The True Story of the Great Escape, Jonathan F. Vance
The True Story of the Great Escape, Jonathan F. Vance
2 Rating(s)
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

The True Story of the Great Escape
Stalag Luft III, March 1944

Author: Jonathan F. Vance, Simon Pearson

Narrator: Paul Woodson

Unabridged: 15 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/31/2021


Synopsis

The real history behind the classic war movie and the men who plotted the daring escape from a Nazi POW camp.

Between dusk and dawn on the night of March 24th-25th 1944, a small army of Allied soldiers crawled through tunnels in Germany in a covert operation the likes of which the Third Reich had never seen. The prison break from Stalag Luft III in eastern Germany was the largest of its kind in the Second World War. Seventy-nine Allied soldiers and airmen made it outside the wire—but only three made it outside Nazi Germany. Fifty were executed by the Gestapo.

In this book Jonathan Vance tells the incredible story that was made famous by the 1963 film The Great Escape. It is a classic tale of prisoners and their wardens in a battle of wits and wills. The brilliantly conceived escape plan is overshadowed only by the colorful, daring (and sometimes very funny) crew who executed it—literally under the noses of German guards. From the men's first days in Stalag Luft III and the forming of bonds among them, to the tunnel building, amazing escape, and eventual capture, Vance's history is a vivid, compelling look at one of the greatest "exfiltration" missions of all time.

About Jonathan F. Vance

Jonathan Vance teaches military history and Canadian history at Western University, Canada. He is the author of more than ten acclaimed works.


Reviews

Like the author, I too was familiar with this story through watching the movie (one, I am unashamed to say, I watch repeatedly - how I do love a good war story, and Steve McQueen - definitely eye-candy). I had always wondered whether this was based on one true event or was a compilation of smaller e......more

Goodreads review by Bev

Many thanks to #NetGalley and Greenhill Books for allowing me to read an advance proof of this story in exchange for an honest review. As soon as I saw the cover of this book, I knew it would be one that I wanted to read. I still remember the first time (of many) that I saw the Hollywood blockbuster......more

Goodreads review by Jay

"..the greatest value in an escape is the number of chaps who get out in the first place, not the number who get home. Even if none of the hardarsers lasts two days, they’ll have had an impact just by getting outside the wire” Have you ever watched a movie and thought 'this is so incredible, ther......more