About the book: year / First edition: Richard Harding Davis. Real Soldiers of Fortune. New-York: Charles Scribner's sons, 1906. A collection of biographical sketches of the American journalist and writer Richard Harding Davis (1864–1916). The heroes of this book share common features - a penchant for travel and adventure. A mercenary who fought under eighteen flags. A failed writer who proclaimed himself the monarch of the Principality of Trinidad. A graduate of the American Naval Academy who distinguished himself in Chinese service. Former journalist who usurped power in Nicaragua. A native of the Wild West who helped the British colonize South America. Finally, a young officer who became a national hero after escaping from Boer captivity (this is Winston Churchill, the only hero of the book who is well known to the Russian reader). The author himself, who as a correspondent, including a military one, traveled the entire globe, could become the seventh hero of this book. The text has passed into the public domain. The original can be found at Project Gutenberg and other online libraries. Illustrations taken from the first edition.