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Human Game: The True Story of the 'Great Escape' Murders and the Hunt for the Gestapo Gunmen
In March and April of 1944, Gestapo gunmen killed fifty POWs—a brutal act in defiance of international law and the Geneva Convention. This is the true story of the men who hunted them down. The mass breakout of seventy-six Allied airmen from the infamous Stalag Luft III became one of the greatest tales of World War II, immortalized in the film The Great Escape . But where Hollywood’s depiction fades to black, another incredible story begins . . . Not long after the escape, fifty of the recaptured airmen were taken to desolate killing fields throughout Germany and shot on the direct orders of Hitler. When the nature of these killings came to light, Churchill’s government swore to pursue justice at any cost. A revolving team of military police, led by squadron leader Francis P. McKenna, was dispatched to Germany seventeen months after the killings to pick up a trail long gone cold. Amid the chaos of postwar Germany, divided between American, British, French, and Russian occupiers, McKenna and his men brought twenty-one Gestapo killers to justice in a hunt that spanned three years and took them into the darkest realms of Nazi fanaticism. In Human Game , Simon Read tells this harrowing story as never before. Beginning inside Stalag Luft III and the Nazi High Command, through the grueling three-year manhunt, and into the final close of the case more than two decades later, Read delivers a clear-eyed and meticulously researched account of this often-overlooked saga of hard-won justice.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 2012
24 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Simon Read
26 books43 followersI'm the author of nine non-fiction books published on both sides of the Atlantic. Hachette will release my next book, THE IRON SEA, in November.
When I'm not writing, I enjoy reading (naturally), messing about on the piano, listening to classic British rock, and searching for good English pubs (I live in Arizona, where such drinking establishments can sometimes be hard to find).
Please feel free to check out my website or visit me on Twitter.
When I'm not writing, I enjoy reading (naturally), messing about on the piano, listening to classic British rock, and searching for good English pubs (I live in Arizona, where such drinking establishments can sometimes be hard to find).
Please feel free to check out my website or visit me on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
January 21, 2013
In the early to mid-1970s American Midwest, there was a certain type of motion picture that was bound to appeal to young males such as myself: the Big War Movie. Just like my friends, I never missed the chance to see TV replays of Kelly's Heroes, The Dirty Dozen, The Longest Day, The Guns of Navarone or — perhaps the greatest of them all — The Great Escape.
So fascinated was I by the World War II story of the escape of seventy-six Allied prisoners of war from a German camp, I also read Paul Brickhill's classic book with the same title. I recall it was the first time I ever experienced the disappointment of seeing some of what made a book so great lost in the translation to the big screen (key point: Steve McQueen's ultra-hip Cooler Kid character was totally fabricated; there were no American airmen in the North Compound at Stalag Luft III where the tunnels were dug).
The movie had big name stars like McQueen, stirring music, epic visuals, and memorable set pieces (such as the Fourth of July celebration that ends in tragedy, yet another complete fabrication), but after reading the book for me it lacked...something.
Perhaps it was the grittiness and black humor of camp life as described by Brickhill, the amazing scope of the camp escape committee's efforts — hundreds of false documents, maps, compasses and sets of civilian clothes were created by men barely surviving on watery soup and ersatz coffee — or the ultimate triumph when three, just three, of the escapees make it to freedom while fifty were summarily executed.
When I saw the full title of Simon Read's Human Game: The True Story of the "Great Escape" Murders and the Hunt for the Gestapo Gunmen, there was no question I would read the book. Frankly, it came as somewhat of a surprise to me that after the war the British government sanctioned an investigation and pursuit of the men behind the executions; it makes sense but for whatever reason it never occurred to me.
Human Game tells the often amazing story of an investigation that ended with seventy-two Germans on trial for the murders; twenty-one were executed for their roles. It is an amazing achievement given the circumstances.
