The Great Escape

By: Paul Brickhill

Narrated by: Robert Whitfield

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

It was a split-second operation as delicate and as deadly as a time bomb. It demanded the concentrated devotion and vigilance of more than six hundred men for every hour, every day, and every night for more than a year. With only their bare hands and crude homemade tools, they sank shafts, built underground railroads, forged passports, drew maps, faked weapons, and tailored German clothes. They developed a fantastic security system to protect themselves from the Germans who tenaciously prowled the compounds. And against all odds, they pulled off a daring mass escape from a German POW camp.

©1978 Paul Brickhill (P)1997 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The timing, cadence, vocal quality, and even melody of Whitfield's reading add to the suspense." ( AudioFile)

The REAL Great Escape~ based on real life ~ WW2

PLOT: a group of Brits are going to leave in a mass escape from a POW camp deep inside Nazi Germany.

The Brits were sent to a Stalag (German Prisoner of War Camp) in the heart of Germany. As the war takes a turn for the worse for Germany the Prisoners decided the make the ultimate escape tunnels. Inside this camp are some of the best diggers, forgers, actors and escape artists. Soon an escape committee has a plan for 3 Tunnels, Tom Dick and Harry. When the Germans aka Krauts discover one tunnel they put all their efforts into one huge escape. The tunnel complete with air pumps, wooden trolleys to carry dirt and men, forged papers and meager rations all move forward to carry out the escape of hundreds of men. ADDED fun is the clever idea that only a few of them knew the complete plan adding to the safety of the plan. The real goal is not just escape but to tie up Nazi resources on finding the escapees.
This is a long audio but at times is simply too brilliant how the men carry on their plots under the eyes of the ever watchful Germans. BASED on real life events. Who has not seen the GREAT ESCAPE movie with Steve McQueen? but this fills in the details of how they really did the job. I GIVE IT 4 STARS FOR STORY, 4 FOR PERFORMANCE AND 5 FOR REAL LIFE STORY. In real life over 50 of the escapes were shot as punishment by the order of Hitler.

Great movie, even greater book!

I loved the movie so had to try the book. As usual, the book won! Unlike the movie, this true story doesn't have the American influence. It is amazing what these men accomplished in their efforts to escape and tie up as much German resources as they could. The story of the POW efforts to pull off a massive escape with tunnels, forged documents, self made civilian clothing, and any improvisation they could muster is well worthwhile but also getting the aftermath of the hunting down of the Germans responsible for what happened after the escape is the icing on the cake. I wholeheartedly recommend this book with no reservations!

History that Should Not Be Forgotten

First, this is an entertaining book full of intrigue, deception and murder. Second, it's true. This is not a work of fiction but a true account of an international group of air force officers held prisoner in Nazi Germany. As permitted by the Geneva Convention, and as expected of officers of the time, these captives worked unrelentingly at great personal risk to escape from prison. Some of the men tried for six years, often being punished with solitary confinement and other indignities for their efforts. They tried even knowing that failure and punishment would likely be the only result, but they did it both for the outside chance of freedom and to cause the Nazis as much disruption as possible. Their efforts eventually succeeded with one of the largest escapes in WWII history. The Nazi's retaliated by massacring fifty prisoners. This incident was well-known at the time of the war and remembered through the early 1960s following the release of the movie based on the events described in this book. Unfortunately, memory is fading about the courage of these men, and this episode of Nazi brutality. The author does a fantastic job making the reader feel trapped with him. He also puts a very human face on both the prisoners and the guards. He even concedes that not all of the Germans they interacted with were evil, though he does not hesitate to point out evil when he sees it. This should be required high school reading as a model of courage, determination and as a memorial to the brave prisoners and the massacred Fifty.

Amazing story

Locked away but their spirit was not broken.

It was good to hear the story of their plight while locked away trying to escape.
This was the first time I had heard the different mindset of the standard German military and the gestapo and ss.
Many horrible things were done during the war. Many were hidden away so they wouldn’t be discovered. I was happy to hear of the post war investigation. It would be good to have an up to date report of what happened to the convicted Nazi’s.

Even better than I expected

‘The Great Escape’ has been a favorite movie of mine for, well… decades, so it was no surprise that when I saw it was an audiobook, I snatched it up! I almost put it down a short way into it though, because it was literally so close to the movie that I was beginning to wonder if I would glean anything new from the book. I’m so glad I continued with it because it wasn't too long before I started feeling the difference. I say ‘feel,’ because the level of emotion in the book is what makes it special. Yes, it is a factual account of an historical event, and the detailed accounting of how ideas were developed and brought to fruition is very satisfying, but beyond that, hearing the account written by someone who was there brings it to a whole new level.

The sensationalism that was built out of some of the characters and events happening specifically to them were created for the movie, but even without a baseball bouncing off the cooler wall and a dramatic chase scene on a motorcycle, the true account is just as riveting. Actually, maybe even more so because in the movie, the reality of what happens is skimmed over, where it is the focus of the book, plus the aftermath of what happens over the next four years isn’t even touched on in the movie aside for the closing dedication to the fifty. I never really understood the impact of that like I do now. There were other surprises too, including a huge one as to where the decision was made as to how to handle the men in the end.

This is a great book that was well performed. I have seen complaints that there are too many characters to keep track of, but seriously, you don’t need to try.

Excellent rendition of this classic account

I had seen the movie and wss fascinated by it. i listened to the book because I wanted to hear the whole story. It was HIGHLY worth it. The tale is amazing - as are both the words from the book as well as the audio version.

Watched the movie years ago, now heard the book

My dad loved this movie and watched it tons of times. I watched it with him many of those times and really enjoyed it. I had never heard the whole story, and was not disappointed. Excellent recounting of such an intriguing story that really happened during WWII.

well done

I enjoyed the readers voice of this well written book. I've seen the movie over 30 years ago. But listening to the story I felt I was watching the movie in my head.

great well written book with riveting story

the great Escape is such a great tale that was well told by the author and well read by the narrator

Exciting yet terrible look at WWII

I remember the movie so well..young Steve McQueen at his finest riding the motorcycle over rolling hills trying to get away...well thats not in this book-McQueen was given a pure Hollywood moment. But the "Cooler" is here as are the tunnels Tom Dick and Harry.

Listening I had to wonder how modern young soldiers would comport themselves in similar situations..and can only hope they would do as well as this group of 600 UK Airmen, locked in a flimsily built barracks at night, living in a cage for years.

Things have changed since 1943 when this story first begins though some of the prisoners have been held since 1939. And while we all know how the story ends-after all the ending of WWII is pretty well documented-this book details what went on in one small area with the 600 men who lived there.

These guys were so clever-would we be as smart? When 5 of the men are moved to a concentration camp, the next day they start to dig a tunnel towards the fence. As is repeated several times "My job is to escape, not make life easy for my captors".

If you enjoy military history, liked the movie or just want a good listen, I recommend this book. Not light literature-there are some horrific things that occur but for the most part it's written in a light-hearted manner and nicely narrated.