Scholars and Rogues reviews Africa Center Senior Fellow Sean McFate’s book The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order:
The truth is that mercenaries are, by definition, willing to do violence for whoever pays them the most money. Period. “Our behalf” is pretty much wishful thinking. And that’s not all the wrong thinking we have about mercenaries, as this excellent book by journalist and ex-mercenary Sean McFate details. Among his revelations: Most mercenaries don’t themselves fight, but instead spend their time writing training manuals or typing purchase orders into a computer. Of the ones that do fight, most are involved in personal security rather than military operations. Most aren’t American or European, but come from a smorgasbord of countries and armies.