The crime scenes were unknown, so there was no physical evidence beyond the fifty urns of ashes that had been returned to Stalag Luft III. Large areas of Germany were in ruins from fighting or devastating bombing raids, records had been systematically destroyed, masses of people were displaced, many of the dead were not identified in the final hectic days of the Nazi regime, and many of the suspects — knowing they would be asked to pay for their crimes — had melted away by grabbing the identity papers from a nearby corpse or giving a false name to the occupation authorities with the explanation that all their belongings had been destroyed.
Making matters harder even than that, the prison camp and the sites for more than half the murders were in the Soviet-controlled zone of occupation, and the alliance between the West and the Soviet Union was quickly hardening into the Cold War. There would be little to no cooperation for the investigators from the Soviets, who had captured some of the key figures in the executions.
Still, the British team persevered through hard work and determination, pouring through records, following up on leads, interviewing potential witnesses and cross-checking stories, until ultimately the final minutes of the fifty murdered airmen — including who was present — were revealed.
One of the interesting features of the book is how the author includes witness statements that contradict as the suspected killers sought to downplay their roles. It demonstrates just how difficult the task was for the investigators, who had no way of knowing how much truth was in any suspect's story.
Another interesting section that is certainly relevant in today's world deals with treatment of Germans suspected of war crimes at the London Cage. Located in three buildings in Kensington Palace Gardens, the Cage was the site of interrogations that included many types of torture including beatings, electrical shock, humiliation, and sleep deprivation. The British were able to keep the Red Cross away from the Cage, and during the trials of the Stalag Luft III killers the commanding officer of the facility is quoted lying under oath about his methods.
All in all I highly recommend Human Game to anyone interested in the rest of the story of the Great Escape, as well as those interested in true-crime investigations or getting a look at post-war Europe.
So fascinated was I by the World War II story of the escape of seventy-six Allied prisoners of war from a German camp, I also read Paul Brickhill's classic book with the same title. I recall it was the first time I ever experienced the disappointment of seeing some of what made a book so great lost in the translation to the big screen (key point: Steve McQueen's ultra-hip Cooler Kid character was totally fabricated; there were no American airmen in the North Compound at Stalag Luft III where the tunnels were dug).
The movie had big name stars like McQueen, stirring music, epic visuals, and memorable set pieces (such as the Fourth of July celebration that ends in tragedy, yet another complete fabrication), but after reading the book for me it lacked...something.
Perhaps it was the grittiness and black humor of camp life as described by Brickhill, the amazing scope of the camp escape committee's efforts — hundreds of false documents, maps, compasses and sets of civilian clothes were created by men barely surviving on watery soup and ersatz coffee — or the ultimate triumph when three, just three, of the escapees make it to freedom while fifty were summarily executed.
When I saw the full title of Simon Read's Human Game: The True Story of the "Great Escape" Murders and the Hunt for the Gestapo Gunmen, there was no question I would read the book. Frankly, it came as somewhat of a surprise to me that after the war the British government sanctioned an investigation and pursuit of the men behind the executions; it makes sense but for whatever reason it never occurred to me.
Human Game tells the often amazing story of an investigation that ended with seventy-two Germans on trial for the murders; twenty-one were executed for their roles. It is an amazing achievement given the circumstances.
The crime scenes were unknown, so there was no physical evidence beyond the fifty urns of ashes that had been returned to Stalag Luft III. Large areas of Germany were in ruins from fighting or devastating bombing raids, records had been systematically destroyed, masses of people were displaced, many of the dead were not identified in the final hectic days of the Nazi regime, and many of the suspects — knowing they would be asked to pay for their crimes — had melted away by grabbing the identity papers from a nearby corpse or giving a false name to the occupation authorities with the explanation that all their belongings had been destroyed.
Making matters harder even than that, the prison camp and the sites for more than half the murders were in the Soviet-controlled zone of occupation, and the alliance between the West and the Soviet Union was quickly hardening into the Cold War. There would be little to no cooperation for the investigators from the Soviets, who had captured some of the key figures in the executions.
