Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Will your obituary...

...read like Micky Burn's someday?

Michael Burn, a British journalist and author whose eventful life included an early flirtation with Nazism; a daring commando raid on the fortified port of St.-Nazaire, France; imprisonment in Colditz Castle; a love affair with the British spy Guy Burgess; and a timely intervention in the aftermath of World War II that saved Audrey Hepburn’s life, died Sept. 3 at his home in North Wales. He was 97.

A privileged social position, good looks and a taste for adventure primed Mr. Burn for an exciting life. The turmoil of the 20th century, and his own erratic sexual and political inclinations, virtually guaranteed that ennui would not be one of his afflictions.

Oh, I almost forgot. While imprisoned at Colditz Castle in World War II (his third German prisoner-of-war camp), Burn made the most of his time there by writing the novel Yes, Farewell.

(And I feel lucky if I can read a few pages of a paperback on a plane trip.)

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