Jean Lartéguy

Jean Lartéguy (nom de plume of Jean Pierre Lucien Osty) is a French writer, journalist, and former soldier. He was born in 1920 in the Lozere departement, France.

=Biography=Larteguy was born into what he called "one of those families of poor mountain peasants whose names are found inscribed on war memorials, but not in history books." Both his father and uncle had served in the First World War. With his country conquered by the Germans, Larteguy escaped France in March of 1942 into Spain. He remained there for nine months and spent some time in a Francoist jail before joining the Free French Forces as an officer in the 1st Commando Group ("1er groupe de commandos"). During the war, he fought in Italy; Vosges and Belfort, France; and Germany. He remained on active duty for seven years until becoming a captain in the reserves to enter the field of journalism. Larteguy received numerous awards, to include: Légion d'honneur, Croix de guerre 1939-1945, and the Croix de guerre T.O.E.

After his military service, Larteguy worked as a war correspondent, particularly for the magazine Paris Match. He covered conflicts in Azerbaijan, Korea, Palestine, Indochina, Algeria, and Vietnam. He volunteered for the French battalion in Korea, in pursuit of a story, and was wounded by an enemy hand grenade during the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge. In Latin America he reported on various revolutions, and in 1967 encountered Che Guevara shortly before his capture and execution. In the July 1967 issue of Paris Match, Larteguy wrote a major article entitled "Les Guerilleros", where he wrote "At a time when Cuban revolutionaries want to create Vietnam's all over the world, the Americans run the risk of finding their own Algeria in Latin America."

In 1955, he received the Albert Londres Prize for journalism.

=Writing=His experiences as a soldier and war correspondent influenced his writing. Some of the most emphasized topics in his writing are decolonization, nationalism, the expansion of Communism, the state of post-war France itself, and the de-glamorization of war. Several of his book titles were translated into English, with the most successful being his Algerian War series: "The Centurions" and "The Praetorians". The former was adapted into a major motion picture in 1966, entitled Lost Command and starred Anthony Quinn.Also, with his novel "The Centurions", Larteguy is credited with being the first to envision the 'ticking time bomb' scenario, which has regained relevance in debates on the use of torture in an anti-terrorism role.

Bibliography

*"La ville étranglée" (1955)
*"Les âmes errantes" (1956)
*"La tragédie du Maroc interdit" (1957)
*"Les dieux meurent en Algérie" (1960)
*"Les baladins de la Margeride" (1962)
*"Les mercenaires" (1963) (Originally published as "Du sang sur les collines", without success, reprinted with the new title after the success of "Les centurions")
*"Les chimères noires" (1963)
*Guerre d'Algérie, two volumes
#"Les centurions" (1963), translated into English as "The Centurions", adapted into film as "Lost Command"
#"Les prétoriens" (1964), translated into English as "The Praetorians"
*"Le mal jaune" (1965), translated into English as "Yellow Fever", (Reprint of two previously published titles: "La ville étranglée" and "Les âmes errantes")
*"Un million de dollars le Viet" (1965)
*"Sauveterre" (1966), translated into English
*"Les guérilleros" (1967)
*"Les chimères noires" (1967)
*"Les tambours de bronze" (1969), translated into English as "The Bronze Drums"
*"Ces voix qui nous viennent de la mer" (1969)
*"Tout homme est une guerre civile", two volumes
#"Le prêtre astronome" (1969)
#"Les libertadors" (1970)
*"Lettre ouverte aux bonnes femmes" (1972)
*"Les Rois mendiants" (1975)
*"Enquête sur un crucifié" (1976)
*"Tout l'or du diable" (1976)
*"Les rois mendiants" (1977)
*"Les naufragés du soleil", three volumes
#"Le gaur de la rivière noire" (1978)
#"Le cheval de feu" (1980)
#"Le baron céleste" (1982)
*"Dieu, l'or et le sang" (1980)
*"Le commandant du nord" (1982)
*"Marco Polo espion de Venise" (1984)
*"Soldats perdus et fous de Dieu, Indochine 1954-1955" (1986)
*"L'or de Baal" (1987)
*"Tahiti" (1988)
*"Le Roi noir", (1991)
*"Mourir pour Jérusalem" (1995), (non-fiction)