A corporal motorcycle courier on the Western Front during World War I, Hitler fancied himself the German Napoleon Bonaparte. While he had good political instincts, a military genius he was not. Still, he had several first-rate strategists and tacticians on his staff.
America's General Patton, Britain's Field Marshal Montgomery and Russia's Marshal Zhukov had yet to prove their mettle when World War II broke out. France had no martial master of consequence on the horizon when the Wehrmacht crossed their frontier. They were in Paris in six weeks.
The fall of France was a catastrophe. It was a repetition of the Franco-Prussian War 70 years earlier. Only worse -- much worse -- the Third Reich styled itself as being composed of the "master race". Where did that leave the French?
Stunned by the quick defeat, their early reaction was not to resist but to collaborate, to take it in stride. But the brutality of the Occupation turned many French people against them. Some became partisans (freedom fighters). Not all, however. These informed the Gestapo on the partisans.
Why did they turn on their countrymen? There are quite a few studies on this subject. Preventing the bloody Nazi reprisals for Germans killed is a common one. Be that as it may, partisans began targeting collaborators. In Game Of Spies, Paddy Ashdown and Sylvie Young focus on World War II France.
More particularly, they focus on Bordeaux, an Atlantic seaport in the southwest. The Germans overran it and proceeded to stomp on it with their jackboots. British Intelligence and General de Galle in London harangued them to resist. Marshal Petain in Vichy preached obeisance.
Elements of the denizens did one or the other. This factual, well-researched book details who did what. The British marines came in 1942 and sank a number of ships; secret agents parachuted in. There was radio contact. Families took sides and betrayed each other.
When liberated in September 1944, de Gaulle arrive and proved to be marginally as anti-British as he was anti-German. The co-author asks the readers how they would react if their country were invaded. Food for thought.
A bad apple
Spending a small amount of money to make a fortune is a dream that very rarely comes true yet is virtually irresistible, and gambling thrives. Cards, roulette, slot machines, horse racing, sports, etc. Name it and people bet on it. What is the national lottery if not a game of chance?
Casinos aren't legal everywhere, but where they are, millions -- not to say billions -- of dollars come rolling in. Most of that goes to the house, a fraction to the players. Governments rub their hands, collecting at least half in taxes. Alas, gangsters get their cuts as well.
And so much money is involved that honest people are willing to give up their integrity for a piece of the action. Bribery here, money laundering there. To give the family a better life isn't really corruption, is it?
In Florida, they have a better-than-fair chance of getting away with it. In the Sunshine State, most of the casinos are owned and operated by local Seminole Indians. And if there's one group the US government doesn't want to go head-to-head with, it's Native Americans.
In John Grisham's The Whisler, it does just that. While allowing that the vast majority of the country's state judges are honest, there are a few bad apples. In this story, the Board of Judicial Review in Florida has heard of one. As the FBI is reluctant to investigate the Indian connection, it's up to the understaffed board.
The judge and tribe, cooking the books and paying minimum taxes, won't tolerate an official investigation. So much so that they hire hit men to snuff them out. Several are murdered. There's nothing for it, but the FBI enters the scene with all its resources.
The Whistler certainly isn't flattering to the Seminoles, referred to more than once as the "Gulf Mafia". No mention is made of other tribes -- nor federal judges -- running casinos elsewhere in the States.
John Grisham remains one of the most popular Yank scriveners in the business. Several of his stories have been adapted for the big screen, but this reviewer doubts that this one will, simply because of its subject matter.
