Reblog: Olga’s Review of “A Champion Cyclist Against the Nazis”

Thanks Olga NM 

for sharing her review of this fascinating book. I’m a keen cyclist and interested in the era so will definitely check this out. Not this is Olga’s review re-blogged. It was  originally posted on: http://www.authortranslatorolga.com/2020/07/27/a-champion-cyclist-against-the-nazis-the-incredible-life-of-gino-bartali-by-alberto-toscano-penswordbooks-inspiring-and-informative/
A Champion Cyclist Against the Nazis: The Incredible Life of Gino Bartali by Alberto Toscano

A Champion Cyclist Against the Nazis: The Incredible Life of Gino Bartali by Alberto Toscano

Italy,1943. Although allied with Hitler, there were those who refused to accept the fascist policies of racial discrimination and deportation. Among them was Gino Bartali.

A champion cyclist, he won the Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) three times and the Tour de France twice. But these weren’t his only achievements. Deeply religious, Bartali never spoke about what he did during those dark years, when he agreed to work with the Resistance and pass messages from one end of the country to the other. Despite the dangers, Bartali used his training as a pretext to criss-cross Italy, hiding documents in the handlebars and saddle of his bicycle, all the while hoping that each time he was searched they wouldn’t think to disassemble his machine.

As a result of his bravery, 800 Jews — including numerous children — were saved from deportation. He died in Florence in 2000 and was recognized as one of the ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ in 2013. In this book, Alberto Toscano shares the incredible story of this great sportsman and recalls the dramatic moments in Italy and Europe in the twentieth century.

https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Cyclist-Against-Nazis-Incredible/dp/1526753391/

https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Cyclist-Against-Nazis-Incredible-ebook/dp/B089H2WNR3/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Champion-Cyclist-Against-Nazis-Incredible-ebook/dp/B089H2WNR3/

https://www.amazon.es/Champion-Cyclist-Against-Nazis-Incredible-ebook/dp/B089H2WNR3/

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Champion-Cyclist-Against-the-Nazis-Hardback/p/17794

Author Alberto Toscano

About the author:

Alberto Toscano was born in Novara, Piedmont, and graduated in political science from the Università Statale in Milan, Italy, in 1973 with a thesis on the war in Indochina. From 1974 to 1982, he worked as a researcher at the Istituto degli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI) in Milan and served as the editor of the ISPI weekly review Relazioni Internazionali. In 1977 and 1978 he received journalism training from the CFJ journalism school in Paris, France. Appointed International Bureau chief of the Italian weekly Rinascita in 1982-1983, he was then editor and special correspondent of the daily newspaper L’Unità until 1986, when he became the Paris correspondent of the daily economic magazine ItaliaOggi.

He is the author of over 5000 articles on France, published by Italian newspapers of several political tendencies: ItaliaOggi, L’Indipendente, Il Giornale.

He works as a journalist and political commentator for several media outlets — in Italy with the press agency Agenzia Giornali Associati (AGI), the RAI public radio and the private television group Mediaset, and in France with Nouvel Observateur, RFI, France Culture, France Inter and TV5. It also collaborates with the daily La Croix and served as president of the Foreign Press Association in France in 1996-1997, and currently serves as the president of the European Press Club since 2000 and President of the cultural association Piero Piazzano di Novara since 2001. Finally, since 2008, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the French Section of the Union of Francophone Press (UPF).

He is visiting professor in Political Science at Sciences-Po in Bordeaux. He is a member of the Training and Research Unit of Italian Language and Literature at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

He was received into the French National Order of Merit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Toscano_(journalist)

Olga’s review:

I received an early hardback copy of this non-fiction book from Rosie Croft, from Pen & Sword, which I freely chose to review.

My father loved cycling, both watching it and jumping on a bike, and he belonged to a local cycling club. He could talk about cycling and bicycles for hours on end, and he inspired others to take it up as well (not me, I must hasten to add, but several of his brothers and nephews). That was partly the reason why I was attracted to this book in the first place, although I had never heard about Gino Bartali. But let me reassure you: you don’t need to be a fan of cycling to enjoy this book. Although there is plenty about Bartali’s cycling career and achievements (he dedicated most of his life to it, even after he retired from sporting events), this book is not a manual on cycling techniques, full of information about bicycle manufacturers, and painstakingly detailed descriptions of the individual races. You don’t need to be very knowledgeable about Italian politics or history to enjoy it either.  Toscano, the author, manages to combine biographical information about the protagonist of the book with a solid background of the socio-historic-political situation in Italy at the time. I’m not an expert on Italian history, but I felt I gained perspective on the Italian experience during WWII, especially on the efforts of a part of the population to save not only Italian-Jews but also Jews arrived from other areas to Italy in that period. I have come across many books on the experience of the French Resistance (particularly historical fiction set there) but not so many on what happened in Italy, and it offered me a new perspective. And non-fictional as well.

