For nearly fifteen years, Richard Stannard lived close to power, money, war, and death, and it nearly cost him his life.
A former Rhodesian special forces soldier, Stannard was hired to protect Rafic Hariri, the larger-than-life Lebanese-Saudi construction magnate who eventually became prime minister of Lebanon. What began as a private security job soon turned into something far more significant: a front-row seat to history.
From five-star hotels in London to the deserts of Saudi Arabia, from Beirut’s shattered Green Line to the Gulf War, from superyachts in the Mediterranean to political missions across Washington, Moscow, Damascus, and beyond, Stannard moved through a world few outsiders ever see. He loaded suitcases filled with millions in cash, guarded elite power brokers, survived near-catastrophic flights, dodged corruption and palace intrigue, and watched as Hariri strove to rebuild a country that powerful enemies wanted to remain broken.
Told with blunt humour, a soldier’s candor, and a sharp eye for detail, this memoir captures the strange contradictions of life beside one of the most influential figures in modern Lebanese history. Part war story, part memoir, part darkly comic account of life inside the orbit of power, this is the story of a bodyguard who spent years close to history—and close enough to death to know how easily fate can change its mind.
''Lebanon is a Dangerous Place ''
Lebanese Bodyguard Tala Nasser
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ABOUT RICH STANNARD
Richard Stannard is a former Rhodesian special forces soldier and private security professional whose career has taken him through some of the most volatile regions of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. After serving in various combat situations in southern Africa, he spent nearly fifteen years as part of the close-protection team for Rafic Hariri, the Lebanese-Saudi billionaire businessman and future prime minister of Lebanon. In that role, Stannard travelled across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the United States, working in the shadow of political power, private wealth, war, diplomacy, and international intrigue. Richard’s previous publications include Men of War (2020), which he co-write Hannes Wessel, and an essay about a barn owl that won first place for his age group when he was five years old. He lives in Canada with his partner, Renee, and his support canary, Benji.
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