On today’s episode of Newsgram, we explore The Cordillera by Luis Rousset-Velho, a thrilling tale of courage, adventure, and resilience. Follow the journey of Jacques Laurent, a man shaped by the wild landscapes of Patagonia and the elite training of France’s École Polytechnique. From taming horses and conquering mountains to daring rescues in the Amazon and battling ruthless criminals across continents, Jacques’ life is a relentless pursuit of heroism against impossible odds. Join us as we dive into this gripping narrative of mettle, danger, and adventure.

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Welcome to this edition of Newsgram!

It was twenty years when I first felt the call of the mountains. Growling up in the midwest there was always something magical about traveling west. Maybe it was growing up with all those spaghetti westerns but the west was just so different than the flat midwest. For one thing it’s more dangerous. Plants and and animals that can live in such a harsh climate are not to be trifled with. But the beauty is beyond measure. Watching the sun fade behind a backdrop of majestic mountains can put your soul to rest. It’s no wonder there are so many retreats, salons and rehab centers out here. There are also lots of mineral mines. Arizona, where I now live,  is the copper state but you’ve heard about the Gold rush right? Back in 1848 it brought hundreds of thousands of people to the west and the mountains and climate continue to do it to this day. 

Luis Rousset – When I was younger, I was in the minerals field, and I used to travel a lot in South America and through Peru and Chile and Argentina and I got to see a lot of different places and very beautiful places, interesting places, and places that are never visited by tourists, by regular tourists. 

That is Luis Rousset, a 1971 PhD graduate in Mineral Engineering from Stanford University. Throughout his career he traveled through the mining areas of Arizona, California and Utah as well as those he just mentioned in South America and it was there that he found inspiration for his new book, “The Cordillera” which is Spanish for Mountain range. In fact, let me be even more specific it was a small village in the Argentinian Patagonia where he found his inspiration.      

Luis Rousset – And I started writing about this young man, and the mountain range, or the cordillera. It represents a kind of a challenge for a young person who must conquer. So I decided to give the book the title of Cordillera, although it takes place not only in Argentina, but in many other places.

The young man he mentioned is Jacques Laurent. The main character. 

Luis Rousset – Jacques Laurent, yeah, okay Jacques Laurent. 

Now, let’s talk more about Jacques as a character. A young boy whose first challenge is to conquer a mountain. The Fitzroy. 

Luis Rousset – It’s too difficult! You must be a really, really good rock climber to go up the Fitzroy. I’ve done some of the easier climbs, but not Fitzroy itself. It’s very, very tough. So, I wanted to start the book in a situation where Jacques had finally conquered Fitzroy. So he had achieved this. And he says, look, I’m not even 17 and I’ve already done that. So this is the opening of the book. This guy promises a lot. So he’s an achiever.

Just to give you a little backstory El Chalten is the National Capital of Trekking in Argentina. It’s very popular and it’s a stunningly beautiful place with some of the toughest mountains to climb anywhere in the world. Luis takes us into this world right away with intense physical hiking, rock climbing, and traversing of slopes. So the hero of the story is Jaques, an over achiever who is fit and determined. Naturally he finds love.  

Luis Rousset – And this is his first love with this girl, Anne-Marie. And how the story develops with Anne-Marie. So the second part of the book is more or less the story of Anne-Marie.

Romance aside, there is also a great deal of adventure. From saving missionaries in Central America and rescuing people in the deep Amazon Forest you could say Jacque has his hands full.  He fights a ruthless gang of criminals and chases terrorists in the Middle East. 

Luis Rousset – And so the book is divided by stories. It all goes together because all the stories are connected by Jacques. Because when he becomes a member of the French intelligence, the DGSE, he starts being sent to do all these adventurous things. He has a problem to solve. They send Jacques

That’s a great way to say it. When there is a problem they send Jacques. If you like adventure, courage and stories about international intrigue then I think you will enjoy The Cordillera.

Dr. Luis Rousset began writing novels as a hobby born out of his extensive knowledge of different places and cultures, The Cordillera is his fourth novel and you can learn more about all of them by visiting his website, https://www.luisrousset.com/ There you can read the Cordillera in both English and French and check out his other novels. 

Thanks for listening to this edition of Newsgram from Webtalkradio.com.

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