What I most liked of the book was the way the author manages to place the story of Bartali in the context of the era. The personality of the man comes across in the book. He was determined, a fighter, very religious (Roman Catholic and devoted), with high moral standards, who would do the right thing, even if it meant putting himself at risk, and although he did not shy away from popularity (he regularly appeared on TV with Fausto Coppi, his eternal rival while cycling but also a good friend), he never wanted to discuss his role in helping save many Jews as part of the efforts of the DELASEM (Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants) in collaboration with Catholic priests, bishops, nuns, and many Italian civilians who helped in any way they could (housing them, providing papers, money, etc.). The book uses translated quotes from Bartali’s own autobiographies and also from the book his son, Andrea, wrote about his father (and the originals in Italian are provided also as Endnotes) to illustrate events and to make us feel as if we could hear him and had met him. There are also a few B&W pictures included. As I have said, I felt I learned a lot about the era, the politics, the importance of cycling as a sport in Italy at the time, and how sports and politics become enmeshed (and sports and national identity).  Bartali was not a sympathiser of Mussolini and fascism, and that resulted in difficult situations for him, but he was well known and respected, and that put him in a great position to be able to help others. I also enjoyed the writing style, which is fluid and provides the right amount of information for people without in-depth knowledge to follow the narrative without becoming overwhelming. Toscano achieves a good balance between the general and the detail, and the book offers a good overview of the era and of Bartali’s life and achievements.

If I had to mention something I disliked, or rather, I missed, is a full bibliography. The book provides plenty of information on the subject (Bartali) and on Italian history and politics, but there is no bibliographical section that could help people interested in those topics to research further. Some films and the books about Bartali are mentioned within the text, but there is no separate reference to them. The preface and the afterword, on the other hand, highlight the importance of Bartali and of this book, and there is information within the text about newspaper headlines and articles that would make them easy to trace back.

I recommend this book to people interested in WWII stories, particularly those about the home front and about individuals whose war efforts have not been recognised until recently. People interested in cycling, Italian history and politics, and anybody who wants to read about a fascinating character that more than rose to the challenges of his time will enjoy this book. And I’m sure my father would have loved it as well.

I had to conclude with a quote that, according to the book, Bartali shared with his son, Andrea, about why he kept silent about his role in WWII:

I want to be remembered for my sporting achievements and not as a war hero. The heroes are the others, those who suffered in body, mind, and in their loved ones. I just did what I did best. Ride a bike. Good must be done discretely. Once it is spoken of, it loses its value because it is as if one is trying to draw attention away from the suffering of others. They are the medals you can hang on your soul that will count in the Kingdom of Heaven, not on this earth.

Thanks to Rosie Croft and Pen & Sword for this opportunity, thanks to all of you for writing, and remember to like, share, comment, click, review, keep smiling, keep safe, and never forget.

The Coffee Pot Book Club feature on THE HEALER

Thanks to Mary Ann Yarde and The Coffee Pot Book Club
Link to the original feature: https://maryanneyarde.blogspot.com/2020/07/check-out-christoph-fischers-fabulous.html

Check out Christoph Fischer’s fabulous book — The Healer (Fraud or Miracle? Book 1) #Thriller #Medical #Supernatural @CFFBooks @WriterCFischer

The Healer
(Fraud or Miracle? Book 1)

By Christoph Fischer
When advertising executive Erica Whittaker is diagnosed with terminal cancer, western medicine fails her. The only hope left for her to survive is controversial healer Arpan. She locates the man whose touch could heal her but finds he has retired from the limelight and refuses to treat her. Erica, consumed by stage four pancreatic cancer, is desperate and desperate people are no longer logical nor are they willing to take no for an answer. Arpan has retired for good reasons. casting more than the shadow of a doubt over his abilities. So begins a journey that will challenge them both as the past threatens to catch up with him as much as with her. Can he really heal her? Can she trust him with her life? And will they both achieve what they set out to do before running out of time?

Praise for The Healer (Fraud or Miracle? Book 1

“Touching thriller that raises many profound questions”

Katie

“…a wonderful insight into the world of alternative healing and the conflict between holistic medicine and Western medicine”
Deborah A. Bowman
“A psychologically astute book that will make you think about your own mortality. And what an ending!”

Olga NM

Excerpt

The tired, small hatchback hit a rock next to the edge of the road and came to an unexpected and abrupt stop. Erica had not seen the bulky thing hidden underneath the uncut grass. She switched off the engine and got out. There seemed no significant damage to her old banger but she couldn’t care less right now, to be honest, and decided she would leave it parked here anyway. She must be close.

