--- product_id: 15182786 title: "Diary of a Legionnaire: My Life in the French Foreign Legion Paperback – October 1, 2007" brand: "gareth carins" price: "VT4182" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 12 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/15182786-diary-of-a-legionnaire-my-life-in-the-french-foreign store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # Diary of a Legionnaire: My Life in the French Foreign Legion Paperback – October 1, 2007 **Brand:** gareth carins **Price:** VT4182 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Diary of a Legionnaire: My Life in the French Foreign Legion Paperback – October 1, 2007 by gareth carins - **How much does it cost?** VT4182 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/15182786-diary-of-a-legionnaire-my-life-in-the-french-foreign) ## Best For - gareth carins enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted gareth carins brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![Diary of a Legionnaire: My Life in the French Foreign Legion Paperback – October 1, 2007 - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41NglbLc3IL.jpg) ![Diary of a Legionnaire: My Life in the French Foreign Legion Paperback – October 1, 2007 - Image 2](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31gzuB7XGlL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Who edited this thing? *by J***N on Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2015* This book answered the question once and for all "Should I have considered joining the French Foreign Legion?" and that answer is a resounding "no". The author does convey what it was actually like and didn't try to romanticize it. I have a lot of respect for men who join and serve their time in the Legion.I read the Kindle version and it was full of typos and misspellings on top of grammatical errors. Some sentences were difficult to read because of these errors, it's not just me being a grammar nerd. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A College Graduate in the French Foreign Legion *by M***A on Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2008* Gareth Carins' story of his life in the Foreign Legion is different than most other autobiographies in that he enters the Legion soon after graduating from an English Univeristy. Carins joins the Legion because he liked the army, walking, travelling and is looking for a little adventure. Unlike many of the classic Legion memoirs, Carins is not escaping poverty, fleeing political turmoil or running from trouble with the law. At his core, Carins is a middle class Englishmen in search of adventure."Diary of a Legionnaire" has all the obligatory scenes one should expect in a Legion memoir. We see him as he enters the recruiting barracks, experiences his brutal basic training on the "Farm" and then goes off to further adventures in his new Regiment. Like many of the English soldiers who write their stories, Carins enters the elite Parachute Regiment based in Corsica. As with many of the recent autobiographies, Carins also goes to Africa where he partakes in some bloody skirmishes.The real strength of this book is that Carins is a good writer and does an excellent job of describing the day to day life of a Legionnaire. This book is filled with gritty details that anyone curious about the Legion will greatly enjoy. Legionnaire memoirs may span the decades but there is a core Legion experience that seems eternal.The only fault I have with this book is that Carins wrote this book too soon after leaving the Legion. He does a great job on the day to day details but we learn very little about the inner person. Why does a middle class, university graduate subject himself to the rigorous discipline of the Legion for five years? If Carins likes the military and wants some adventure, why doesn't he join the Royal Marines? Carins comes across as a decent person but in the end, he is still a mystery.In my opinion, the best Legion memoirs are all about the inner life of the Legionnaire. For me the Holy Trinity of Legion memoirs are Simon Murray's "Legionnaire", Tony Sloane's "The Naked Soldier" and Christian Jenning's "Mouthful of Rocks". All three memoirs are radically different but at the end of each book, the reader feels they know the person and root for him as he struggles to survive in some very harsh conditions. It is that personal connection between reader and Legionnaire that lifts a competent memoir into the realm of a "classic" account. ### ⭐⭐⭐ It's a good, but not great, book on the modern Foreign Legion *by N***N on Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2016* The beginning was a good read; explained the modern selection, training, and bases of the Foreign Legion. The book was fairly easy to read, although the British slang was somewhat difficult to translate. The description of deployments to Africa was also good, as were stories of legionnaire life. As others have stated, the end came much too fast. I thought that the quick ending might be a set-up for a second book and a career in the Legion, but that's not what happened. Overall, it's a good, but not great, book on the modern Foreign Legion. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/15182786-diary-of-a-legionnaire-my-life-in-the-french-foreign](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/15182786-diary-of-a-legionnaire-my-life-in-the-french-foreign) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-05-09*