It took me a while to pick this book up. I didn’t know anything about it and wasn’t sure if I would be interested. It sat around as I read other books but finally I decided to give it a try. I was hooked from the start.
Nix begins this story in the late 1990’s when Robert de La Rochefoucald takes the stand in defense of a man on trial for signing paperwork that sent train cars worth of French Jews to concentration camps. Rochefoucald had met the man in the 1960s and had the opportunity to ask him about the resistance in that area of the country. Rochefoucald had noticed that there were a large number of Jews fighting in the resistance in this area of the country. He asked why there were so many and had been told they had a man in the government who told them every time there was going to be a round up so that they could flee. Rochefoucald learned this man in the government was the same man on trial and so testified.
Nix then turns to the life of Rochefoucald and his exploits during World War II. He outlines how he was denounced by someone in his home town and was alerted to it by the mailman. The teenager Rochefoucald decided he had to flee to Britain. To do so he had to go south to Vichy France and then on to Spain.
After making it to Britain he trained with the British to become a Sabotuer. After the training was complete he parachuted back into France and began his work. He had numerous close calls and was detained by the nazis more than once but survived to lead a raid against the Nazis at the end of the war. He received numerous medals and honors for his time in the resistance and in the French Army.
Overall this is a great read. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.
Thomas Aquinas is credited as one of the greatest proponents of natural law. During his time in Cologne he was taught by Albertus Magnus. Magnus used the teachings of Aristotle in his mentorship of Thomas Aquinas.
Samuel Adams believed in American Independence from Great Britain. He is one of the most well know Son's of Liberty. On August 1, 1776 he gave a speech to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Hefei, China Thursday 6:00AM
The rising sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. The darkness of night was about to give way to the light of day. The sleeping city would soon be bustling with activity completely unaware of what had occurred while it slept.
Zhao Kai stood outside a small warehouse looking building. For all of the modernization that had been occurring in China this building had been skipped. At least on the outside. It appeared old and nearly abandoned but the inside told a different story. Before Kai entered the building he glanced at the rising sun. This was his favorite moment of the day. The blinding light of the sun was a weapon that he used literally.
On numerous occasions he would take a prisoner to a spot where there was an unobstructed view of the rising sun. Then he would bind them in such a way that they had to stare directly into the sun. If he did his job right they would not be able to close their eyes and would return to their prison cells blinded for life. If he didn’t just kill them. That punishment would not be on the table today but perhaps tomorrow. He liked ...
