Description
By: Tom Sancton
A riveting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat tale about the notorious 1978 kidnapping of Baron Édouard-Jean “Wado” Empain, intertwined with the story of his famous grandfather, the first baron and builder of the Paris Métro. A multigenerational saga told against the backdrops of both Belle Époque and 1970s high-fashion Paris.
What does it take to create a dynasty? What does it take to keep one going? And what does it take to save the life of the dazzling but flawed man who inherited it all? Launched in the 1880s by the first baron, the Empain industrial empire spread from Belgium and France to span more than a dozen countries. When Wado took over, he further expanded the company, became a key player in France’s nuclear sector, and, by the mid-1970s, was one of the country’s most powerful business leaders—a self-described “master of the universe.” But these were also the “years of lead,” marked by a rash of high-profile kidnappings around the globe, including the headline-grabbing seizure of American heiress Patty Hearst.
Wado’s vertiginous rise caught the eye of Alain Cailloll, a small-time gangster who had grown up in a wealthy family before embracing a life of crime. On January 23, 1978, Caillol and his confederates snatched the baron off the Paris streets, sure that they’d get the 80 million francs they demanded in ransom. To show they meant business, they chopped off Wado’s little finger and warned that more body parts would follow.
But nothing unfolded as the kidnappers, or Wado himself, expected. Would Empain’s company pay? Could his family afford this astronomical sum? How much was the life of a leader, a father, and a husband worth? Most important, could a determined police chief and his crack investigators outsmart the kidnappers? The answers to those questions unspooled over two months in a tangle of events leading to a bloody showdown whose consequences would prove fatal to the Empain dynasty.
A riveting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat tale about the notorious 1978 kidnapping of Baron Édouard-Jean “Wado” Empain, intertwined with the story of his famous grandfather, the first baron and builder of the Paris Métro. A multigenerational saga told against the backdrops of both Belle Époque and 1970s high-fashion Paris.
What does it take to create a dynasty? What does it take to keep one going? And what does it take to save the life of the dazzling but flawed man who inherited it all? Launched in the 1880s by the first baron, the Empain industrial empire spread from Belgium and France to span more than a dozen countries. When Wado took over, he further expanded the company, became a key player in France’s nuclear sector, and, by the mid-1970s, was one of the country’s most powerful business leaders—a self-described “master of the universe.” But these were also the “years of lead,” marked by a rash of high-profile kidnappings around the globe, including the headline-grabbing seizure of American heiress Patty Hearst.
Wado’s vertiginous rise caught the eye of Alain Cailloll, a small-time gangster who had grown up in a wealthy family before embracing a life of crime. On January 23, 1978, Caillol and his confederates snatched the baron off the Paris streets, sure that they’d get the 80 million francs they demanded in ransom. To show they meant business, they chopped off Wado’s little finger and warned that more body parts would follow.
But nothing unfolded as the kidnappers, or Wado himself, expected. Would Empain’s company pay? Could his family afford this astronomical sum? How much was the life of a leader, a father, and a husband worth? Most important, could a determined police chief and his crack investigators outsmart the kidnappers? The answers to those questions unspooled over two months in a tangle of events leading to a bloody showdown whose consequences would prove fatal to the Empain dynasty.
