
The Yank
The True Story of a Former US Marine in the Irish Republican Army
Author: John Crawley
Narrator: David de Vries
Unabridged: 8 hr 40 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Highbridge Audio
Published: 10/11/2022
Categories: Nonfiction, History, European History, Biography & Autobiography, Military Nonfiction
Synopsis
In a powerful, brutally honest recounting of his experience, John Crawley details, first, the grueling challenges of his Marine Corps training, then how he put his hard-earned skills to use back in Ireland in service of the Provos. It is a story that will see him running guns with notorious American mobster—and secret IRA fundraiser—Whitey Bulger; running, under cover of night, from safe house to safe house in the Irish countryside, one step ahead of British troops; being captured, imprisoned, and being part of a mass escape attempt; fending off a recruitment offer from the CIA; and being one of the masterminds behind a campaign to take out London's electrical system.
Along the way, Crawley is blisteringly candid about the memorable people he worked with, including behind-the-scenes portrayals of revered IRA leader Martin McGuinness, and of the psychopathic Whitey Bulger, as well as others in the Boston IRA support network. There are vivid portraits of colleagues and enemies, and Crawley is unflinching in his commentary on IRA leadership and their tactics, both military and political.