Quite frankly, she considered herself lucky to have made it this far; the roads had been bumpy and her car was in a dire condition, too. It wouldn’t be much longer before it would have to be scrapped. Living in London she rarely needed it and had often been tempted to sell it anyway.

This was deepest Wales, the countryside – something that the Londoner in her had not seen for years and certainly hadn’t missed. Poor phone reception, miles to the nearest supermarket with its supplies of cigarettes and bubbly: that’s what the countryside meant to her.

She guessed the car was sufficiently off the road and out of the way. Who would come here, anyway? It was unlikely that two cars would find this remote corner of Wales at the same time, she reckoned. Erica looked around: not a living soul in sight, no houses or vehicles; she was totally off the beaten track. She could see no significant landmarks; all views were blocked by large trees and hedges. It was drizzling a little and although it was past lunchtime, there was mist that reminded her of early mornings. The wind had made the spring temperatures drop more than she had anticipated and she was chilly in her inadequate city clothing.

She searched her purse for the map, which her assistant Hilda had drawn for her. It seemed as if she was in the right place; there was the small path at the foot of the hill, and the two opposing gates leading to fields with horses and sheep. Since leaving her nearby B&B, all the road junctions she had come to had been easy to recognise and here was the little shoulder by the side of the road, where Hilda had recommended she should park the car.

She assured herself once more that it was the right path and then she psyched herself up for the walk up the steep hill. The tricky part, Hilda had explained, was finding the hidden gate, which would lead her to the man himself. However, Hilda didn’t have pancreatic cancer and was not recovering from a course of chemo and so she had no idea how difficult it would be for Erica to walk up that hill. It seemed by no means the easy climb her assistant had called it. For all her recent goodness, that woman could drive her mad.

Erica looked at herself in the outside mirror of her car before getting ready to face the man. Her hair had not fallen out from the chemo but it had turned grey and made her look much older than she was. There were still crow’s feet and wrinkles despite being facially bloated – it really wasn’t fair; the worst of both worlds. People used to think of Erica as at least five years younger than she actually was, but now people thought she was five years older. Overnight it seemed, she had aged from 40 to 50 but given her current situation she would be lucky to reach 45. Additionally, she had lost a lot of weight, despite the effect that the steroids had had on her. With her mere 5’ 4’’ frame, she looked tiny and felt thin and weak.

Only this man might be able to improve her chances and she desperately hoped the trip here would be worth it. If the man really was who Hilda thought, there was a slight chance for her. If she could make him speak to her, then she was sure she could persuade him to help – if he still possessed those powers. There suddenly seemed a lot of ifs.

 

Pick up your copy of

The Healer

Amazon UK • Amazon US

Also available on Audio

 

Christoph Fischer

USA Today and Amazon No 1 bestselling author Christoph Fischer was born in Germany as the son of a Sudeten-German father and a Bavarian mother. Not a full local in the eyes and ears of his peers he developed an ambiguous sense of belonging and home in Bavaria. He moved to Hamburg in pursuit of his studies and to lead a life of literary indulgence. He now lives in a small town in West Wales with his husband and three Labradoodles.

Christoph worked for the British Film Institute, in Libraries, Museums and for an airline.
‘The Luck of The Weissensteiners’, the first of 5 historical novels was downloaded over 100,000 times on Amazon and reached No in Historical Fiction. “Time to Let Go”, his first contemporary work was published in May 2014.
His medical thriller “The Healer” was released in January 2015 and reached No 1 in medical thriller category on Amazon and became a USA Today bestseller in 2019. Other popular books of his are “Ludwika” and “Murder at Eurovision” , the second in his Bebe Bollinger cozy mystery series.

Connect with Christopher: Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon Author Page.

Movie review: Eurovision Song Contest – The Story of Fire Saga

Thanks Andrew for this review. Eurovision is my musical passion and what better way to celebrate my very special birthday than to post this review

Source: Movie review: Eurovision Song Contest – The Story of Fire Saga

POSTED ON JUNE 30, 2020BY AUSSIEMOOSE

(image courtesy IMP Awards)

The Eurovision Song Contest, whether you love it, hate it or are blissfully indifferent to it, is almost impossible to ignore.

Taking place usually in May in the nominated city of whichever country won the event the year before (COVID-19 plagued years like 2020 aside), and established in the wake of World War Two as a way of bringing the fractured continent of Europe together, Eurovision is a singing contest unlike any other.

It is bright, brash and gleefully over the top, a singing contest that might appear comical in certain respects – even fans of the event such as this reviewer will acknowledge that the cheese factor is strong with this event, which is as well known for its over-the-top theatrics as it is for its (mostly) catchy songs – but which also exhibits a tremendous amount of heart and soul and an inspirational quality which even the most cynical among us find hard to dismiss.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, the Will Ferrell-helmed film that was originally supposed to receive a theatrical release until a certain virus intervened, celebrates both the cheesiness and the humanity of a contest in ways that will defy any expectations you may have of such an undertaking, leaving a smile on your face and a song in your heart much like the event itself.

