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Summary: If the Plan Went as Smoothly as the Book . . .
Review: 220 Allied POWs would have been swarming all over the Third Reich before the Germans realized they were missing. Unfortunately, only 76 managed to escape through a tunnel under Stalag Luft III that had taken a year to dig. Of those 76, only 3 managed to make their way back to Britain. Twelve found themselves back in Stalag Luft II in a matter of days. Eight wound up in concentration camps. The remaining 50 were shot by the Gestapo, on orders from Hitler himself. Among the 50 was South African-born RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, a.k.a. "Big X", the originator of the escape plan. The Great Escape is an incredible read. While the book is narrated from third person omniscience, its author was anything but detatched from the story. Paul Brickhill mentions his own role in the escape only very briefly in the foreword to the work. A key element of the escape plan, as Brickhill recounts in great detail, was the forging of official papers required for freedom of movement across the Reich. Brickhill led the gang of "stooges" that warned the forgers when camp guards approached. He found himself barred from participating in the actual escape when Big X learned of his acute claustrophobia. That fear may well have saved his life. After the war, Brickhill interviewed several of his other fellow survivors to assemble the grand narrative. The result is a riveting tale that ranks among the greatest war stories ever written, fact or fiction. You've seen the movie. Now read the book!
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Summary: True Story by POW who was there
Review: A fan of the movie, I wanted to read the book. Knowing that the author was one of the prisoners means you are getting the real story, as they experienced it and remembered it later. It was fun to see just how well the movie did capturing what really happened (even if no Americans really escaped through the tunnel). It was an incredibly entralling book. I followed it with "Stalag Luft III" which was disappointing in that it seems to be more a history of how the Germans took care of those in the camp rather than of those in the camp.
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Summary: True Story by POW who was there
Review: A fan of the movie, I wanted to read the book. Knowing that the author was one of the prisoners means you are getting the real story, as they experienced it and remembered it later. It was fun to see just how well the movie did capturing what really happened (even if no Americans really escaped through the tunnel). It was an incredibly entralling book. I followed it with "Stalag Luft III" which was disappointing in that it seems to be more a history of how the Germans took care of those in the camp rather than of those in the camp.
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Summary: A riveting tale of ingenuity!
Review: An incredible story of raw determination, ingenuity and organization, substantiated with photographs mostly taken by the Germans. Man, is this ever a quick read! I couldn't put it down, and I'm *not* an avid reader. I would have read it faster were it not for so much flipping back to the diagram of the compound to follow along with the text. No one, no matter how imaginative, could have possibly made all this up.There are many parallels with the movie: There actually was a prisoner in posession of a brand new civilian suit (obtained in Prague on a previous escape attempt and smuggled back into camp), someone who took a trunk through the tunnel, and the guards actually did use the prisoners' English word to refer to the "cooler." Also true was that once outside the fence, one was far from being "out of the woods," figuratively as well as literally; one was still deep within the heavily-policed, papers-conscious Reich. There wasn't just one tunnel, though, and here are accounts of absolutely relentless escape attempts and incredibly clever make-do fabrications of fake everything, from gate passes to German uniforms and gun replicas --out of anything they could scavenge, inveigle, connive, beg, borrow, or steal. There is insight regarding the personalities of the Germans as well as the prisoners, and why these POWs, mostly pilots, were placed in a relatively humane camp, and how they built a well-managed intelligence network among themselves. Some of the British slang and military acronyms from a bygone era gave me pause, but it was part of the adventure. A very inspiring tale!
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Summary: Spellbinding tribute to the human spirit.
Review: As good as the movie "The Great Escape" is, it's impossible for it to capture in full detail the grunt work, planning, and tedious efforts that went into digging tunnels out of this prison camp. When simply acquiesing to the Germans and spending the time in the POW camp playing ball may have appeared a safer, less strenuous route, scores of these men never ceased making lives hell for the Nazis by constantly digging and preparing for breakouts (and thus often making life miserable for themselves). It is easy to forget that these POWs had every reason to believe that they would be prisoners for 8, 10, maybe 15 years, the prospect of which must have been devesating. Brickhill captures the efforts, personalities (on both sides), and ultimate tragedy in a very readable, tight story. Highly recommended for all ages!