Still, the British team persevered through hard work and determination, pouring through records, following up on leads, interviewing potential witnesses and cross-checking stories, until ultimately the final minutes of the fifty murdered airmen — including who was present — were revealed.
One of the interesting features of the book is how the author includes witness statements that contradict as the suspected killers sought to downplay their roles. It demonstrates just how difficult the task was for the investigators, who had no way of knowing how much truth was in any suspect's story.
Another interesting section that is certainly relevant in today's world deals with treatment of Germans suspected of war crimes at the London Cage. Located in three buildings in Kensington Palace Gardens, the Cage was the site of interrogations that included many types of torture including beatings, electrical shock, humiliation, and sleep deprivation. The British were able to keep the Red Cross away from the Cage, and during the trials of the Stalag Luft III killers the commanding officer of the facility is quoted lying under oath about his methods.
All in all I highly recommend Human Game to anyone interested in the rest of the story of the Great Escape, as well as those interested in true-crime investigations or getting a look at post-war Europe.
April 7, 2013
I always loved the movie "The Great Escape" and knew it was based on a factual incident but always assumed the more fantastic aspects of the escape were probably literary license. After reading this book I found that not to be the case at all though the book is not as much about the escape as it is about the hunt for the criminals who executed or had a hand in the execution of fifty escapees. The investigators overcame tremendous odds to bring the conspirators to justice and this book does an excellent job of telling their stories. Fast moving and well written. Definitely worth your time if you have any interest in the war, detective tales and what possesses men to commit horrible acts.
November 6, 2012
“Human Game” by Simon Read, published by Berkley Caliber.
Category – History/World War II
If you enjoyed the movie, “The Great Escape” you are thoroughly going to enjoy this book. “The Great Escape” was the true story of the breakout of seventy-six Allied airmen from the German prison camp Stalag Luft III. The movie took some liberties, with the permission of those who were still living provided the producers did not change the integrity of the escape. The main difference was that there were no Americans involved. All American airmen were removed from the camp prior to the escape. The book gives a brief account of the escape and those involved, but the crux of the book is the hunt for those responsible for the murder of the escapees. Great Britain’s Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden vowed that “When the war is over, they will be brought to exemplary justice.” Many thought that this was political rhetoric. After the war Francis P. McKenna was assigned the task of bringing the murderers to justice. He assembled a team that was made up of mostly people with a background in investigations. McKenna knew that he was facing a daunting task due to the chaos that was post-war Germany. Many of the people they were looking for had gone to ground with false names and papers. Many were held in camps controlled by the Russians, Americans, and French. The logistics of bringing all of this together seemed an impossible task.
A great read that will have you shaking your head at the incredible feat of the “escape” and then the bringing to justice those responsible for the murders.
Category – History/World War II
If you enjoyed the movie, “The Great Escape” you are thoroughly going to enjoy this book. “The Great Escape” was the true story of the breakout of seventy-six Allied airmen from the German prison camp Stalag Luft III. The movie took some liberties, with the permission of those who were still living provided the producers did not change the integrity of the escape. The main difference was that there were no Americans involved. All American airmen were removed from the camp prior to the escape. The book gives a brief account of the escape and those involved, but the crux of the book is the hunt for those responsible for the murder of the escapees. Great Britain’s Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden vowed that “When the war is over, they will be brought to exemplary justice.” Many thought that this was political rhetoric. After the war Francis P. McKenna was assigned the task of bringing the murderers to justice. He assembled a team that was made up of mostly people with a background in investigations. McKenna knew that he was facing a daunting task due to the chaos that was post-war Germany. Many of the people they were looking for had gone to ground with false names and papers. Many were held in camps controlled by the Russians, Americans, and French. The logistics of bringing all of this together seemed an impossible task.
A great read that will have you shaking your head at the incredible feat of the “escape” and then the bringing to justice those responsible for the murders.