The reason why the film succeeds so abundantly well is that it eschews any attempt to parody the event.

Certainly, you could have gone down that route and had a ton of fun doing so; even the organisers of the contest will admit that the event is ripe for a well-execute satire.

But you suspect that the end result, once the “haha, it’s bit cheesy” angle had been exploited in what would have felt like an overdone one-joke effort, would have come across as mean-spirited and patronising, the kind of attitude that has plague Eurovision for much of its recent, more colourfully exhuberant history.

(image via YouTube (c) Netflix)

For all of its more gloriously offbeat attributes and its propensity for going to excess in just about every facet of its execution (an excess, by the way, that its ardent fans, and they are legion, love every step of the way), Eurovision is at heart all about people achieving their dreams.

While it may not necessarily have been solely responsible for uniting Europe, and you could well argue, especially when the votes are rolling in that a contest may not be the best to encourage selfless international bonhomie, what Eurovision delivers in spades is the sense that here are a select group of performers realising their dreams which, unless your heart is made of concrete, is a pretty inspiring thing.

Just how inspirational becomes apparent in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga which Ferrell co-wrote, produced and stars in, when we meet Lars Ericksonssong (Will Ferrell) as a young boy in 1974 who has just lost his mother and is finding too much about life to love.

That is until ABBA, who famously won Eurovision in that year, come on stage belting out the wondrously uplifting and defiantly melodic strains of “Waterloo” and Lars is transformed into an ambitious dynamo who is determined to win the contest and bring glory to his home country of Iceland (which has never won the event) and to his small northern town of Húsavík.

Doggedly hanging onto his dream in the face of scornful dismissal by his father Erick (Pierced Brosnan) and the mocking laughter of almost every one of his fellow townsfolk, Lars sole source of support is his childhood friend Sigrit Ericksdóttir who, apart from supporting him every step of the way on his seemingly quixotic dream, also holds a candle for him so large it would make an effective Eurovision pyrotechnic prop for any act.

Together, they are Fire Saga, a middling band in a town of two thousand or so people on the far northern coast of Iceland who have next to no chance of ever representing their country, despite some gorgeously cheesy songs like “Volcano Man” and “Double Trouble”, until a brilliantly over-the-top twist of explosive fate sends them to Edinburgh, Scotland for the 2020 contest (which in real life was going to be staged in Rotterdam, The Netherlands until COVID-19 forced its cancellation).

Scrupulously observing the rules that govern the contest, such as no song being longer than three minutes and each act only being allowed to have a maximum of six people on stage, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga gently and affectionately parodies its namesake without once veering into condescension or cruel ridicule, held aloft by a tremendous amount of heart and soul which Ferrell et al prosecute without a (welcome) trace of irony.

(image via YouTube (c) Netflix)

It helps that the film, which features cameos from a who’s who of past Eurovision contestants, including past winners Norway’s Alexander Rybak (2009), Sweden’s Loreen (2012), Ukraine’s Jamala (2016), Austria’s Conchita Wurst (2017) and Israel’s Netta (2018), has been produced by someone who is an ardent fan of the event.

That’s right – Will Ferrell, thanks to his Swedish wife Viveca Paulin, has been watching the contest for a great many years, counting himself among those who love the event and who, while they can find plenty to affectionately mock should they be so inclined, see far more good in the contest than ridiculous bad.

His ardent appreciation of the event in reflected in every scene of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga which while it has more than its share of silly, offbeat fun, with elves, overwrought song productions and visual slapstick all making an hilarious appearance, never once veers into cruel, overblown parody.

This restraint is matched by a commitment to honouring the dream of its protagonist and the woman who loves him; everyone else in his hometown and in the Iceland committee which oversees selection of the country’s Eurovision contestant may be laughing at him, but the film never does, and while there is a great deal that is amusing about Lars’s singleminded devotion to his lifelong goal and his oblivious disregard of Sigrit’s affection for him, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga holds back from turning every last element of the film into a rip-roaring, larger-than-life joke.

It’s this nuance and humanity that gives the film a solid, emotional core, the kind which is affecting in all the right ways without once being treacly or twee and which is calibrated at just the right level that it sits easily alongside the more adroitly-executed absurdist elements (which include Dan Stevens as flamboyant Russian representative Alexander Lemtov who comes close to stealing the film).

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is an unexpected gift – a film that is quite at home happily parodying the event around which it is centred but not in a cruelly derisive way that would have leached any sense of fun to be had with the premise.

For more clips and review head over to Andrew’s post

Movie review: Eurovision Song Contest – The Story of Fire Saga