August Böck recounts his extraordinary life story in this book, which has been reissued since its first publication in 1839. This simple man, who in 1809 was stripped of all rights due to his love for his homeland and his loyalty, was sentenced to a punishment more fitting of ancient times or the dark Middle Ages – degradation to slavery on a French galley. He tells his story in gripping, straightforward language, which ultimately leads him back to the light and eventually home. A remarkable chapter of the Napoleonic era.