This is nonfiction that reads like a straight-up thriller, and the fact that the story is true just makes it that much more incredible. History buffs, adrenaline junkies, and WWII nerds—this one is for you.
Kix has produced a narrative that is both chilling and powerful… These many narratives, about holding dear to one’s honor in the face of persecution by a powerful enemy, will never go out of style. The reason they remain popular and widely read today is this implicit question: What would you have done?... Reading The Saboteur , one understands how a certain person at a certain time answered it. La Rochefoucauld faced torture and death, yet he carried on. There is inspiration in his example, and that makes The Saboteur well worth reading.
New York Times Book Review
Kix’s sharp, well-paced writing is perfect for telling La Rochefoucauld’s story. But this is more than a gripping yarn of daring-do. La Rochefoucauld was a complex character, and Kix’s portrait is nuanced and moving… [posing] the big questions: What is duty? What is courage? What is loyalty?
This is first-class adventure writing, which, coupled with a true-life narrative of danger and intrigue, adds up to all-night reading.
Mr. Kix has consulted numerous diaries, interviewed survivors and spent much time with La Rochefoucauld’s family and friends. For the most part his research is meticulous, …[ and The Saboteur] provides a lively picture of a brave man, for whom patriotism, nobility and duty were immutable principles of life.
The Saboteur is completely engrossing and elegantly told, which means any reader of this work will inevitably want more and more.
…intense, highly detailed and well-written…Working from La Rochefoucauld's 2002 memoir, and the video of an oral history produced by the La Rochefoucauld family, Kix has produced a narrative that is both chilling and powerful…[The Saboteur ] is first-class adventure writing, which, coupled with a true-life narrative of danger and intrigue, adds up to all-night reading.
The New York Times Book Review - Alan Furst
Kix has produced a narrative that is both chilling and powerful… These many narratives, about holding dear to one’s honor in the face of persecution by a powerful enemy, will never go out of style. The reason they remain popular and widely read today is this implicit question: What would you have done?... Reading The Saboteur , one understands how a certain person at a certain time answered it. La Rochefoucauld faced torture and death, yet he carried on. There is inspiration in his example, and that makes The Saboteur well worth reading.” — New York Times Book Review
“The Saboteur is a mesmerizing book that builds up propulsive momentum until its final twists. It was a joy to disappear into this story. Like only the very best historical biographers, Paul Kix has turned years of deep reporting into a tightly coiled narrative that you never want to put down.” — Eli Saslow, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Ten Letters: The Stories Americans Tell Their President
“Set in motion by a steamed-open letter and a burning hatred of Hitler, a dashing young aristocrat embarks on a campaign of clandestine warfare. The Saboteur sounds like a World War II spy thriller, but in fact it is a rip-roaring true story, wonderfully told by Paul Kix.” — Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Hours and Lost in Shangri-La
“The Saboteur is completely engrossing and elegantly told, which means any reader of this work will inevitably want more and more.” — Washington Post
“A winner: the stories are fascinating, the pages nearly turn themselves, and La Rochefoucauld is a true hero.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Kix’s sharp, well-paced writing is perfect for telling La Rochefoucauld’s story. But this is more than a gripping yarn of daring-do. La Rochefoucauld was a complex character, and Kix’s portrait is nuanced and moving… [posing] the big questions: What is duty? What is courage? What is loyalty?” — BookPage
“Journalist Kix had to do first-class detective work using primary sources to create this riveting story. Fans of World War II history will eagerly read this story, which is almost as exciting as a James Bond novel.” — Library Journal
“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.” — Booklist
“Kix, a journalist and editor, reports this largely untold story in compelling detail.” — New York Jewish Week
“This is nonfiction that reads like a straight-up thriller, and the fact that the story is true just makes it that much more incredible. History buffs, adrenaline junkies, and WWII nerds—this one is for you.” — Bookish
“Kix takes the reader from adventure to adventure, and all of it is narrated with a curiously effective combination of historical perspective and fictional thriller dramatics... The reminder that “The Saboteur” is at heart a hero’s tale is very refreshing.” — Christian Science Monitor
“Mr. Kix has consulted numerous diaries, interviewed survivors and spent much time with La Rochefoucauld’s family and friends. For the most part his research is meticulous, …[ and The Saboteur] provides a lively picture of a brave man, for whom patriotism, nobility and duty were immutable principles of life.” — Caroline Moorehead, Wall Street Journal
“This is first-class adventure writing, which, coupled with a true-life narrative of danger and intrigue, adds up to all-night reading.” — Alan Furst, New York Times
“Paul Kix... already did the heavy lifting, providing more particulars in 227 pages than most academic historians do in backbreaking tomes.... Kix leaves very little for the reader to imagine on their own. Some of the descriptions are extremely terrifying... but they’re also necessary if one is to understand the plight of the protagonist.” — DigBoston
“[The Saboteur ] is very engaging. [Kix] moves quickly along, striking a good balance, with tangential explanations when needed. He builds and maintains a sense of Rochefoucauld’s ever-present fear of betrayal and capture. He does not gloss over the complicity of most of the French people, nor does he spend inordinate time railing against them. His focus in the biography is the courage, luck, skill, and determination of a freedom-loving Saboteur. — San Francisco Book Review
The Saboteur is completely engrossing and elegantly told, which means any reader of this work will inevitably want more and more.
