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.
Great literature should do more than entertain us. It should provide a roadmap to improving our lives.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens introduced readers to Sydney Carton, one of literature's most compelling and deeply flawed characters. Dickens also gives him an unusual title: the Jackal.
His struggles raise questions that remain relevant today.
Are we defined by our past mistakes? Can we overcome our weaknesses? What separates the people we are from the people we could become?
Lessons From the Jackal is a 25-day character study exploring these questions through Sydney Carton’s life, decisions, relationships, and personal development.
This is not a traditional course on A Tale of Two Cities. Our reading assignments will focus specifically on Carton, with sufficient background provided to understand his story. No previous knowledge of the novel is necessary.
Each day will feature selected readings, historical comparisons, reflection questions, discussions, and practical challenges ...
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Poet, Critic, Philosopher
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was one of the most gifted literary minds of his generation. A poet, critic, and philosopher, he possessed extraordinary intellectual abilities. Yet his life was marked by unfinished projects, difficulties with discipline, and an increasingly destructive dependence on opium.
Coleridge produced some of the most memorable poetry in English literature, including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan. But he also struggled to translate his ambitious intellectual plans into completed works. His friends recognized his extraordinary abilities, even as they witnessed the difficulties that prevented him from consistently applying them.
Unlike Sydney Carton, Coleridge achieved lasting recognition. Nevertheless, both men illustrate the distance that can exist between ability and accomplishment.
Consider the comparison. Was Coleridge's potential diminished by his inability to complete everything he envisioned?
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