You may also like
熱銷中 Top Trending
![Zog and the Flying Doctors (Julia Donaldson)(Axel Scheffler) Scholastic UK](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/Zog-and-the-Flying-Doctors-Julia-DonaldsonAxel-Scheffler-1-Scholastic-UK_{width}x.webp?v=1724360745)
Zog and the Flying Doctors (Julia Donaldson)(Axel Scheffler)
Sale priceHK$64.00
Regular priceHK$104.00
In stock![Amazing Facts Every 7 Year Old Needs to Know (Catherine Brereton)-Nonfiction: 科學科技 Science & Technology-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/AmazingFactsEvery7YearOldNeedstoKnow_1_{width}x.jpg?v=1723911769)
![Amazing Facts Every 7 Year Old Needs to Know (Catherine Brereton)-Nonfiction: 科學科技 Science & Technology-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/AmazingFactsEvery7YearOldNeedstoKnow_2_{width}x.jpg?v=1723911770)
Amazing Facts Every 7 Year Old Needs to Know (Catherine Brereton)
Sale priceHK$39.00
Regular priceHK$65.00
In stock![Colour Monster, The: The Feelings Doctor and the Emotions Toolkit (Anna Llenas)-Fiction: 兒童繪本 Picture Books-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/ColourMonster_TheTheFeelingsDoctorandtheEmotionsToolkit_1_{width}x.webp?v=1712739862)
![Colour Monster, The: The Feelings Doctor and the Emotions Toolkit (Anna Llenas)-Fiction: 兒童繪本 Picture Books-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/ColourMonster_TheTheFeelingsDoctorandtheEmotionsToolkit_2_{width}x.webp?v=1712744555)
Colour Monster, The: The Feelings Doctor and the Emotions Toolkit (Anna Llenas)
Sale priceHK$65.00
Regular priceHK$104.00
In stock![Friends #01 Real Friends (Shannon Hale) (LeUyen Pham) First Second](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/Friends-01-Real-Friends-Shannon-Hale-LeUyen-Pham-1-First-Second_{width}x.webp?v=1724355096)
![Friends #01 Real Friends (Shannon Hale) (LeUyen Pham) First Second](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/Friends-01-Real-Friends-Shannon-Hale-LeUyen-Pham-2-First-Second_{width}x.webp?v=1724355101)
Friends #01 Real Friends (Shannon Hale) (LeUyen Pham)
Sale priceHK$75.00
Regular priceHK$124.00
In stock![Press Start! #15 Mega Mole Girl Digs Deep! (Branches)-Fiction: 歷險科幻 Adventure & Science Fiction-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/PressStart_15MegaMoleGirlDigsDeep_Branches_{width}x.webp?v=1723696583)
Press Start! #15 Mega Mole Girl Digs Deep! (Branches)
Sale priceHK$47.00
Regular priceHK$98.00
In stock![The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei (A Holly-Mei Book, 1)-Children's / Teenage: Personal and social topics-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/InkyardPress_{width}x.webp?v=1723792731)
The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei (A Holly-Mei Book, 1)
Sale priceHK$55.00
Regular priceHK$90.00
In stock![Land of Stories, The (正版) Complete Collection (6 Book) (Chris Colfer) Hachette US](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/products/The_Land_of_Stories_Complete_Collection_6_Book_06_{width}x.jpg?v=1615406936)
Land of Stories, The #6 World Collide (Chris Colfer)
Sale priceHK$75.00
Regular priceHK$100.00
In stock![The Hogwarts Library Box Set Collection (3 Books) (Harry Potter) (J.K. Rowling) Bloomsbury](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/The-Hogwarts-Library-Box-Set-Collection-3-Books-Harry-Potter-J_K_-Rowling-1-Bloomsbury_{width}x.webp?v=1724345000)
![The Hogwarts Library Box Set Collection (3 Books) (Harry Potter) (J.K. Rowling) Bloomsbury](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/The-Hogwarts-Library-Box-Set-Collection-3-Books-Harry-Potter-J_K_-Rowling-2-Bloomsbury_{width}x.webp?v=1724345004)
The Hogwarts Library Box Set Collection (3 Books) (Harry Potter) (J.K. Rowling)
Sale priceHK$185.00
Regular priceHK$273.00
In stock![Legends of Lotus Island #01 The Guardian Test (Christina Soontornvat)-Fiction: 奇幻魔法 Fantasy & Magical-買書書 BuyBookBook](http://buybookbook.com/cdn/shop/files/9781339041032_{width}x.webp?v=1723792483)
Legends of Lotus Island #01 The Guardian Test (Christina Soontornvat)
Sale priceFrom HK$67.00
Regular priceHK$112.00
In stock