A Thousand Suns - Witness to History
Among the premier journalists of our time, Dominique Lapierre has traveled to the four corners of the globe, witnessed world-shaking events, and met extraordinary people from all walks of life. Now this remarkable man shares his adventures and encounters in a book that aptly reflects a favourite proverb from India: that beyond the clouds, there are always... a Thousand Suns. Starting with his fledging days as a reporter for Paris Match. Lapierre candidly traces his growth from detached journalist to concerned participant in the great human dramas he was privileged to behold. Vividly and insightfully, he recaptures his personal involvements with many different kinds of heroes, such as: Caryl Chessman, the American prisoner who stalwartly staved off a death sentence for twelve yearsm and whose execution caused worldwide controversy over capital punishment; Raphal Matta, chief warden of the Ivory Coast's Bouna Game Reserve, who gave his life in his valiant fight to save the elephants of Africa from extinction. Ehud Avriel, the modest man who, against all odds, commandeered the secret mass emigration of European Jews to Palestine, secured the first arms for a dawning, threatened Israel, and went on to become one of the founding fathers of that nation. El Cordobs, the legendary Andalusian bullfighter whose passion and daring catapulted him from penniless obscurity to fame and fortune - and who embodied the hopes of Spain to escape from the chains of tyranny an join a modern Europe. And the anonymous inhabitants of a Calcutta slum, whose struggles in the face of overwhelming poverty will reaffirm your faith in the courage, compassion, and dignity of the human spirit. From Japanese terrorists in the Holy Land to freedom fighters fascists Portugal; from the spread of Nazism to the liberation of Paris; from Mahatma Gandhi to Mother Teresa, Lapierre delves eloquently into the very heart of the history of our time. Most of all, this international bestseller bears moving testimony to the ability of mankind to endure, to dream, and to triumph....