Legion of the Lost: The True Experience of An American in the French Foreign Legion Hardcover – August 2, 2005

I bought this book because of an interest in the French Foreign Legion and that it was about an American joining in modern times. While I felt that the author is an interesting recruit to join the FFL I feel that his story is disjointed and doesn't flow making it more difficult to read. The story would have been better had the author explained events leading up to his joining the Legion. I kept asking myself, "what led up to this decision "? Obviously there were reasons other than trying to find oneself and take on a challenge. The author is a Purdue graduate with an engineering degree not your ordinary FFL recruit. There are numerous descriptions of hardship endured in training and abuse suffered at the hands of the officers. Descriptions of his fellow soldiers are interesting and the afterword contains some follow up on some of these characters. There are many French words and phrases interspersed through out and while you usually can fiqure out the meaning, a definition at the bottom of the page or back of the book would have helped while reading. There are also a few tales of sexual exploits of the author while on leave or escape that seemed out of place in this book and egotistical. The author definitely has a unique story to tell but I feel that it could have been relayed in a more orderly , comprehensive style.

Salazar rebelled against corporate America, consumerism, and routine, and joined the French Foreign Legion. He didn't complete his commitment and he didn't return to America with his questions answered. His prose does not remind one of Hemingway. But he did it. At least for a while. Legion of the Lost doesn't reveal heroism. It doesn't enlighten or offer deep perspectives on existential crises. It simply tells the story of someone who knew there was more to life than a car in a suburban driveway on a cul-de-sac . . . and went in search of it, ultimately failing to find it. If you're looking for The Sun Also Rises, you won't find it here. What you will find is an authenticity: admission of failure (Salazar seems to carry a psychic scar from his desertion), recognition of faith unfulfilled (one feels a rough undercurrent as Salazar can't reconcile his choices with his Catholic faith), and a continuing cry for meaning despite an admitted lack of personal discipline. The book has its flaws, as does the author. What it also has is an admission of these personal flaws and a glimpse of an alternative to unquestioning obedience to the typical middle-class trajectory. In the end, it's a story of unanswered questions. It's mundane, as life, even in the French Foreign Legion, is mostly going to be mundane. Yet it's also a cry for something more, even if, ultimately, that cry goes unanswered because of Salazar's own lack of discipline. It's an easy read, so if you're going to be on a plane or a beach soon, take a moment to glimpse a life uncommon for most Americans. As Salazar concludes, his experiences were not "everything"---were not rife with the heroism, self-sacrifice, honor, or insight one craves in stories like these---but they are "not nothing either."

Somewhere amidst the mid-1990s a Soldier magazine (S.O.F I think it was) found its way into my living room. That issue had published a lengthy informative article on the French Foreign Legion that I found utterly fascinating. As Full Metal Jacket and Heartbreak Ridge had done to me previously, my head began to swim with romantic ideas of ‘extreme soldiering’ and ‘sniping bad guys’.About 10 years later extreme survivor dude Bear Grylls did a 4-part series on FFL boot camp. He and a bunch of other idiots decided it would be good TV to be filmed trying to survive the initial 4 week FFL boot camp. He was right, it made for great TV. And once again visions of white caps danced in my head.So here I am another 10 years later and I have stumbled on to Jaime’s book. And once again I aimed to get my decade Legion fix. So that’s what I did. So here is what you need to know before purchase… You need to know what the book is and what it is not. There is a surplus of negative comments about this book as you have most likely seen. I humbly believe that those who did not care for the book did not because they were expecting something else. The book is not a military-training-life-in-the-Legion tell all per se; rather it is a personal recount of an intelligent young man searching for purpose and meaning in the French Foreign Legion. It is a story of personal discovery that unfolds as a journey of disenchantment and frustration. I found this to be relatable and enlightening.There has been a lot of blow back on the subject of Jaime's unscheduled exodus from the Legion. Whether you think this is right or wrong is really not the point. If you take an overview off all Jaime's decisions and actions during this time and look at it for what it is, you see that he is really telling the reader that during this time he was lost and searching. Being lost often leads to less than wonderful decisions as well as an attempt to fill the void with whatever takes meaning at the time. His narrative is filled with dozens of examples of this very thing. What is important is that he tells the whole story. He needs to let the reader to know it without a sugar coating.Now that being said, did the book have the elements that drove me to it in the first place? It did. In Jaime’s journey there was a solid account of the recruitment process, the brutish inhumane discipline, the uber-intense training; as well as a full clown-college-troupe-of-characters straight out of central casting. Pile on to that Ozzy-level partying coupled with overly debaucherous tales of bedroom lore and you have ‘Legion of the Lost’.At the end of the day I enjoyed taking a ride on Jaime’s journey; and I think as long as you know what you are in store for, you will to. Bon appetite.

I bought this book mainly cause I thought that I might have something in common with Mr. salazar. Considering we have very similar youths. Also Im intrigued by the French Foreign Legion. After reading the first three chapters I came to the quick realization that we are very different. Mr. Salazar story is interesting, but he focuses too much on all the bad things that happen to him during his stint in the legion. To me it becomes obvious that this part of Mr. Salaza's life was him trying to find a meaning to his life,,,but unfortunately he is still lost at the end of his story. If he would have mentioned any good memories or anything he learned,,,then maybe I would have given this book a higher rating. This book is not worth the 12 bucks. The book on the legion by Simmon Murray is way better. If only the prices could be switched on these books. Murray's book cost 6 bucks,,,I would have paid 12 for it.

I've given this one three stars not for the writing, but the content: the French Foreign Legion is now a collection of malcontents, deserters and wasters. Bullies, thugs and criminals without a war to vent their frustration on, all taking it out on each other. There's no comradeship, no fellowship, no camaraderie, just violence, brutality and pointless duties. It's depressing as there is absolutely nothing positive about it. Even the deserters, like the author, are no longer hunted or punished; just paid off and kicked out. The book was interesting to a point, you keep reading in the hope that something will improve, but eventually it just tails off to become more of a journal of the author's sex life as a deserter. Don't read it if you still have any notion about the legion as a professional fighting Army.

Evan McGorman's account of life in the modern FFL suggested that 'corporal' punishment (no pun intended) in training had largely been eradicated, however, Salazar shows this is not so. Anyone thinking of joining would be well advised to read both books first! (They might even be persuaded to do something more productive with five years of their lives.) The Legion may provide a temporary 'home' for some misfits of one kind or another but there seems to be less call for its special brand of soldiering in this age of high tech warfare. The book is interesting and I concur with most of what reviewer "quinny" had to say (although, to me, parts of Salazar's story - particularly his amorous exploits - read more like fiction than fact).

Not sure the sex parts were,in any way, relevant to the story. Have read better autobiography accounts of the Legion

not half finished it yet but have read enough to recommend it, if you really want to know what everyday life was like during training and early life in the regiment this is the book for you, read it in bed and can't wait for bedtime i will be disapointed to finish it. brilliant

I didn't mean to buy this and am now stuck with the Kindle edition I don't want.