Author Description

Tex O'Reilly should not have lived long enough to tell this tale! He had, after all, been shot at by tribesmen, mercenaries and jealous husbands for nearly forty years when he dictated his life story in the 1920s to famed journalist, Lowell Thomas. O'Reilly's colorful story began with the American Rough Riders. He fought beside Teddy Roosevelt and his Volunteers as they stormed San Juan hill in 1889. Yet that conflict only served as a finishing school for O'Reilly's warlike tendencies. He next shipped out to the Philippines. There he spent several years tracking down Moro Muslim rebels in the jungles. After mastering the art of jungle warfare it was on to the Orient. There he raised more hell and killed more men, only now he had left the American colors behind and become a soldier for hire. And hired he was, by a host of nations and a league of leaders, all eager to look the other way, and give the infamous Irish-American mercenary a free hand. O'Reilly battled the Boxers in China and fought his way through Japan, and finally headed the bodyguard for the Emperor of Korea. Then it was on to Mexico, where he fought with Pancho Villa, and down to South America where he knocked down rulers or put them in place for a price. When he got tired of the Americas, the brawler headed for Africa, this time to lead the Spanish Foreign Legion against Moroccan rebels. In short, no government was safe if the legendary Irishman fought against it. Thus "Born to Raise Hell" cannot be described by any word other than "Amazing!" Every chapter reveals a more unbelievable story. Every page threatens to burn the reader's hands with excitement. If ever a book was written that completely, and truthfully, told the story of the nineteenth century fighting man, this is it!