When asked how he found time to write his book, Jean Cau said he took vacation time from his full time job. Cau was also asked if he wrote his book using a typewriter and Cau explained that he did all his writing with his own penmanship because he hated machinery, like the typewriter. In conclusion, Cau said he was writing a play about the Algerian War and its paratroopers. The play he finished writing was about the life and death of Adolf HiItler.