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Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes
 
 
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Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes [Paperback]

Henry Chancellor (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)


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Book Description

January 21, 2003

Breathtaking and mesmerizing, Colditz is a gripping tale of perseverance, heroism, and adventure. Filled with the thrilling never-before-told personal stories of the prisoners of war held within the walls of this medieval fortress turned German high-security prison camp, Colditz offers endlessly intriguing stories of consummate survivors who proved the human spirit to be indomitable.

In more than fifty original interviews, the English, French, Dutch, and Polish officers and their guards describe their experiences in the notorious castle. They reveal their boredom and frustrations, as well as the challenges inherent in making maps out of jelly or constructing tunnels with mere cutlery knives. The stories are by turns comic and tragic, as much of their labor and invention ended in failure. But what emerges is a story of breathtaking ingenuity and an intriguing portrait of the fascinating game of wits between captives and captors, who were bound together by mutual respect and extraordinary tolerance.



Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Chancellor was born in London in 1968. He grew up in East Anglia and went to Trinity College, Cambridge. Colditz grew out of his remarkable British television series, Escape from Colditz,was twelve years in the making and has won sweeping critical praise and has been shown all over the world. His other documentaries for television include The Great Belzoni, Pirates, and Millennium. He lives in Suffolk with his wife and two sons.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial (January 21, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060012862
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060012861
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #826,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
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3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The truly greatest escapes!, November 22, 2005
This review is from: Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes (Paperback)
Henry Chancellor has written a book about the bad boys of Colditz - the true Houdini escape artists! Although they weren't as successful as Houdini, they showed absolute brillance in devising ways to escape out of Colditz. And the British agents in England were just as devious with respect to smuggling in contraband.

Chancellor deftly writes about the many escape attempts by the French, the Poles, the Brits and others. He captures a "you are there" feel as he describes their fears, their boredoms, and for some, there escape into lunacy.

If you have read other books about escape attempts from the German Stalags, then you are in for a treat with this book. Chancellor also describes how each side (German and Allied) held mutual respect for one another except toward the end of the war when things began to turn nasty for the Germans.

An excellent book and worthy of anyone's library.
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3.0 out of 5 stars Another view of Colditz, January 10, 2012
By 
Bill Davidsen (Schenectady NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes (Paperback)
I read "Escape from Colditz" from the library when it was new right after the war, and it left a lasting impression. I read the sequel "Men of Colditz" a few years later, When I looked to get copies to reread, I found that there were stories about the prison from other points of view, and ordered them as well. Hate to say it, but the Reid books are certainly better pleasure reading, and possibly more accurate. This is an attempt at a "definitive history," but as reading for pleasure I found it good enough to finish once, but am unlikely to read it again.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating account of life in and out of the most notorious POW prison in WWII, March 25, 2009
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F. A. Lage Filho (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes (Paperback)
A thorough research work plus the gift of gab and prose plus a fascinating subject from World War II. That's five star material !
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
It was an unremarkable beginning. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
cruciform lock, glider workshop, snap escape, radio scribe, escape industry, parcel office, terrace gate, escape committee, escape aids, wire job, original diary, riot squad
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Pat Reid, Mike Sinclair, Red Cross, Dick Howe, Jack Best, Geneva Convention, Kenneth Lockwood, Giles Romilly, Willie Tod, Airey Neave, Gris Davies-Scourfield, Peter Allan, Douglas Bader, Pete Tunstall, Rupert Barry, Clayton Hutton, Mairesse Lebrun, Reinhold Eggers, Tony Luteyn, Escape Officer, Padre Platt, War Office, Frans Josef, Hitler Youth, Michael Alexander
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