March 19, 2020
I have read so many books about the atrocities of the Nazis and the horrors of concentration camps, the Gestapo, and Hitler that I had begun to believe that I couldn’t read something to make me even more horrified by their actions, but author Simon Read has proven me wrong with Human Game: The True Story of the “Great Escape” Murders and the Hunt for the Gestapo Gunmen.
In 1944, Allied airmen being held as prisoners of war carried out a mass escape from Stalag Luft III with 76 prisoners escaping through a carefully dug and concealed tunnel. Of the 76 who escaped, only three were able to evade recapture. Hitler was so enraged by the escape that he ordered 50 of the 73 recaptured POWs be killed. Staged as attempts to once again break free, the Gestapo agents shot the recaptured airmen at close range in the bank. It was premeditated, cold-blooded murder. In 1946, Francis P. McKenna was tasked with finding justice for the murdered airmen. He spent three years tracking down the Nazis involved in the 50 murders.
Simon Read’s meticulously researched work is excellent. He follows McKenna’s painstaking investigation through all the leads, dead ends, meetings with imprisoned Nazi war criminals, and endless travels through a Germany now divided into territories governed by Russian, American, and British military personnel. Despite the difficulty of working with the other Allied forces to arrange interviews with suspects, the brutal German winter, the lack of records, the constant tracking down of suspects and their associates, and harm to his personal health, McKenna never gave up. Through his dedication, he brought many of the perpetrators to justice, and Simon Read has brought us a fantastic account of all that McKenna accomplished as well as a testimonial to the unnecessary and cruel deaths of Allied airmen who deserved a better fate than that dealt by murderous Nazis.
In 1944, Allied airmen being held as prisoners of war carried out a mass escape from Stalag Luft III with 76 prisoners escaping through a carefully dug and concealed tunnel. Of the 76 who escaped, only three were able to evade recapture. Hitler was so enraged by the escape that he ordered 50 of the 73 recaptured POWs be killed. Staged as attempts to once again break free, the Gestapo agents shot the recaptured airmen at close range in the bank. It was premeditated, cold-blooded murder. In 1946, Francis P. McKenna was tasked with finding justice for the murdered airmen. He spent three years tracking down the Nazis involved in the 50 murders.
Simon Read’s meticulously researched work is excellent. He follows McKenna’s painstaking investigation through all the leads, dead ends, meetings with imprisoned Nazi war criminals, and endless travels through a Germany now divided into territories governed by Russian, American, and British military personnel. Despite the difficulty of working with the other Allied forces to arrange interviews with suspects, the brutal German winter, the lack of records, the constant tracking down of suspects and their associates, and harm to his personal health, McKenna never gave up. Through his dedication, he brought many of the perpetrators to justice, and Simon Read has brought us a fantastic account of all that McKenna accomplished as well as a testimonial to the unnecessary and cruel deaths of Allied airmen who deserved a better fate than that dealt by murderous Nazis.
February 28, 2018
The classic war movie "The Great Escape" detailed the escape. and in most instances recapture, of 76 airmen who engineered a mass escape from a Stalag POW camp. (Spoiler alert: as there were no Americans involved in this plot, Steve McQueen's character was a total fabrication) One brief scene in the movie showed some of the recaptured airmen being shot by the Germans during transport. In reality, 50 of them were executed in various places and cremated, under direct orders from the higher-ups in the Gestapo and the Nazi regime. Under any Geneva Convention definition, this was a war crime. After the war an RAF airman named Francis McKenna was assigned to track down and bring to justice those involved in the killings, and this is the story of his work in doing that. The obstacles he faced were tremendous, as most Nazis had disappeared and/or were living under assumed names. Each chapter is the story of a different killing and a different trackdown.
