The Great Escape

If no one had ever listened to an audiobook before, this would be the first one I would recommend.
The story is equal parts funny, suspenseful, tragic, and heroic. There is not one dull moment.
Robert Whitfield plays the wearied storyteller to perfection. You can hear in his performance the voice of a man who lived through this ordeal, but never lost his hope or his trust in his fellow countrymen and allies.
The incredible and famous movie adaptation has buried its all-star cast in the western world's psyche. Everyone has images of Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, and all the rest in their heads. This gives the amateur audiobook listener a shortcut to visualizing the major characters.
Finally, it's all true.

It's amazing how resourceful the prisoners were in such a difficult and challenging situation - becoming a game of us against the Nazi. I have listened this book three times and have enjoyed it every time. Much better than the movie.

You can see so many of the incidents in the book dramatized on the big screen, but this is the real story. The film missed this filthy nature of these men who had insufficient food for much of the time they were POWs. Brickhill has done 3 classics of the WWII genre. This, the Dam Busters, and Reach for the Sky. He was in the RAF and at Stalag Luft III. I don't completely trust the book as history because of his personal involvement. However, it's still a gripping story. It goes by so quickly. Very enjoyable and one of the better stories in the escape genre. You don't get behind the escapers as much as those personal memiors or Reed's Coldtiz Story, but still jolly good.....

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.

was very interesting, enhanced the movie. I listened to it while watching my favorite baseball team, The Texas Rangers, get beat by Boston.

Thank-you

An amazing story of the war internment. How these men managed to deceive their captures for so long is quite amazing. Very resourceful and ingenius use of minimal supplies that they collected. Internment camps in Germany were far more open then in Japan. Escape in Japan was virtually impossible. Very brave and brazen men in a different time. Highly recommend if you are a WW II buff.

I've listened to this book several times and I'm still amazed at the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the prisoners. Much better than the movie! Well written and well narrated this book is well worth a listen.

An excellent book to listen to while working.

Roger was such an interesting character. He is now who I think of as an example of a leader among men.

There were so many, but to each he brought expression and depth of character.

Once they have decided on a course of action, a group of men can do anything.