British SOE operatives and Cretan resistance fighters pulled off a daring kidnapping of a German general.
How’s this for something cool: A book that recounts a little-known episode from the annals of partisan warfare in World War II while also delving into the “lost secrets” of extreme physical ruggedness and endurance.
I’m listening to a library copy of the audiobook of “Natural Born Heroes — How A Daring Band Of Misfits Mastered The Lost Secrets Of Strength And Endurance.”
It’s by Christopher McDougall, the author of “Born to Run,” which explored the extraordinary distance running of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyon. He helped launch the whole natural or barefoot running movement.
Here’s the pitch for “Natural Born Heroes”:
After running an ultramarathon through the Copper Canyons of Mexico, Christopher McDougall finds his next great adventure on the razor-sharp mountains of Crete, where a band of Resistance fighters in World War II plotted the daring abduction of a German general from the heart of the Nazi occupation. How did a penniless artist, a young shepherd, and a playboy poet believe they could carry out such a remarkable feat of strength and endurance, smuggling the general past thousands of Nazi pursuers, with little more than their own wits and courage to guide them? McDougall makes his way to the island to find the answer and retrace their steps, experiencing firsthand the extreme physical challenges the Resistance fighters and their local allies faced. On Crete, the birthplace of the classical Greek heroism that spawned the likes of Herakles and Odysseus, McDougall discovers the tools of the hero—natural movement, extraordinary endurance, and efficient nutrition. All of these skills, McDougall learns, are still practiced in far-flung pockets throughout the world today.
That’s my kinda stuff.
Early in the book, McDougall recounts the story of a shepherd who saved the women of a village from a reprisal execution at the hands of a brutally repressive German occupation force. The man “raced to the rescue through the woods, arriving just in time to take aim from a quarter-mile away.” That’s a 440-yard shot, probably with a captured Mauser rifle. The shepherd took out the German commander and the German force scattered — only to run into the rest of the Resistance cadre that had come up with the shepherd. Such incidents are found repeatedly in the lore of the Greek/Cretan Resistance, which was extraordinarily stiff and persistent.
In keeping with his theme — the study of “the tools of the hero” — McDougall describes what was required for that shepherd to make that shot and save the village women from massacre: He had to run at speed through broken terrain, master his heaving lungs and the rage and panic that must have been shooting adrenaline through his system and calm himself sufficiently to make an extraordinary long shot. Luck plays in at that range, but you have to put yourself in the position to be lucky.
“It wasn’t just an act of courage — it was a triumph of natural heroism and physical self-mastery,” McDougall says, then asks, “What exactly were they tapping into?”
His answer is that the Resistance fighters on Crete were tapping into the remnants of an ancient heroic culture, where heroism wasn’t something that was divinely bestowed or just “happened,” but something that was deliberately taught. And the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) operatives that worked with the Resistance — besotted by the classics and a spirit of derring-do — were temperamentally suited to tap the same well.
“It all hinged on the ability to unleash the tremendous resources of strength, endurance and agility that many people don’t realize they already have.”
And that’s the real point of the book: To encourage us moderns to return to some ancient verities to unleash heroic potential. Consciously trying to be a hero, or at least to cultivate the heroic virtues, may be uncomfortable for the products of our decadent and cynical age, but I salute the project. Why the hell would you not want to “unleash tremendous resources of strength, endurance and agility”? Odds are none of us will have to deploy them in defense of hearth and home, but their cultivation makes everyday life a whole hell of a lot more compelling.
Outside Magazine ran a series of blog pieces by McDougall based on his research for “Natural Born Heroes.” Some really fun stuff on parkour, knife throwing, foraging and the benefits of natural, outdoor exercise. Link here.
Go forth and be a hero.
Paul McNamee says
Man. Substitute “general” for “wizard” and you’ve got yourself a ready-made “grimdark (i.e.; sword-&-sorcery) novel plot, don’t you?
JimC says
Sounds like a fine idea there Paul!
john maddox roberts says
Crete saw some of the wildest and most insane fighting of WWII. The Germans employed their first (and last) paratroop mass operation. Hitler hoped he could take the island entirely with fallschirmjager, Goering’s pride and joy. They ran smack into some crazyass ANZACs, mostly New Zealanders. The fallschirmjager were the bravest of the brave. The Kiwis were the craziest of the crazy. I’d pay real money to see that fight. In the end, Hitler gave up on mass airborne operations entirely.
