Dominique Lapierre
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Dominique Lapierre (30 July 1931 – 2 December 2022) was a French author.


Life

Dominique Lapierre was born in
Châtelaillon-Plage Châtelaillon-Plage (, also ), commonly known as Châtelaillon, is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is located south of the city of La Rochelle and is also a suburb. It is t ...
, Charente-Maritime, France. At the age of thirteen, he travelled to the U.S. with his father who was a diplomat (Consul General of France). He attended the Jesuit school in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
and became a
paper boy ''Paper Boy'' is a 2018 Telugu language, Telugu-language romantic drama film written and produced by Sampath Nandi and directed by V. Jayashankarr. The leading actors are Santosh Sobhan, Riya Suman, and Tanya Hope. It was released on 31 August 20 ...
for the '' New Orleans Item''. He developed interests in travelling, writing, and cars. Lapierre renovated a 1927 Nash that his mother gave him and decided to travel across the United States during his summer holidays. To earn his way he painted mail boxes. Later, he received a scholarship to study the
Aztec civilization The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl l ...
in Mexico. He hitch-hiked throughout the U.S. living an adventurous existence, wrote articles, washed windows in churches, gave lectures, and even found a job as a siren cleaner on a boat returning to Europe. One day a truck driver who picked him up on the road to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
stole his suitcase. He found the driver before the police did. The ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' paid him $100 for his exclusive story. His twenty thousand miles of adventure beginning with just thirty dollars in his pocket led to his first book ''A Dollar for a Thousand kilometers''. It became one of the best sellers of postwar France and other European countries.


Early work

When Lapierre was eighteen, he received a
Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
to study economics at
Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...
in
Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...
, where he was graduated in 1952. That year he bought a 1937
Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
convertible for $30 and fell in love with a fashion editor. They were married in
New York City Hall New York City Hall is the Government of New York City, seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Park R ...
on his 21st birthday and drove to Mexico in the old Chrysler for their honeymoon. With only $300 in their pockets, they had just enough to buy gas, sandwiches, and cheap rooms in truckers’ motels. In Los Angeles, they won another $300 in a radio game show for
Campbell Soup Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...
. The prize included a case of soup, which was their only food for three weeks. Lapierre sold the Chrysler for $400 in San Francisco and bought two tickets on the SS ''President Cleveland'' for Japan. The honeymoon lasted for a year. They worked their way across Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Lebanon. When they returned to France, Lapierre wrote his second book, ''Honeymoon around the Earth''.


Collaboration with Larry Collins

On his return to Paris after his honeymoon, he was conscripted into the French army. After one year in the tank regiment, he was transferred to the
SHAPE A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material type. A pl ...
headquarters to serve as an interpreter. One day in the cafeteria he met a young American corporal, Larry Collins, a Yale graduate and draftee. They became friends instantly. When Collins was discharged he was offered a job with
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
. Two days before reporting to the new job, the
United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
offered him a job as caption writer at their Paris office, for much less money than offered by Procter & Gamble. Collins took the offer from United Press and was soon picked up by ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' to be their correspondent in the Middle East. When Lapierre was discharged, he found work as a reporter for the magazine ''
Paris Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly news magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. History and profile A sports news magazine, ''Match l'intran'' (a play on ''L'Intransigeant' ...
''. Collins became the godfather of the Lapierres' first child, Alexandra. On several occasions, Collins and Lapierre met while on assignment. In spite of their friendship they had to compete with each other for stories. But they decided to join forces to tell a big story which would appeal to both French and anglophone audiences. Their first bestseller '' Is Paris Burning?'' sold close to ten million copies in thirty languages. In this book they mixed the modern technique of investigation journalism with the classical methods of historical research. After that they spent four years in Jerusalem to reconstruct the birth of the
State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
for the book ''
O Jerusalem! ''O Jerusalem!'' is a history book published in 1971 by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins that seeks to capture the events and mishaps surrounding the creation of Israel, and the subsequent mass expulsion of Palestinians. Introduction The ...
''. Lapierre was proud that after spending a great deal of time in Jerusalem he knew each alley, square, street, and building in the Holy City intimately. Two of Lapierre's books – ''Is Paris Burning?'' (co-written with Larry Collins) and ''
City of Joy ''City of Joy'' (french: La Cité de la joie) is a 1985 novel by Dominique Lapierre. It was adapted as a film by Roland Joffé in 1992. Calcutta is nicknamed "the City of Joy" after this novel, although the slum was based on an area in its twi ...
'' – have been made into films. Lapierre and Collins wrote several other books together, the last being ''
Is New York Burning? In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word ''is'' in the sentence "The sky is blue" or the phrase ''was not being'' i ...
'' (2005), before Collins' death in 2005. Lapierre spoke fluent
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
.


City of Joy Foundation and other humanitarian causes

The ''City of Joy'' is about the unsung heroes of the Pilkhana slum in Kolkata. Lapierre donated half the royalties he earned from this book to support several humanitarian projects in Kolkata, including refuge centres for leper and polio children, dispensaries, schools, rehabilitation workshops, education programs, sanitary actions, and hospital boats. To process and channel the charitable funds he founded an association called Action aid for Calcutta lepers' children (registered in France under the official name of ''Action pour les enfants des lépreux de Calcutta''). Aware of the corruption in India, he organized all his fund transfers to India in such a way as to ensure that the money reaches the right person for the right purpose. His wife since 1980, Dominique Conchon-Lapierre was his partner in the City of Joy Foundation. The royalties from '' Five Past Midnight in Bhopal'' go to the Sambhavna clinic in Bhopal which provides free medical treatment to the victims of the 1984 Union Carbide
Bhopal disaster The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's ...
. Lapierre also funded a primary school in Oriya Basti, one of the settlements described in ''Five Past Midnight in Bhopal''.


