Jon Ratcliffe has recommended a book by a brother and sister team (who are friends of his). It is available for pre-order for June delivery. (recommend UK Amazon site not the US one, as the postage is much cheaper)
"Road to Valor is the true story of Gino Bartali, a chain-smoking Italian cycling legend who won the Tour de France twice and who helped a secret resistance network during WWII by shuttling false identity documents to Jews hiding throughout Tuscany and Umbria.
Aili and Andres have been doing research for this book for the better part of a decade (hence the “long-awaited”) in Italy, France and Israel so are very excited to finally be able to share the full story they have uncovered. I think Road to Valor is fantastic (like Unbroken set on a bigger stage) but the book has also garnered rave reviews from many folks whose last name is not McConnon, including Elie Wiesel and several professional Tour de France cyclists among others (see the advance praise pasted below). For additional background, see the synopsis from Random House below.
If you are interested in World War II history, cycling, need a good Father’s Day present or just want to be supportive of the McConnon clan, please consider pre-ordering a copy via Amazon.com (or any other book retailer--$16.33 hardcover/$12.99 kindle version). The more online pre-orders that Random House sees at this stage, the more marketing dollars they will put behind Road to Valor which could lead to further sales and so on--pre-orders are apparently very important for a book’s overall momentum!
The link to pre-order Road to Valor is:
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Valor-Cyclist-Inspired-Nation/dp/030759064X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335499393&sr=8-1
Pete McConnon."
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Random House Synopsis:
Road to Valor is the inspiring, against-the-odds story of Gino Bartali, the cyclist who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and secretly aided the Italian resistance during World War II.
Gino Bartali is best known as an Italian cycling legend: the man who not only won the Tour de France twice, but also holds the record for the longest time span between victories. During the ten years that separated his hard-won triumphs, his actions, both on and off the racecourse, ensured him a permanent place in Italian hearts and minds.
In Road to Valor, Aili and Andres McConnon chronicle Bartali’s journey, starting in impoverished rural Tuscany where a scrawny, mischievous boy painstakingly saves his money to buy a bicycle and before long, is racking up wins throughout the country. At the age of 24, he stuns the world by winning the Tour de France and becomes an international sports icon.
But Mussolini’s Fascists try to hijack his victory for propaganda purposes, derailing Bartali’s career, and as the Nazis occupy Italy, Bartali undertakes secret and dangerous activities to help those being targeted. He shelters a family of Jews in an apartment he financed with his cycling winnings and is able to smuggle counterfeit identity documents hidden in his bicycle past Fascist and Nazi checkpoints because the soldiers recognize him as a national hero in training.
After the grueling wartime years, Bartali fights to rebuild his career as Italy emerges from the rubble. In 1948, the stakes are raised when midway through the Tour de France, an assassination attempt in Rome sparks nationwide political protests and riots. Despite numerous setbacks and a legendary snowstorm in the Alps, the chain-smoking, Chianti-loving, 34-year-old underdog comes back and wins the most difficult endurance competition on earth. Bartali’s inspiring performance helps unite his fractured homeland and restore pride and spirit to a country still reeling from war and despair.
Set in Italy and France against the turbulent backdrop of an unforgiving sport and threatening politics, Road to Valor is the breathtaking account of one man’s unsung heroism and his resilience in the face of adversity. Based on nearly ten years of research in Italy, France, and Israel, including interviews with Bartali’s family, former teammates, a Holocaust survivor Bartali saved, and many others, Road to Valor is the first book ever written about Bartali in English and the only book written in any language to fully explore the scope of Bartali’s wartime work. An epic tale of courage, comeback, and redemption, it is the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century.