Set in motion by a steamed-open letter and a burning hatred of Hitler, a dashing young aristocrat embarks on a campaign of clandestine warfare. The Saboteur sounds like a World War II spy thriller, but in fact it is a rip-roaring true story, wonderfully told by Paul Kix.
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.
Kix, a journalist and editor, reports this largely untold story in compelling detail.
Paul Kix... already did the heavy lifting, providing more particulars in 227 pages than most academic historians do in backbreaking tomes.... Kix leaves very little for the reader to imagine on their own. Some of the descriptions are extremely terrifying... but they’re also necessary if one is to understand the plight of the protagonist.
[The Saboteur ] is very engaging. [Kix] moves quickly along, striking a good balance, with tangential explanations when needed. He builds and maintains a sense of Rochefoucauld’s ever-present fear of betrayal and capture. He does not gloss over the complicity of most of the French people, nor does he spend inordinate time railing against them. His focus in the biography is the courage, luck, skill, and determination of a freedom-loving Saboteur.
San Francisco Book Review
Kix takes the reader from adventure to adventure, and all of it is narrated with a curiously effective combination of historical perspective and fictional thriller dramatics... The reminder that “The Saboteur” is at heart a hero’s tale is very refreshing.
Christian Science Monitor
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.
Author Paul Kix has performed a masterful task with research and writing. The book has also been very well edited. The Saboteur is fast reading, exciting and haunting; driving the reader onward at every turn. That this is a true story filled with powerful and persuasive characters, makes it all the more enticing. Here we witness the birth of contemporary international spy agencies, including America’s Central Intelligence Agency.
New York Journal of Books
11/01/2017 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
The story of Robert de La Rochefoucald, a French aristocrat turned anti-Nazi saboteur during WWII, reads like a novel—and that’s exactly the way Malcolm Hillgartner narrates it. He adds no false drama. The story is compelling by itself. His steady pace keeps listeners engaged, but he varies it ever so slightly at times for variety and impact. His facility with French names and places also keeps the reading flowing. His somewhat somber voice adds exactly the right atmosphere to this story, in which one wrong step by the Frenchman can mean death. Hillgartner also narrated WHEN PARIS WENT DARK—about the Nazi occupation of the city. This latest audiobook offers a nice complement. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2017 - AudioFile
The story of Robert de La Rochefoucald, a French aristocrat turned anti-Nazi saboteur during WWII, reads like a novel—and that’s exactly the way Malcolm Hillgartner narrates it. He adds no false drama. The story is compelling by itself. His steady pace keeps listeners engaged, but he varies it ever so slightly at times for variety and impact. His facility with French names and places also keeps the reading flowing. His somewhat somber voice adds exactly the right atmosphere to this story, in which one wrong step by the Frenchman can mean death. Hillgartner also narrated WHEN PARIS WENT DARK—about the Nazi occupation of the city. This latest audiobook offers a nice complement. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2017 - AudioFile
★ 2017-09-14 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 résistants. 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.