. Brown is a combat correspondent, investigative journalist, and founder/editor/publisher of Soldier of Fortune magazine, a pro-gun, pro-military magazine which reports on various armed confrontations around the world, as well as on new weapons and other military technology. Vann Spencer is an international lawyer, who studied law and international relationsin Russia, Poland, London, Hong Kong, Brussels, and Paris, with emphasis on theSecurity of Europe. Spencer has reported on events in Asia, Africa, SouthAmerica, and the Middle East.

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE
INTRODUCTION BY VANN SPENCER

1: I SCHEME TO BECOME A TOP GUN PILOT, A HARD-CHARGING MARINE, A SPECIAL AGENT OR . . . ?
2: CUBA . . . THE BEGINNING OF THE ROAD (TO PERDITION?)
3: THE NON-INVASION OF HAITI
4: WANDERING THROUGH THE ARMY; ANGLING FOR NAM
5: A-TEAM ADVENTURES: WHACKING MR. CHARLES . . .AND ALMOST GETTING WHACKED MYSELF
6: JUMPING INTO HELL
7: HOW I WAS TO BECOME DEFENSE MINISTER OF A NEW NATION
8: HELPING OUT IN THE BUSH WAR
9: THE BETRAYAL OF “GENTLEMAN JIM”
10: RHODESIA: THE LAND OF MERCS AND HIRED GUNS
11: CONS, PSYCHICS AND AN ABORTED SEARCH FOR POWS
12: SOF IS SUCKED INTO THE HUNT
13: YELLOW DEATH IN LAOS
14: POWS ON OUR MIND
15: DETOURING INTO A LAOTIAN REVOLUTION
16: SOF BLASTS THE BALLOON WITH THE ROYAL THAI AIR FORCE
17: SAY GOODBYE, COMRADE JAWS: SOF BREAKS BREAD WITH THE KGB
18: AFGHANISTAN, ROUND ONE: TRUMPING THE CIA
19: SOF GOES TO PAKISTAN
20: SOLDIER OF FORTUNE JIHAD: WE ATTACK A RUSSIAN FORT
21: SOF NEVER MISSES A WAR: MISSION TO LEBANON
22: GRENADA—ONE WE WON!
23: A GAME OF “DOMINOS” IN EL SALVADOR
24: THE SOFWILD BUNCH AND THE CONTRAS
25: SOF TRIES BRIBERY; OR HOW I NEVER GOT RICH
26: HOSTAGE TO HOLLYWOOD
27: SURINAM: SLOW BOAT TO A SLOW WAR
28: GUNS BEHIND THE GREAT WALL
29: DESERT STORM DIARY
30: ON THE SHARP EDGE WITH BOSNIA’S COUNTER-SNIPERS
31: HARD ROAD TO SARAJEVO
32: HELL ON THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL: THE HUNT FOR AN EXTINCT COW

CONCLUSION: AS LONG AS TYRANTS AND LIBERALS EXIST AND I AM STILL KICKING . . .
APPENDIX A: MY WAR IN EL SALVADOR BY PETER G. KOKALIS
APPENDIX B: CORRESPONDENCE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX

Editorial Reviews

Bob’s book is a walk through history and particularly America’s Profession of Arms, both public and private, role in defining and shaping that history. But what is unique is in this highly readable and enjoyable book, is the fact that Bob was intimately involved in not only recording but also shaping that history…

The Drop: The Journal of the Special Forces Association

"The book is written in Brown's flamboyant, self-effacing style, and through it all I've had a chance to reflect on his red, white and blue patriotism as one of America's most fearless journalists and, yes, a soldier for fortune who cares about God and Country."

John S. Meyer

As a journalist, Robert K. Brown out-gonzo’s Hunter S. Thompson, fighting in and then reporting on dozens of guerilla wars in the nastiest Petri dishes in the world. The reader is plunged into the arena of late 20th century warfare by the founding publisher and editor of the iconic and iconoclastic Soldier of Fortune magazine…. a rollicking good reminiscence by a man who has lived life to the fullest and emerged alive, fit and successful at 80.…amply illustrated with dozens of photographs and supporting documents and the prose is as witty and colorful as the author himself. The man can write....I’ll keep checking the perimeter, er, the bookstore—hoping to find a 'Part II'.

Richard Venola

Brown’s new book, I Am Soldier of Fortune: Dancing with Devils, like the man himself, is as blunt, interesting and as innovative as they come. Crusty as hell at times, his meat-and-potatoes style of covering conflicts went on to make the man an icon among his readers…

Tactical Weapons - Al Venter

Lt. Col. Brown and the SOF team were at the forefront of fighting Communist oppression during the cold war. They made a difference, and the Nation is better for it."

Major General John Singlaub

Brown’s new book, I Am Soldier of Fortune: Dancing with Devils, like the man himself, is as blunt, interesting and as innovative as they come. Crusty as hell at times, his meat-and-potatoes style of covering conflicts went on to make the man an icon among his readers…

Tactical Weapons Al Venter

"Lieutenant Colonel Robert K. Brown, USAR (Ret.) has published his autobiography titled, “I Am Soldier of Fortune: Dancing with Devils“. WDW – FL received a copy for review. Robert K. Brown’s (or RKB as he is known to his friends) book is more than just an autobiography, it is a monumental lesson in American and world history.RKB’s book reads like a Tom Clancy novel, may Tom rest in peace.A lover of good whiskey, danger and going where the action is, usually on his own dime, makes him a modern day Ernest Hemingway."

