The Test of Courage: (A Biography of) Michel Thomas

The story of Michel Thomas reads like a thriller in which adventure and heartbreak combine to produce a unique form of wisdom. Until his death in 2005, he taught languages to ghetto kids, heads of industry and movie stars in a matter of days, succeeding even with people who considered themselves hopeless linguists. To those who have been taught by him, he seemed to be a miracle worker with a magical gift for unlocking the secret powers of the mind.

This unique understanding was gained under extreme circumstances. Stateless in Vichy France at the beginning of the Second World War, he was incarcerated and starved in a concentration camp at the foot of the Pyrenees. Forced into slave labour in a coal mine in Provence, he avoided being sent to Auschwitz by hiding within the confines of a deportation camp for six weeks.

He escaped death to join the Secret Army of the Resistance. He was arrested and interrogated by Klaus Barbie, Butcher of Lyon, whom he deceived into releasing him, and was later re-arrested by the French Gestapo and tortured. He held out by entering a psychological state in which he no longer registered pain and after six hours of torture, his tormentors threw him into a cell and he survived to re-join the Resistance. After the Allies invaded France he joined the American forces, fought his way into Germany and was with the troops who liberated Dachau. He personally interrogated the camp’s hangman and oversaw his handwritten confession.

At the end of the war he became a Nazi-hunter. Working for American Counter Intelligence he posed as a Nazi himself to infiltrate and expose underground networks of SS men dedicated to the return of a Fourth Reich.

In spite of the fact that his entire family had been murdered in Auschwitz, and many close friends killed in combat, at the very end of the war he staged an elaborate gala evening in Munich which he called a Reconciliation Concert. Using German musicians, and in defiance of strict Allied non-fraternisation laws, he brought friend and foe together in the belief that there had to be a different and better future.

Author Christopher Robbins has dug deep to explore and substantiate the details of the Michel Thomas story. He has authenticated every episode through camp records, Vichy documents, Resistance papers, US Army reports and hundreds of hours of interviews with this extraordinary man. The result is one of the most inspirational stories of the 20th century.

The magnetic potency of Michel Thomas's teaching is partly explained by this book, as much a thriller as a biography... -- Emma Thompson Chris Robbins has given us an irresitible phenomenon: obstinate, brilliant, morally incorruptible and one of thebravest men you will ever read about. -- John Le Carre This book will stir your soul. -- Reader review, Amazon.co.uk This has to be the one of the best examples that we are all put on this earth for a reason... I could hardly put it down and only relented when I had to do some real work... I have now decided that I too can learn a language as his philosophy on learning is one that I can relate to and hope that in time educational institutions will too.A truly inspirational read!! -- Reader review, Amazon.co.uk Michel Thomas' biography is a must-read for anyone interested in the triumph of humanity over the seemingly overwhelming forces of evil. -- Reader review, Amazon.co.uk Five stars is not enough for this gut wrenching biography... an awe inspiring read, which really puts one's own meek trials and tribulations into perspective. The final chapter has a quote: "Often the test of courage is not to die, but to live." This sums the book up. -- Reader review, Amazon.co.uk

Christopher Robbins was born in 1946. He has won a number of awards for his investigative journalism for the Observer on topics such as world-wide smuggling, the treatment of political prisoners in Franco's Spain and CIA involvement in political assassination, including attempts on Fidel Castro, which was developed into a book - "Assassin". He has travelled widely in Russia, investigating the activities of the KGB.