The Escape Artists, Neal Bascomb
The Escape Artists, Neal Bascomb
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Escape Artists
A Band of Daredevil Pilots and the Greatest Prison Break of the Great War

Author: Neal Bascomb

Narrator: L.J. Ganser

Unabridged: 9 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 09/18/2018


Synopsis

Neal Bascomb, New York Times best-selling author, delivers the spellbinding story of the downed Allied airmen who masterminded the remarkably courageous-and ingenious-breakout from Germany's most devilish POW camp In the winter trenches and flak-filled skies of World War I, soldiers and pilots alike might avoid death, only to find themselves imprisoned in Germany's archipelago of POW camps, often in abominable conditions. The most infamous was Holzminden, a land-locked Alcatraz of sorts that housed the most troublesome, escape-prone prisoners. Its commandant was a boorish, hate-filled tyrant named Karl Niemeyer who swore that none should ever leave. Desperate to break out of "Hellminden" and return to the fight, a group of Allied prisoners led by ace pilot (and former Army sapper) David Gray hatch an elaborate escape plan. Their plot demands a risky feat of engineering as well as a bevy of disguises, forged documents, fake walls, and steely resolve. Once beyond the watch towers and round-the-clock patrols, Gray and almost a dozen of his half-starved fellow prisoners must then make a heroic 150 mile dash through enemy-occupied territory towards free Holland. Drawing on never-before-seen memoirs and letters, Neal Bascomb brings this narrative to cinematic life, amid the twilight of the British Empire and the darkest, most savage hours of the fight against Germany. At turns tragic, funny, inspirational, and nail-biting suspenseful, this is the little-known story of the biggest POW breakout of the Great War.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Carlos on January 21, 2019

I sped through this book, it was that interesting. The way the story is narrated and the fact that as a usual history reader I am familiar with most of the battles, sites and offensives mentioned in this book made for a most delightful read . If you are interested in WWI and the roles POW played in......more

Goodreads review by Bonnye Reed on September 18, 2018

GNAB This is a excellent history of the POW situation in Germany in the First World War, and the intrepid pilots and air crews who did their all to escape and get back into the planes that would win the war. I found it very enlightening and even entertaining at times, with never a dull moment. We fo......more

Goodreads review by Paul on August 20, 2018

The Escape Artists can easily be envisioned as ready for the big screen. The author builds up the story with painstakingly researched details of the fliers lives before the war, while imprisoned, and afterwards, including the reunions decades later. This book joins Bascomb’s other great pieces of wa......more

Goodreads review by Martin on May 31, 2018

Bascomb is one of my favorites. This is an exceptional WWI thriller that tells the story of British POWs and their exploits trying to escape captivity. As is the case with the author's previous works, there is exceptional quality research and prose that read like good fiction. Thanks to Houghton Mif......more