ABSTRACT
The mule knew the way as it pulled the mail cart down the leafy country road from the ancient Auvergne village of Chateldon to neighbouring PuyGuillaume. This intelligent animal allowed the driver, Pierre Laval, to give his undivided attention to his Latin grammar. Young Pierre's father, in addition to being postmaster, was also an innkeeper, a cafe owner, a butcher, and the proprietor of several vineyards. Pierre made a solid impression. Henry Stimson, the secretary of state, said, "Laval stands in a class by himself for frankness and directness and simplicity and he is different from all other Frenchmen with whom the author has negotiated in the respects." Pierre had intended to study zoology, but it became clear to him that the law offered broader vistas, especially for one as personable and self-confident as young Pierre. To Pierre, Benito Mussolini's Italy was the linchpin of the containment of Nazi Germany.