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Advance Praise for Road to Valor:
"Journalist Aili McConnon and historical researcher Andres McConnon uncover the untold story of Italian bicycle racing legend Gino Bartali’s secret work during WWII saving Jews from the Holocaust. The sister-and-brother team describe Bartali’s rise from humble origins in a village outside of Florence to international sports stardom as a two-time winner of bicycle racing’s ultimate challenge, the Tour de France. They perfectly recreate the excitement of his 1948 Tour victory. With rioting in the wake of the attempted assassination of the head of Italy’s Communist Party, many believe that Bartali’s victory united Italians and prevented civil war. But the authors’ primary focus is on Bartali’s dangerous and secret work as a courier for a network that protected Italian Jews from the Nazis during the war, making this account much more than just another sports biography. At the request of Florence’s antifascist archbishop, Elia Dalla Costa, who wanted to aid Jewish refugees flooding into the city, Bartali carried false identity documents and photos through numerous police and military checkpoints under the guise of “training” rides. Based mostly on Italian primary sources and hundreds of hours of interviews, this thoroughly documented biography is both inspiring and immensely enjoyable."
“‘Thou shall not stand idly by’ is a powerful Biblical command. In Aili and Andres McConnon’s book it offers a moving example of moral courage. A simple citizen and great athlete chose to oppose a cruel and racist political dictatorship by saving Jewish victims in Italy. Was it so hard to become a hero then? It was enough--enough to remain human. And yet.” – Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
“The two Tours de France won by Bartali are more than mere entries in the record book of winners. The fact that they were won many years apart proves what an exceptional champion he really was. Above all, the war years separating these victories now reveal Gino to have been a true hero.”— Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France
"Whether you are a Tour de France fan, a history buff, or looking for an entertaining way to learn about both, Road to Valor will have you turning the pages with more conviction and speed than Bartali could turn the pedals! An engaging and mesmerizing read." – Craig Hummer, Tour de France broadcaster for NBC Sports
"This book is a magnificent ride through the uphill-downhill-uphill story of Gino Bartali. It inspires anyone who tenaciously holds to doing what is just, no matter how difficult, in the face of ignorance and terror. Bartali is a hero for all times." --Fred Plotkin, author of Italy for the Gourmet Traveler
“Road to Valor is the rigorously researched account of a true champion and role model, Gino Bartali, who became stronger when faced with extreme adversity. His bicycle became the tool with which he saved countless lives during WWII and inspired a broken nation. It is a profoundly uplifting story.”-Michael Barry, Professional Tour cyclist and New York Times contributor
“A gritty, scary story of endurance, Road to Valor traces one man’s harrowing journey from the resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Italy to a comeback triumph in the Tour de France—told with verve and an affecting appreciation of the human spirit.” – Bruce Porter, New York Times bestselling author of Blow
“Bartali is one of cycling's great icons, and this book adds another important dimension to this man's world.” – Sir Paul Smith
“Many cycling fans recognize the name Gino Bartali, and up until now most people only knew him for the races he won. But during some of the most tumultuous years of the twentieth century he leveraged his fame and risked his life for those being persecuted. With this complete look at Bartali’s life, his legacy as one of cycling’s greatest heroes grows even stronger.”- Chris Carmichael, legendary coach and former Giro d’Italia and Tour de France racer
"This retelling of the saga of Gino Bartali, the Italian cycling icon who rescued Jewish victims from Nazi oppression has the ring of truth and is told with the intensity of the Anne Frank chronicles.That it had a happy ending is a bonus. This astonishing book will become a classic.”—Peter C. Newman, bestselling author
"Part sports biography, part real-life action adventure, Road to Valor is the remarkable true account of a man whose Catholic faith inspired his greatest achievements. Aili and Andres McConnon tell the story of Gino Bartali, twice the winner of the Tour de France, who worked with members of the clergy and civilians in war-torn Italy, risking everything to help save the lives of Jews from Nazi persecution.”- Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York
"It is with genuine pleasure that I recommend to men and women of all ages and all religious and ethnic backgrounds ROAD TO VALOR by Aili and Andres McConnon. It recounts a true story that is marvelously exciting and inspiring as well. The heroism of so many Italians during World War II and afterwards is a tale that needs to be told, and the authors tell it masterfully. Their readers will be deeply touched by the courage of the hero of the book, Gino Bartali, and others who put their lives at risk to protect the innocent and defend both their faith and their commitment to democracy.”- Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York