The Great Escape

A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in America

By: Saket Soni

Narrated by: Saket Soni

Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

The astonishing story of immigrants lured to the United States from India and trapped in forced labor—an "eye-opening" "must-read" told by the visionary labor leader who engineered their escape and set them on a path to citizenship (The New York Times Book Review). ​

In late 2006, Saket Soni, a 28-year-old, Indian-born community organizer received an anonymous phone call from an Indian migrant worker inside a Mississippi labor camp. He and 500 other men were living in squalor in Gulf Coast “man camps,” surrounded by barbed wire, watched by armed guards, crammed into cold trailers with putrid portable toilets, forced to eat moldy bread and frozen rice. Worse, lured by the promise of good work and green cards, the men had desperately scraped together up to $20,000 each to apply for this “opportunity” to rebuild oil rigs after Hurricane Katrina, putting their families into impossible debt. During a series of clandestine meetings, Soni and the workers devise a bold plan. In The Great Escape, Soni traces the workers’ extraordinary escape, their march on foot to Washington DC, and their 23-day-hunger strike to bring attention to their cause. Along the way, ICE agents try to deport the men, company officials work to discredit them, and politicians avert their eyes. But none of this shakes the workers’ determination to win their dignity and keep their promises to their families.

Weaving a deeply personal journey with a riveting tale of 21st-century forced labor, Soni takes us into the hidden lives of the foreign workers the US increasingly relies on for cheap skilled labor to rebuild after climate disasters. The Great Escape is the astonishing story of one of the largest human trafficking cases in modern American history—and the workers’ heroic journey for justice.

©2023 Saket Soni (P)2023 Algonquin Books

Critic reviews

“It’s paced like a thriller, written like a poem, and full of vivid characters who’d enliven any novel, but it’s the true story one of the largest modern-day trafficking incidents in recent history and how Saket Soni and his crew went after the powerful perpetrators. A story as important as it is riveting to read.”—Rebecca Solnit, author of Orwell’s Roses

“One of this country’s most remarkable activists is also an extraordinary writer. From the very first moment of this world-spanning story Saket Soni has you in his grip. The Great Escape makes you feel astonishment, compassion, anger, and, at the end, something rare these days—hope.”—Adam Hochschild, New York Times bestselling author of King Leopold’s Ghost and Rebel Cinderella

“Saket Soni’s The Great Escape is a gripping, devastating, and powerfully written book, a must-read for anyone interested in the real world stakes of migration, corporate corruption, and federal law enforcement."—Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, author of Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else)

The Power of the People

I am inspired by the organizing campaign and more determined than ever to continue the fight for Immigration Reform.

Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world

Couldn’t stop listening to this terrific book, which is some of the best non-fiction I’ve picked up. Interested in a riveting tale, with great characters and a laugh? Read this true story. A delicious multi-faceted primer on how social justice work happens.

Very interesting, analytical and colorful

The author does a wonderful job is not only bring people and actions to life, but in analyzing the process of this particular set of processes and strategies. Very interesting!

Riveting!

I was completely engrossed and invested in the individuals and families involved in this account. Tears flowed out of my eyes time and time again along with alarm and anger learning about their lives and sacrifices. Thank you for sharing your lives with us.

A riveting recount of one of the biggest human trafficking case in us history.

I was gripped from the title. I hung on to every word rooted for the men and cried with them. the Immigrant story is one of many twists and turns as I know all to well. it's really well written and I'd love it to be a movie

what a moving story!

I am so impressed by this book. It is very well written and performed. But more importantly, the story is so moving. What these men went through is maddening. I'm so glad they were able to escape the inhumane conditions.

Most heartfelt story

The plight of the migrant workers is indeed a sorry tale.
Well recounted and thoroughly researched.

Gripping and ENLIGHTENING

This was gut wrenching, joyfully jubilant, and life changing. I must listen to this each year.

A Must Read

To know from the start that this is a true story makes this hauntingly captivating story all the more compelling. It reads like a page turning novel, and the honesty with which the author confronts himself and reveals his own flaws, doubts and misgivings allows the reader to reflect on their own prejudices and inner conflicts. A story of heart wrenching courage, this story is one that will never leave you.

Great read!

Once I was able to understand the pronunciation of words, it really turned out to be a great book to read, with some really hard-hitting facts that applies to all races in this country and abroad.