Rating: 
Summary: A must read for fans of the movie
Review: The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill is a great retelling of the now famous mass escape from Stalag Luft III near Sagan, Germany in the spring of 1944. Brickhill documents in great detail all the little things the prisoners had to do to escape from the so called "perfect camp" they had been placed in. Hundreds of prisoners played a part in the digging of the three tunnels(Tom, Dick, and Harry), forging hundreds of papers, making clothes for all the escapees, watching for the German guards, "ferrets", and so much more. It is astounding as you read the novel how much actually went into the mass escape of 250 officers. Unfortunately, only 76 prisoners made it out before the tunnel was discovered. The book also documents the aftermath of the famous escape as the prisoners attempt to make their way to freedom, and then their subsequent executions at the hands of the Gestapo and SS. This is an excellent book that tells the true story of what really happened during the Great Escape. If you haven't seen the movie The Great Escape, I highly recommend reading the book and watching the movie. While watching the movie, you can see what characters are based on the real people who took part in the escape. The movie takes some liberties, but it is an excellent companion to the book. An interesting fact is that author Paul Brickhill was one of thousands of prisoners at Stalag Luft III where he documented this incredible story. Also taking part in the movie was tunneller, Wally Floody, who served as a technical advisor to director/producer, John Sturges. For an excellent depiction of the famous mass escape from Stalag Luft III, check out The Great Escape, and the movie too!
Rating:
Summary: A must read for fans of the movie
Review: The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill is a great retelling of the now famous mass escape from Stalag Luft III near Sagan, Germany in the spring of 1944. Brickhill documents in great detail all the little things the prisoners had to do to escape from the so called "perfect camp" they had been placed in. Hundreds of prisoners played a part in the digging of the three tunnels(Tom, Dick, and Harry), forging hundreds of papers, making clothes for all the escapees, watching for the German guards, "ferrets", and so much more. It is astounding as you read the novel how much actually went into the mass escape of 250 officers. Unfortunately, only 76 prisoners made it out before the tunnel was discovered. The book also documents the aftermath of the famous escape as the prisoners attempt to make their way to freedom, and then their subsequent executions at the hands of the Gestapo and SS. This is an excellent book that tells the true story of what really happened during the Great Escape. If you haven't seen the movie The Great Escape, I highly recommend reading the book and watching the movie. While watching the movie, you can see what characters are based on the real people who took part in the escape. The movie takes some liberties, but it is an excellent companion to the book. An interesting fact is that author Paul Brickhill was one of thousands of prisoners at Stalag Luft III where he documented this incredible story. Also taking part in the movie was tunneller, Wally Floody, who served as a technical advisor to director/producer, John Sturges. For an excellent depiction of the famous mass escape from Stalag Luft III, check out The Great Escape, and the movie too!
Rating:
Summary: Courage under wire
Review: This is an engrossing tale of courage and ingenuity. Amazingly, under the paranoid eyes of their German captors, 76 RAF prisoners of war managed to tunnel their way to (at least temporary) freedom. The story is presented as a factual account - there isn't much dialogue, and characterisation is sketchy, but this is inevitable; a novelisation of the book would have spoiled it, for me at least. The blow-by-blow details of how the escape was accomplished are engrossing, and the author generates tension skillfully. I found myself in the tunnel with the roof collapsing, and shivering in the snow outside the wire fretting about the guards and searchlights. A cracking read from start to finish.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic POW Story....
Review: What a wonderful book. I've read it a few times and I marvel at the every day heroism displayed by the hungry, sex-starved men of Stalag Luft III. My own copy is the First Edition, printed by Norton in 1950 and signed by George Harsh who wrote the Introduction. I got it for an astonishing $12 and it's one of the most treasured books in my collection. It's part memoir and historical account. You read as the POWs begin their audacious plan and despite for many of them, what would be a tragic ending, you marvel at what these men had to endure and go through. Despite the tragedy, this is no weepy account. This is a testimony to the human spirit which triumphs in the face of human isolation. They are prisoners true, but they in the end, are the ones to triumph over nazism. The movie of course, inspired me to read the book, but just remember that the movie's characters are fictional composites of the real men. It would do well to remember the old cliche, "the book is always better than the movie," which is entirely true in this case. A Wonderful Book. Read It.
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