It’s easy to read J. M. Barrie’s children’s story, Peter Pan, and miss the point that it’s a tale about more than a man-child’s carefree life among pirates and mermaids. Investigative reporter Adam Ciralsky wrote an expose’ about a real life Peter Pan by the name of Erik Prince. Ciralsky’s expose’ appeared in Vanity Fair Magazine this month, and I got a chance to interview Ciralsky about the qualities of Erik Prince, America’s most infamous mercenary. When Erik’s father died, he left Erik more than a billion dollars to play with. Those were the good ol’ days for Erik before his mercenary company called Blackwater became bogged down in grand jury investigations about issues like bribery and manslaughter. With daddy’s money, Erik armed himself with man-child toys that were much more deadly than Peter Pan’s fairy dust and long knives. He took daddy’s money and bought guns, Black Hawk helicopters, and thousands of acres in North Carolina. From there, he launched his Army for hire.
