The Saboteur

October 1, 2017
The page-turning tale of a World War II hero who would fit comfortably into any good spy thriller.Robert de La Rochefoucauld (1923-2012), the subject of this thrilling debut biography by ESPN The Magazine deputy editor Kix, was a descendent of one of the most legendary families in European history. The family traced their beginnings to 900 C.E. and included a duke in Louis XVI's court as well as two brothers martyred in the Reign of Terror. Another, a friend of Benjamin Franklin's, fought to end slavery. Serving the nation was in La Rochefoucauld's blood; his father was awarded the Legion of Honor, and the war sent Robert out to battle as well. He was 17 when German bombers descended on his home northeast of Paris. It wasn't the first time; the estate was captured and recaptured more than a dozen times during World War I, requiring complete rebuilding. As France fell to Germany, La Rochefoucauld was glued to the wireless broadcasts of Charles de Gaulle. Determined to join him, he left home. His adventures began almost immediately, as he was trying to get to Spain and then to England, which required trusting strangers and connecting with resistants. In London, he was convinced to join a new British organization, the Special Operations Executive, a highly secretive group that was formed to train and equip foreign nationals in sabotage and guerrilla warfare. La Rochefoucaul went through the rigorous training in Southampton and Scotland and was sent to France, where he met Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the head of the "Alliance" intelligence network, and got to work, which involved destroying the most important parts of factories, minimizing deaths. Throughout, Kix proves to be an adept biographer, avoiding hagiography. It's all true: the bombings, betrayals, and significant successes, right down to his escape as he was being driven to his execution--and all before he was 21.A winner: the stories are fascinating, the pages nearly turn themselves, and La Rochefoucauld is a true hero.

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November 1, 2017
Robert de la Rochefoucauld (1923-2012), born into French nobility, was a secret agent for the British in German-occupied France during WWII. In the postwar years, he trained the French military, worked in various businesses, and was the mayor of a town in France. A handful of years before his death, he courted controversy by testifying in defense of a man accused of complicity in the Nazi extermination of Jews. Those are the bare-bones facts of the man's life. In this compassionate biography, Kix puts flesh on those bones as he explores the man himself. Drawing on la Rochefoucauld's 2002 memoir, as well as interviews with his children and other primary sources, the author explores the reasons why a man of French nobility would risk his life and his family's reputation to fight a secret war (for starters, he wanted to reclaim the France that his family had helped mold ). This thoroughly sourced account is highly readable and effectively showcases the life of a fascinating, complex man whose too-little-known role in the Resistance will be of great interest to followers of WWII history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

November 1, 2017

Honor is a recurrent word in this tale of an aristocrat who risked his life in commando operations in France during the Second World War. Robert de la Rochefoucauld came from a family that boasted centuries of nobility, with knights, military officers, politicians, writers, cardinals, and even two saints in its line. He was 16 when German forces sieged Paris. At 18, he escaped to England to join the Free French Forces. After being invited to join Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE), he first met with French general and president Charles de Gaulle to ask his blessing. Soon Rochefoucauld was in France assisting the Resistance, bombing targets vital to Germany's war effort. He was captured three times and twice escaped through his own efforts, once disguised as a nun. After the war, he seldom talked about his undercover efforts. The records of SOE operations are largely missing; journalist Kix had to do first-class detective work using primary sources to create this riveting story. VERDICT Fans of World War II history will eagerly read this story, which is almost as exciting as a James Bond novel.--David Keymer, Cleveland

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017

Raised in a fairy-tale chateau and educated at top schools, French aristocrat Robert de la Rochefoucald joined Churchill's Special Operations Executive (fondly dubbed the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare) when the invading Nazis imprisoned his father. He trained to be a spy and returned to France, helping organize the Resistance, executing German officers, and blowing up train stations and munitions factories. He managed to survive torture and twice evaded certain death. Forget thrillers, this a white-knuckle story, and it's important. With a 75,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.