Readers Digest Of Great Escapes

 

Exceptional reading, and it was all based on a win-win concept.

These True Stories could come from anywhere in any situation where escape was desired and necessary. It was also quite uplifting, as the stories were all ending in successful escapes from either military and/or political situations. There were unsuccessful escapes, which were a part of the greater story, and added to the drama, helping it to be a gripping read all the way through.

The escapes were largely from wartime prison camps, but also from oppressive situations in East Germany, Cuba, or Communist China. Not everyone lived to tell their tale, but there was someone to retell the details and verify.

The two longest stories stood out from the rest, and that was very hard to do with each story in this anthology standing high on its own merits.

The Long Walk, near the center of the 606 pages, left lasting impressions. The only time I questioned the word True was in the final part of The Long Walk was when it described the few survivors seeing the Yeti snowman, and his wife, up in the Himalayas. But then my simple math skills kicked in, realizing they had this vision after going eight days without food. There were other foodless periods in their long trek from a Stalinesque gulag in northern Siberia to final freedom in India.

The final story originated in the WWII German prison camp at Colditz. The camp wasn't like other Nazi prison camps. Colditz was built deep in the German interior in a stone fortress. That helped to restrict escapes down to one or two POWs. The account of this escape came from a British Royal Air Force officer who managed to escape to neutral Switzerland. There was nothing easy in that feat. Good luck played a great role there.

Numerous movies and documentaries leaped from these stories throughout the years, giving further testimony to the quality of this book. An easy 5 0ut of 5 for me