COURAGEOUS FRENCHMAN
THE PURSUIT OF FREEDOM, by Pierre el ae Longmans, Enflish price HIS book is a real-life thriller by a man who was to become known as one of the most sensible and courageous of post-war statesmen. Its background is formed by the judicial iniquities of Vichy France, and the story is of the valiant struggle by an individual to vindicate his personal honour and finally to win the opportunity of fighting for France. The writing is personal, indignant and moving. In political terms the book gives a_ vivid ‘reminder of the moénstrous perversions into which an honourable political system can be twisted in times of intense strain and calamity, It is tempting to forget and wise not to dwell on these
disasters, but most foolish to ignore the warning they convey. It is only | too easy to gloss over the evils of the Hitlerite period, or to feel selfrighteous about those who cracked under the strain. This war-time pamphlet is accordingly a valuable historical document to confront those who evade unpleasant facts. It is the more likely to be read because it embodies a fascinating account of prison- breaking by a lawyer-politician, a radical intellectual who normally shunned athletic activity. This was a (continued on next page) /
BOOKS
(continued from previous page) | feat of which he was greatly and. justly proud, and the telling of it matches his courage. But just how did he find the footholds in that wall?
F. L. W.
Wood
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 900, 2 November 1956, Page 13
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246COURAGEOUS FRENCHMAN New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 900, 2 November 1956, Page 13
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