An Unorthodox Soldier

Book excerpt: In this fast-moving account of his life, Tim Spicer describes all the events surrounding the catastrophe in Papua New Guinea, when he was captured at gunpoint and held in captivity - and came away with his life, his men, and 36 million dollars. Here too is a discussion of the notorious Arms for Africa affair - the Sandline Affair of 1996, which tied Robin Cook, the Foreign Office and Customs and Excise in a knot over whether Sandline had broken a UN embargo on supplying arms to the legitimate government-in-exile of Sierra Leone. Training troops in Africa or Asia, rescue missions to the Congo and developing a new concept for military operations are all part of Spicer's story.