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Summary: The Great Escape: By: Jack Miller
Review: Hello, my name is Jack Miller, and in reading The Great Escape, I really began to understand how terrible the war really was. I could not imagine being held hostage, let alone having the courage to escape. The escape the men in The Great Escape took great courage, strength, and strategy. They all worked together, selflessly, knowing that their lives were on the line. I enjoyed reading The Great Escape very much, because of way Paul Brickhill explained and described the tension and the situations going on. Although the book's ending was not a very happy one, it would have been very hard to make it have that much of a twist. I liked the ending and i don't think it could have been done any other way.
The Great Escape is a very inspiring book, it is a story of hope and courage, and it showed me that if you work hard at something, you can accomplish it.
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Summary: The Great Escape
Review: In this installment British and American prisoners are trapped in a Nazi POW camp, and takes place in Germany during WWII. Of the group that trys to escape is the books author himself, Paul Brickhill. Led by fearless Englishmen named Roger Bushell, both British and Americans come together and plan an escape from the Nazi camp. The task is hard, digging tunnels under the camp's grounds, while creating their clothing and/or weapons needed to dig the tunnels and escpape. The men are faced with many different turnpoints and struggles like: they would have to restart digging a tunnel everytime they made a little mistake or they would have to go without any sleep night after night. I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend it for ages 6th grade and up. Thank You!
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Summary: Great story, weak presentation
Review: It's a rare thing indeed to discover a movie adaptation is actually better than the book that inspired it, but here it is: Paul Brickhill's THE GREAT ESCAPE is a great plot with no characters to speak of. Brickhill gives a firsthand account of the escape of 76 men from Sagan, a German prisoner-of-war camp, during World War II. Through tireless efforts and disheartening setbacks, the men managed to dig a lengthy tunnel 30 feet down into the earth, and 300 feet towards possible freedom. The plan, which originally called for three such tunnels, was the single largest escape in WWII history, and the efforts, patience, and bravery of the men secures their escape as one of the most noble efforts of man. What a pity, then, that THE GREAT ESCAPE is a fairly badly written first-hand narrative, related with all the style of a person making a grocery list. Brickhill has provided the bones of an amazing story, but he neglected to provide any meat along with them. The story couldn't help but lend itself to a fascinating read. The actions of these men could never be anything less than remarkable. But all Brickhill does is tell the story. He doesn't add any true characterization to the hundreds of people who pop in and out, resulting in a lack of empathy for these men. The reader is left wanting to know more, but is frustratingly denied the opportunity. Even the leader, Roger Bushell, is a cipher, easily interchangeable with any other character. It is easy to see why this story makes such fertile ground for a movie. The plot is astonishing, and the complete absence of any true personality leaves the filmmakers free to make up any character they want. Roger Bushell didn't escape from Sagan, Richard Attenborough did. So did Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson. I don't want to seem as if I am making light of the situation. THE GREAT ESCAPE was a shining example of what humanity can achieve under the most strenuous circumstances. But Brickhill doesn't provide us with any reason to care. The story unfolds with all the excitement and tension of someone telling of their day at work. Simplicity in storytelling can be a fine thing, but not where the story demands so much more.
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Summary: Great Adventure Story
Review: No idea how many times I read this, growing up. You should see the thing. No boy should be allowed to grow up without the opportunity to read this book.
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Summary: Makes You Proud To Be A Member Of Western Civilization
Review: The escape scheme these imprisoned Allies brought off during World War II vindicates the absolute superiority of Earth's free people. Prisoners from any background other than capitalistic democracies such as the UK and the USA would not have had the will, the initiative, the creativity and the sheer gall to achieve what these men did (and it compares in no way to a bunch of fanatic brutes who simply hijack some planes and crash them). (And, we certainly don't see any of those Al-Queda thugs escaping from the US Army's prison compound in Cuba!) The conception, the planning, the attention to detail, the manufacture of materials (including coercion of foolish German louts who fell into blackmail traps) and the execution make this one of the most riveting stories, war or otherwise, ever told. Everyone should read this incredible, true, adventurous, suspenseful tale of an elegant plot and the genuine men who carried it out.
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