Prisoners of the Castle

An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis' Fortress Prison

By: Ben Macintyre

Narrated by: Ben Macintyre

Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “entertaining [and] often-moving account” (The Wall Street Journal) of the remarkable POWs whose relentlessly creative attempts to escape a notorious Nazi prison embodied the spirit of resistance against fascism, from the author of The Spy and the Traitor

“Macintyre has a knack for finding the most fascinating story lines in history.”—David Grann, author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon

In this gripping narrative, Ben Macintyre tackles one of the most famous prison stories in history and makes it utterly his own. During World War II, the German army used the towering Colditz Castle to hold the most defiant Allied prisoners. For four years, these prisoners of the castle tested its walls and its guards with ingenious escape attempts that would become legend.

But as Macintyre shows, the story of Colditz was about much more than escape. Its population represented a society in miniature, full of heroes and traitors, class conflicts and secret alliances, and the full range of human joy and despair. In Macintyre’s telling, Colditz’s most famous names—like the indomitable Pat Reid—share glory with lesser known but equally remarkable characters like Indian doctor Birendranath Mazumdar whose ill treatment, hunger strike, and eventual escape read like fiction; Florimond Duke, America’s oldest paratrooper and least successful secret agent; and Christopher Clayton Hutton, the brilliant inventor employed by British intelligence to manufacture covert escape aids for POWs.

Prisoners of the Castle traces the war’s arc from within Colditz’s stone walls, where the stakes rose as Hitler’s war machine faltered and the men feared that liberation would not come soon enough to spare them a grisly fate at the hands of the Nazis. Bringing together the wartime intrigue of his acclaimed Operation Mincemeat and keen psychological portraits of his bestselling true-life spy stories, Macintyre has breathed new life into one of the greatest war stories ever told.

©2022 Ben Macintyre (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“In retelling the story of Colditz, [Macintyre] makes it his own. [An] entertaining yet objective and often-moving account.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Not since Ian Fleming and John le Carré has a spy writer so captivated readers.”—The Hollywood Reporter

“Macintyre details the famous escapes, but, just as importantly, gives a vivid picture of everyday life in what became Germany’s most elite prison. Set aside a few hours for this book, since once you start reading, you will not stop until the last page.”—AirMail

My First audible book

I don’t think I have read a book sense middle school. I fall asleep after the first couple pages. So I figured this was a good idea to try and get back into learning and broaden my horizons, I enjoy learning about this era of history and this was a great book to start with. Thank you!

Fascinating

Prisoners of the Castle is comedy, drama, suspense, and mystery combining in the story of Colditz Castle during WWII. I found myself cheering every innovation, escape attempt, and recrimination performed by the brave and stalwart POW’s held prisoner in that fortress!

Great read

I really enjoyed the depth of the research that was done by the author great story It’s amazing what humans can endure when pressed into survival mode .

amazing story of survival

Iv'e read Pat Reids book but this one is more definitive. Douglas Bader whom I once admired, is revealed to be a class conscious snob and cad. Conditions when compared to other stalags was a ripe situation to escape from.

Outstanding

I would highly recommend this book, the content is excellent, well researched, even better presented and immensely entertaining. The narrator superb.

Accounts of escape attempts from Colditz

Narration is well done, excellent, in fact.

This is a thorough account of the many attempts to escape from Germany’s grim POW prison for obstreperous WW2 allied officers.

The subject matter and quality of writing certainly held my interest, as I am sure it will for other aficionados of WW2 history.

A Must listen.

Very informative,well presented and a well paced listen.
As for the storyline, it must have been hell to be locked up here during the war and suffer the Classism and racism at the hands of the British.

A new chapter of history

Insightful accounts of multi-national high ranking officers who were imprisoned at Colditz Castle during WW2. This book showcased their daring yet often comical escape attempts. All while German military complied with the terms o Mr the Geneva Convention. Overall a well written book.

A very fast moving story

I loved this book. Very well written imho. I’ve listened to many books about the Vietnam war but never WWII. I highly recommend it.

Impeccable research and totally absorbing!

As with all of Ben MacIntyre’s previous books, Prisoners of the Castle brings the past back to life. He combines riveting descriptions with an objective historian’s point of view, a rewarding combination for any reader. Though nonfiction it could be a thriller novel. I recommend it to everyone who loves a good book.