Dr. Richard Swier

"...its 398 enthralling pages, which march readers through every major battlefield in our collective recent memory, are extremely educative about the life and character of a man many may think they know but will learn eons more about from this book."

Marc Phillip Yablonka

"...it truly covers the breadth and depth of this well-known (and sometimes controversial) magazine and its maximum leader. As he does in real-life, Brown just tells it like it was in these pages."

Dr Ronald C Thomas

"The book is written in Brown's flamboyant, self-effacing style, and through it all I've had a chance to reflect on his red, white and blue patriotism as one of America's most fearless journalists and, yes, a soldier for fortune who cares about God and Country."

former Green Beret and author of Across the Fence& John S. Meyer

Bob Brown’s book is well named. It is, on one hand, a concise chronological history of a unique American publishing venture, and on the other, an autobiography of a maverick soldier and his bizarre assortment of cronies. Above all, it is a great read.

American Rifleman Magazine

…jumps out of its page and fills the reader with the adrenalin …. The adrenalin rush is a drug and after a while it keeps turning a good soldier into more adventures, reloading that syringe and re-injecting potency… The average person who will read the book will learn a history of Cold War and post-Cold War actions which would otherwise be polluted by layers of media editors or who would, as they often do, use a buzz word or two at the expense of the truth.

Bill Northacker

As a journalist, Robert K. Brown out-gonzo’s Hunter S. Thompson, fighting in and then reporting on dozens of guerilla wars in the nastiest Petri dishes in the world. The reader is plunged into the arena of late 20th century warfare by the founding publisher and editor of the iconic and iconoclastic Soldier of Fortune magazine…. a rollicking good reminiscence by a man who has lived life to the fullest and emerged alive, fit and successful at 80.…amply illustrated with dozens of photographs and supporting documents and the prose is as witty and colorful as the author himself. The man can write....I’ll keep checking the perimeter, er, the bookstore—hoping to find a 'Part II'.

former editor of Guns & Ammo Richard Venola

Bob Brown is a "Mature Audiences Only" kind of guy, and so is this gripping book. I love his unabashed defense of our 2nd Amendment, his relentless disdain for commies and his steadfast support for our fellow Vietnam vets. I admire Bob's penchant for seeking trouble - and when he finds it - his rush to the sound of gunfire. Though I cannot vouch for all the characters and events in this great read, his account of the million dollar reward for a Soviet HIND helicopter is spot on!

USMC (Ret.)Bestselling author of Heroes Proved LtCol Oliver North

"Revolutionary or armed rebel…LTC Robert K. Brown has not only seen the elephant, he fist pounded his chest and stared a herd of them down from one bloody brush war to the next for the past forty years. RKB warned us - through the hard lessons and pages of Soldier of Fortune - just how filthy and fatal firefights, ambushes, and punji sticks can be. He also stoked our hunger for patriotism, selfless service, and the all-American craving to defend the land of the free to the bitter end. "

New York Times bestselling author of Kill Bin Lade Dalton Fury

Bob Brown is a "Mature Audiences Only" kind of guy, and so is this gripping book. I love his unabashed defense of our 2nd Amendment, his relentless disdain for commies and his steadfast support for our fellow Vietnam vets. I admire Bob's penchant for seeking trouble - and when he finds it - his rush to the sound of gunfire. Though I cannot vouch for all the characters and events in this great read, his account of the million dollar reward for a Soviet HIND helicopter is spot on!

LtCol Oliver North

"Col. Brown's book is a breath of fresh air and reminds us that with spirit, determination, courage and ingenuity, one individual can accomplish amazing things living in the land of the free and home of the brave. Let's try to keep it that way. Read his book and be inspired."

American Thinker

"Revolutionary or armed rebel…LTC Robert K. Brown has not only seen the elephant, he fist pounded his chest and stared a herd of them down from one bloody brush war to the next for the past forty years. RKB warned us - through the hard lessons and pages of Soldier of Fortune - just how filthy and fatal firefights, ambushes, and punji sticks can be. He also stoked our hunger for patriotism, selfless service, and the all-American craving to defend the land of the free to the bitter end. "

Dalton Fury

"a rollicking, true account of a real American hero."

World Net Daily

"…gives you an insider's look at recent history. Brown lived an adventurous life, in many respects similar to some famous fictional heroes. Those tales are here, and some of the stories are humorous, after the fact, but no doubt not at the time the events happened. Humorous or not, each chapter is an interesting story, and this book is worth having for serious reading material."

Gun Week

Bob’s book is a walk through history and particularly America’s Profession of Arms, both public and private, role in defining and shaping that history. But what is unique is in this highly readable and enjoyable book, is the fact that Bob was intimately involved in not only recording but also shaping that history…

The Drop

"I Am Solider of Fortune" is a half-century of history told from ground level. The higher value, though, may be in the perspective it offers on the warrior culture. From the outside, it is easy to believe every soldier of fortune, every "private security contractor," is a Rambo-style wild man, pumped on testosterone. Some of the characters passing through Mr. Brown's book are that. Others are darkly sinister. Most are measured, disciplined professionals who understand both risk and principle. … At 80, Robert K. Brown stands as a central figure in a shadow world of secrecy and myth. His book opens that world to readers on the outside. There are many who don't like Soldier of Fortune magazine and the culture of rogue warrior exploits it represents. Bob Brown doesn't care.

Washington Times