At the Edge of the World, JeanVincent Blanchard
At the Edge of the World, JeanVincent Blanchard
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At the Edge of the World
The Heroic Century of the French Foreign Legion

Author: Jean-Vincent Blanchard

Narrator: Julian Elfer

Unabridged: 9 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/14/2017

Synopsis

An aura of mystery, romance, and danger surrounds the French Foreign Legion, the all-volunteer corps of the French Army, founded in 1831. Famous for its physically grueling training in harsh climates, the legion fought in French wars from Mexico to Madagascar, Southeast Asia to North Africa.

In At the Edge of the World, historian Jean-Vincent Blanchard follows the legion's rise to fame during the nineteenth century—focusing on its campaigns in Indochina and especially in Africa—when the corps played a central role in expanding and protecting the French Empire. As France struggled to be a power capable of rivaling the British, the figure of the legionnaire came to represent the might and morale that would secure a greater, stronger nation.

Drawing from rare, archival memoirs and testimonies of legionnaires from the period and tracing the fascinating career of Hubert Lyautey, France's first resident-general in Morocco and a hero to many a legionnaire, At the Edge of the World chronicles the Foreign Legion at the height of its renown, when the corps and its archetypically handsome, moody, and marginalized recruits became both the symbols of a triumphant colonialism and the stuff of legend.

About Jean-Vincent Blanchard

Jean-Vincent Blanchard is Professor of French Studies at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. A specialist in early modern literature, his teaching and research also include theories of discourse and philosophies of language from the ancient Greeks to the post-moderns, and cultural studies.

He is the author of several books published in Canada and France, as well as Éminence: Cardinal Richelieu and the Rise of France.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Aidan on October 16, 2022

First of all, what a wonderful title. "At The Edge Of The World". It sums up completely the lives of the men of La Legion Etrangere. While there are many books over the years telling the story of the Legion, (with many of the more recent ones, especially the memoirs, of much less interest and value)......more

Goodreads review by Steven on September 23, 2017

This is quite an interesting read, covering a topic that has been wildly overblown in any number of movies. The book covers the details of what it was like to be recruited, the nature of the training, how they let off steam, the grueling marches - and, of course, a great many battles. The story is h......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on May 24, 2020

It's an interesting book, but it's one that isn't quite sure what it wants to be. Is it a history of the French Foreign Legion? A guide to its structure and traditions? An overview of French colonial policy in the 19th and early 20th centuries? Is it a potted biography of certain French military off......more

Goodreads review by Jen on July 26, 2018

Meh. I was expecting to read a straightforward history of the French Foreign Legion and instead I get a weird biography of the general in charge of it for 40-some years and very little analysis of who joins, why, what the mission is and why it's still relevant today.......more

Goodreads review by Robert on May 03, 2018

Focuses on the French Foreign Legion from 1831 to 1931 or so. Interesting characters and discussions of the changing attitudes and approach to colonialism and how the legion figured in those activities. A bit fractured and fragmentary but filled with exotic lands and adventurous youth.......more

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