Follow Here To Purchase The Cost of Courage

Author: Charles Kaiser
Publisher: Other Press
ISBN: 97531246810

When author Charles Kaiser heard part of the story of the Boulloche siblings from his uncle who boarded with the Boulloche family in the fall of 1944 shortly after the Liberation of Paris, he knew it was a story that needed telling.  The result is a book that reads like a historical thriller while being a detailed actual account of three three young Parisian siblings: Christiane, Andre and Jacqueline Boullouch who became part of the French Resistance movement in WW11. 

Talking about what happened during the war was a taboo subject in the Boulloche family because of the memories the retelling evoked of the terrible consequences to family members as a result of the French Resistance activities by the siblings.  And so, the surviving members of the family kept the story to themselves for decades until the author was able to earn the trust of the sole remaining sibling, Christiane. 

As seasoned journalist Charles Kaiser listened to Christiane’s story, read some of the intimate family letters, meticulously researched official records, and listened to the stories of others, he began to unravel the reasons for the heroes’ silence and this book began to unfold.



It’s a fascinating political novel of intrigue and historical relevance where stories of sacrifice, confrontation with morally-fraught decisions, idealism, betrayal, narrow escapes and terrible consequences of courageous actions erupt as the Boulloche siblings work with the French Resistance.  This heart-wrenching book depicts a time in France’s history which has been hidden for far too long and its title speaks to the time when Nazis invaded France and the only thing the people of France had to oppose the invading Nazis was their “courage”.  A story of the triumph of the human spirit in the face of oppression, The Cost of Courage reveals that the “cost” of that courage was far greater than any could have imagined.   

Guided by a deep sense of patriotism, the three Boulloche siblings and other members of the French Resistance had two objectives: provide aid to the Allies so that the Nazis could be defeated and avoid capture.  They achieved the first objective but few French Resistance fighters achieved the second objective which the Boulloche family knows only too well.

Author Charles Kaiser spend two years in France researching this book and his experience as a reporter for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal prepared him well to transform the story he heard from Christiane Boulloche and other members of the family into this book. Many stories have been told of the events of WW11, but seldom are they told with such insight, journalistic skill and ability to weave history and drama into a believable, inspiring and devastating narrative of incredible people who make choices in unfathomable situations that not only affect their lives, but the lives of loved ones.