Passion for cars and travelling

At the age of six, he developed a passion for automobiles. Each summer, while at his grandparents' Atlantic coast beach house, he marvelled at the wonders of his uncle's American cars. When he was a Fulbright exchange student at Lafayette College, he bought, for thirty dollars, a convertible
Chrysler Royal Chrysler Eight For production year 1931, Chrysler introduced their first straight eight engine for the Chrysler Imperial, and offered it in the Chrysler Eight Series CD. It borrowed appearance influences from the Cord L-29. The engine used had ...
he found in a junkyard. Forty-five years later, he saw a photograph of the same Chrysler in a French vintage car magazine. The automobile was about to be auctioned in Poitiers. He rushed to the auction, made a bid, and won it. When he was a student at the
University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...
, he acquired an old Amil car, which he and a classmate drove all the way to
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, Turkey. He has told stories about how he drove the car in reverse to have enough torque to get through the mountain passes. Later, in a
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
he bought on his fortieth birthday, he drove from Bombay to Saint Tropez via Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey.


Death

Lapierre died on 2 December 2022, at the age of 91.


Awards

Lapierre was awarded the
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
, India's third highest civilian award in the 2008 Republic Day honours list.


Bibliography


Novels

* '' The Fifth Horseman'' (''Le Cinquième Cavalier'') (1980), with Larry Collins, * '' The City of Joy'' (''La Cité de la joie'') (1985), * ''Beyond Love'' (''Plus grands que l'amour'') (1990), * ''
Is New York Burning? In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word ''is'' in the sentence "The sky is blue" or the phrase ''was not being'' i ...
'' (''New-York brûle-t-il?'') (2005), with Larry Collins,


Non-fiction

;Autobiographies: * ''A Thousand Suns'' (''Mille soleil'') (1999), memoir, * ''India mon amour'' (''Inde ma bien-aimée'') (2010), memoir, ;Biographies: * ''Chessman Told Me'' (''Chessman m'a dit'') (1960) * '' Or I'll Dress You in Mourning'' (''...Ou tu porteras mon deuil'') (1968), with Larry Collins ;History: * '' Is Paris Burning?'' (''Paris brûle-t-il?'') (1965), with Larry Collins, * ''
O Jerusalem! ''O Jerusalem!'' is a history book published in 1971 by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins that seeks to capture the events and mishaps surrounding the creation of Israel, and the subsequent mass expulsion of Palestinians. Introduction The ...
'' (''Ô Jérusalem'') (1972), with Larry Collins, * ''
Freedom at Midnight ''Freedom at Midnight'' (1975) is a non-fiction book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre about the events around the Indian independence movement and partition. It details the last year of the British Raj, from 1947 to 1948, beginning with t ...
'' (''Cette nuit la liberté'') (1975), with Larry Collins, * '' Five Past Midnight in Bhopal'' (''Il était minuit cinq à Bhopal'') (2001), with Javier Moro, * ''A Rainbow in the Night: The Tumultuous Birth of South Africa'' (''Un arc-en-ciel dans la nuit'') (2008), ;Travels: * ''A Dollar for a Thousand Miles'' (''Un dollar les mille kilomètres'') (1949) * ''Once Upon a Time in The Soviet Union'' (''Il était une fois l'URSS'') (2005) with Jean-Pierre Pedrazzini, — chronicles a 1956 journey he took across the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
with Jean-Pierre Pedrazzini * ''Honeymoon around the Earth'' (''Lune de miel autour de la Terre'') (2005)


Adaptations

* '' Is Paris Burning?'' (1966), film directed by
René Clément René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Clément studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. In 1936, he directed hi ...
, based on book '' Is Paris Burning?'' * ''
City of Joy ''City of Joy'' (french: La Cité de la joie) is a 1985 novel by Dominique Lapierre. It was adapted as a film by Roland Joffé in 1992. Calcutta is nicknamed "the City of Joy" after this novel, although the slum was based on an area in its twi ...
'' (1992), film directed by
Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (born 17 November 1945) is a British director and producer of film and television, known for the Academy Award-winning films ''The Killing Fields'' and '' The Mission''. He began his career in television, his early credits inclu ...
, based on novel ''
City of Joy ''City of Joy'' (french: La Cité de la joie) is a 1985 novel by Dominique Lapierre. It was adapted as a film by Roland Joffé in 1992. Calcutta is nicknamed "the City of Joy" after this novel, although the slum was based on an area in its twi ...
'' * ''A cloud over Bhopal'' (2001), documentary directed by
Gerardo Olivares Gerardo Olivares (born 1964) is a Spanish filmmaker and screenwriter. He is married with two children and lives in Madrid. He was the first Spanish man to win the Golden Spike at the prestigious Seminci film festival in Valladolid for his film "14 ...
and Larry Levene, based on book '' Five Past Midnight in Bhopal'' * ''
Viceroy's House The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...
'' (2017), film directed by
Gurinder Chadha Gurinder Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and ho ...
, based on book ''
Freedom at Midnight ''Freedom at Midnight'' (1975) is a non-fiction book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre about the events around the Indian independence movement and partition. It details the last year of the British Raj, from 1947 to 1948, beginning with t ...
''


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapierre, Dominique 1931 births 2022 deaths People from Charente-Maritime 20th-century French historians French political writers Lafayette College alumni French male non-fiction writers Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work 21st-century French historians