The Saboteur: The Aristocrat Who Became France's Most Daring Anti-Nazi Commando

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.