Concerning the theme of this post: In 1967 I was the least athletic kid on earth. But I wanted to be in Special Forces. I started at Fort Polk, LA, where the Army ran the most brutal of its basic training brigades, easily as tough as anything the Marines had. Infantry AIT at Ft. McClellan AL was about as bad. Jump school at Ft. Benning eliminated the ones who couldn’t cut it and Special Forces Training Group at Ft. Bragg, NC put the polish on, challenging our mental capacities as much as our bodies and forcing us to acts of extreme endurance. I finished that school ready to take on the world.
JimC says
And hats off to ya, JMR!
Eccentric Cowboy says
You know Jim, every time you write a post about awesome books like this, I can feel my wallet and bookshelf giving me dirty looks. One of these days they’re going to get fed up with all this book buying and come after either me or you. 😉
I find much of this more remote fighting of world history fascinating. Heroes just keep popping up! It’s hard to find all of them due to how dense our world and history is, but darned if it isn’t fun trying. Keep up the good work my friend! 🙂
JimC says
Hey, thanks EC. I can’t help it — I get my friends hooked on stories and songs. All I can say is thank the gods for a good library or I’d be broke.
Lane Batot says
The secret to keeping those bookcases and books in their place, Eccentric Cowboy, is to keep them SOOOO overloaded and burdened it’s all they can do to stay upright(causing the floorboards underneath to sag and groan), much less GO AFTER anybody! It’s worked for me(and various governments) for decades! But yeah, love the suggestions, and as long as my cheap-arse peasant self has access to AMAZON!, I’ll manage to continue to amass my herd–and most assuredly have also been inspired by this blog! I JUST ordered a newly published book on Geronimo dealing with HIS tactics and survival skills, specifically–can’t wait to get it–sounds similar perhaps to this theme! Got it for a cent(plus shipping, of course–but QUITE the deal!)–and I’d love to get this book–I have McDougall’s “Born To Run”–LOVED it–made me want to just get out and RUN(and I DID!)–and renewed my interest in the Tarahumara. Yeah, I’ll likely git this ‘un too! If and when I find it cheap enough!
JimC says
What’s the title of the Geronimo book?
Lane Batot says
“Geronimo; Leadership Strategies of an American Warrior” by Mike Leach and Buddy Levy–just published in 2014! Couldn’t resist–I’m actually in yet another Apache-A-Thon readfest–I NEEDED to reread “Watch For Me On The Mountain”(which I do periodically to remind myself to try to strengthen my spirit body from the selfish, materialistic, arrogant, shallow, modern society and politics always surrounding us), then quite naturally reread James Haley’s EXCELLENT historical-cultural-combo book “Apaches: A History And Culture Portrait”(one I read back in my college days, but only recently found another copy for my own groaning library), and saw and couldn’t resist this new Geronimo book, which hopefully will arrive about the time I finish Haley’s(excellent) book! Maybe it’ll be in my mailbox today? Gawd, I love Amazon! Now, keep in mind I haven’t read it yet, so I can’t 100% recommend it just now. But if you can’t resist either, be sure to click on the “hardback” editions, of which there are quite a few for 1 cent! As opposed to the more expensive paperback reprints…..
JimC says
Thx!
Eccentric Cowboy says
Heh, well at least they’re investments that earn their keep! So I’ll find it in my heart to forgive you someday Jim. 😉
That made me laugh out loud Lane, splendid point! XD In that case, I’d better keep my bookshelf groaning under the weight of knowledge and entertainment.
Of course, the Kindle system is lightening said burden significantly. Oh well! 🙂
Pat_H says
Darn, now I’m going to have to look for a copy.
Rick Schwertfeger says
Jim, I just read this post from 2015. I already knew of the raid capturing the German General Heinrich Kreipe as I read about it written by one of the participants. Patrick Leigh Fermor is the Brit seated center. He was in the SOE and went into Crete to link up with, lead, fight with the Resistance. He did everything McDougall refers to with the Cretean resistance fighters. He was awarded the DSO and OBE.
Fermor was a polymath type with a literary bent and travel fever. A BBC journalist once described him as “a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond and Graham Greene.” Interested in everything, he made a career of travel writing.
But in Dec. 1933, just about to turn 19, he set out to walk the length of Europe, from “from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople (Istanbul).” He ended up writing 3 books about the journey. The first, “A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople: From the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube,” is magnificent, one of the great books I’ve read. The second, “Between the Woods and the Water: On Foot to Constantinople: The Middle Danube to the Iron Gates,” essentially is just as good. The third, published after his death in 2011 at age 96, also is magnificent.
JimC says
Great stuff, ain’t it?