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A review by komet2020
The Last Baron: The Paris Kidnapping That Brought Down an Empire by Tom Sancton
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
THE LAST BARON: The Paris Kidnapping That Brought Down an Empire is a richly, layered story steeped in intrigue and tragedy. Its essence is centered around the kidnapping, in January 1978, of Baron Édouard-Jean “Wado” Empain, one of France's principal industrial leaders who was also an inveterate gambler, playboy, and a man who seemingly had it all. He was a third generation baron and head of the Empain industrial empire, which had been founded by his grandfather in the 1880s and, at its zenith, "spread from France and Belgium to span more than a dozen countries." The design and construction of the Paris Metro in the late 1890s was one its greatest achievements.
I came across this book by chance. Its author, Tom Sancton, I had previously become acquainted with from reading a few years ago his engaging book, THE BETTENCOURT AFFAIR which dealt with Liliane Bettencourt (1922-2017), who was the richest woman in the world and one of the principal shareholders in L'Oréal, one of the world's largest cosmetic and beauty companies, which was founded by her father in the early 1900s.
The Last Baron piqued my curiosity because it's a book about a political kidnapping at a time when such kidnappings in Europe seemed common. This was in the late 1970s. I was then on the cusp of adolescence. I remember the 1977 kidnapping and murder of Hans-Martin Schleyer, a German industrialist, by the radical leftist terrorist Baader Meinhof group. And then, it was followed up by the kidnapping and murder in Italy of former Premier Aldo Moro by the radical leftist Red Brigade terrorist group. Those 2 tragic events --- which I learned about on the TV news --- became fixed in my memory. But the kidnapping of Baron Empain completely escaped my notice.
Sancton does a masterful job in describing the planning and carrying out of the kidnapping in a crowded Paris street, the life stories and motives of the kidnappers themselves, as well as the effects the kidnapping had on Baron Empain and his family and the Empain industrial empire.
The Last Baron is a book that reads like an epic, Shakespearian novel, except that what it describes in considerable detail was all too true. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a gripping tale.
I came across this book by chance. Its author, Tom Sancton, I had previously become acquainted with from reading a few years ago his engaging book, THE BETTENCOURT AFFAIR which dealt with Liliane Bettencourt (1922-2017), who was the richest woman in the world and one of the principal shareholders in L'Oréal, one of the world's largest cosmetic and beauty companies, which was founded by her father in the early 1900s.
The Last Baron piqued my curiosity because it's a book about a political kidnapping at a time when such kidnappings in Europe seemed common. This was in the late 1970s. I was then on the cusp of adolescence. I remember the 1977 kidnapping and murder of Hans-Martin Schleyer, a German industrialist, by the radical leftist terrorist Baader Meinhof group. And then, it was followed up by the kidnapping and murder in Italy of former Premier Aldo Moro by the radical leftist Red Brigade terrorist group. Those 2 tragic events --- which I learned about on the TV news --- became fixed in my memory. But the kidnapping of Baron Empain completely escaped my notice.
Sancton does a masterful job in describing the planning and carrying out of the kidnapping in a crowded Paris street, the life stories and motives of the kidnappers themselves, as well as the effects the kidnapping had on Baron Empain and his family and the Empain industrial empire.
The Last Baron is a book that reads like an epic, Shakespearian novel, except that what it describes in considerable detail was all too true. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a gripping tale.