The Yank

The True Story of a Former US Marine in the Irish Republican Army

By: John Crawley

Narrated by: David de Vries

1975: A young Irish-American man joins an elite US Marine unit to get the most intensive military training possible—then joins the Irish Republican Army, during the days of some of the bloodiest fighting ever in the Irish-British conflict.

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.

©2022 John Crawley (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Great Book

I really enjoyed listening to this book. As an Irish-American myself, I found the author’s insights ver interesting.

Great book

Growing up Irish American in Charlestown, MA with American military and IRA family members, I can identify with a lot of the author’s points of view. The book does a very good job of keeping you interested and engaged. Great story and well told.

A must read!

John’s book is more than just a riveting, page turning story. The issues and perspectives raised in this wonderful book will inspire many hours of further reading and research into the Irish struggle for true independence from english rule.

Very insightful

Great read. John does a great job of framing the actual reason for the conflict in Ireland - the pursuit of a 32 county democratic republic. I love the contrast with our war of independence, the parallels are very compelling. If you want to cut through the centuries old British narrative this is a must read.

Very well written and gripping story

Forgive the cover. This is a well written book by an intelligent author that was an on the ground member of the Provisional IRA. If you’re at all interested in the armed struggle of the Irish republican volunteers during what’s known as the Troubles, give this a listen!

A good book from an interesting point of view

This is a good book that comes from the point of view from an American veteran who decided to fight for the Irish Rupublican Army. You can tell the author is passionate about the reunification of the entire island of Ireland and his disdain for both the British occupation of Northern Ireland and the cooperation of the Irish Republic in not taking a stand alongside the IRA.
If you want to hear an interesting point of view of a complicated subject, listen to the book. The narrator is wonderful too!

Amazing story!

Amazing story storytelling that gives a visceral account of the republican struggle from a unique American perspective.

What a fantastic book. Unexpected.

This book clarified the one thing I’ve never been able to figure out throughout all of the study I’ve done upon the topic. Insurrections & civil wars tend to be the most fascinating of conflicts, and the Irish Republican conflict has always peaked my interests, outside of our own ‘troubles’ here in the states.

I enjoyed the details of weaponry, and descriptions of their usage (or lack thereof). As an avid shooter / reloader / general historian of weaponry, strategies & tactics, this text finally shed light upon my confusion pertaining to the sheer quantity of flubbed operations & lack of damage done by the Republicans throughout the years, in spite of (later) access to modern weaponry (that actually made it to Irish shores). And this was glaring. I was shocked that an organization so steeped in secrecy was riddled with so many touts. They’re the ties that bind throughout every book I’ve read on the subject. They didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of ever succeeding due to the sheer amount of rats on board the ship.

Their ignorance of VERY BASIC small arms knowledge floored me. My mouth was hanging open during the first third or so of this book. If the ignorance & frank stupidity levels were truly as Crowley describes (weapons, bullets, ballistics, bullet resistant vests, suppressors), then these guys were basically tossed to the wolves as cannon fodder. If the author had been allowed to operate as intended, I honestly believe (as crazy as it may seem), that the entire course & possibly even outcome of the conflict would’ve been markedly different. The sheer percentage of fragile egos, rats (touts), glory hounds, et. al doomed this uprising to failure before it got started.

A great find , as I binged this book in a day. Thoroughly enjoyed it and definitely enlightened by it. It will be jaw dropping to anyone with any weapons experience , and enjoyable to all others interested in the ‘troubles’.

And, as I do my best to be intellectually honest, if as some have stated, this is a ‘big fish’ tale or if gratuitous taking of liberties has occurred…then I suppose that the joke’s on me. Entertaining read nonetheless.

Feels like a giant big fish tale.

The author comes off as someone who didn't actually do what they said they did and feels like a glorification of his own ego and hero fantasies.

Reads like IRA fan fiction written by an unreliable narrator.

The author is the Forest Gump of IRA operatives. He personally met with the head of the IRA and lectured him on tactics and weaponry, he personally carried out a successful attack on British soldiers (you’ve just never heard about it and won’t find information on it for nonsensical reasons he explains), he alone dealt with Whitey Bulger. He’s also the most humble man in the world, and definitely the bravest. Just ask him! If only the Irish would’ve listened to him, they’d be masters of the universe by now. If you want a fun fictional tale, this definitely has entertaining elements. If you’re interested in a book with more accurate information regarding the IRA, this isn’t it.