Even more than the detective aspect of this familiar story, what appealed to me were the many morality questions it raised. Was it worth these 50 lives for the 3 men who actually escaped? Is there any justification for shooting a man in the back as he stands in a field? Is there any difference in shooting that man in the back and dropping bombs on civilians? These questions and more make for some uncomfortable reading. The book is a procedural, which means it gets bogged down in details and repetition sometimes. But if nothing else, this book erases the lighthearted image of McQueen marching off to solitary with his baseball , and replaces it with the image of the memorial built at the camp to the 50 executed flyers.
Even more than the detective aspect of this familiar story, what appealed to me were the many morality questions it raised. Was it worth these 50 lives for the 3 men who actually escaped? Is there any justification for shooting a man in the back as he stands in a field? Is there any difference in shooting that man in the back and dropping bombs on civilians? These questions and more make for some uncomfortable reading. The book is a procedural, which means it gets bogged down in details and repetition sometimes. But if nothing else, this book erases the lighthearted image of McQueen marching off to solitary with his baseball , and replaces it with the image of the memorial built at the camp to the 50 executed flyers.
June 9, 2017
I would give it 4.5 stars. I should also state I have never watched "The Great Escape.", before my time. But standing on it's own, I enjoyed this book. The content is grisly, and I didn't agree with the protagonist on his characterization on all the subjects. Many of the people were stuck between disobeying orders and being killed as well as their families possibly being killed, or obeying orders and being killed after the war. There was literally no choice which would result in a positive outcome. Besides that one qualm though, I found the information engaging, hunting down a handful of people in the chaos of a post war Germany is daunting at best and the work done and dedication shown is truly amazing.
May 28, 2020
This is a subject I am fascinated in and, to be fair, the author makes a fair attempt at portraying the full story. However, there is a lot of repetition in the book. Every time a new lead is identified the author explains (again) how the investigators searched the internment camps. It's just one of the main points that he repeats. The end is wrapped up really quickly and I would have liked to see more about the trial. That said I knew more after reading the book than I did at the start.
I would suggest the author hires a better editor/proofreader as the book was littered with typos. My favourite being a Gestapo officer being described as having "a main of thick blond hair". All in all it is worth a look.
I would suggest the author hires a better editor/proofreader as the book was littered with typos. My favourite being a Gestapo officer being described as having "a main of thick blond hair". All in all it is worth a look.
July 12, 2018
I somewhat dry, though interesting, account of the attempt to track down and punish the German officers who murdered Allied airmen who had escaped from their camp in what became known as the Great Escape. It i amazing that so many were captured and punished. The tracking down of war criminals has always fascinated me. What I found new was that the British ran a particularly brutal interrogation site right there in Kensington Gardens.
August 29, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Lots of research done and very well written. The only thing I wish the publishers would have changed is the illustration at the beginning of the book. The chart published with the picutres of the 50 is impossible to tell which picture went with which name. They should have put the caption and names after each picture.,
August 16, 2017
This book was OK. Lots of details about the investigation into the murders of 50 of those caught after the "Great Escape" in World War 2. Interesting in places, but a bit tedious in other places.
September 4, 2019
I enjoyed this despite two major flaws: the author making up conversations and ideas in people's heads that he couldn't possibly know, and the dizzy number of characters.
May 31, 2020
The rest of the story, as the man says, about the Great Escape. Cracking good yarn. Deserves the full BBC treatment
September 20, 2021
Not much here that's not also in Exemplary Justice. Well written and a logical chronology.
March 10, 2025
The only thing missing Steve McQueen. A very excellent read and may the 🌎 never see such atrocities, which is wishful thinking. The dedication, commitment, to get justice was more than movable.
November 5, 2025
An audiobook. Well written and gives a context to the greatest escape. Frustration was created when you hear about all the problems they had and things that got in their way.
March 17, 2014
Another interesting WWII niche read. If you saw the Great Escape and wondered what happens to the Germans who shot the escaped POWs, you'll want to read this book. Writing is nothing exceptional and like any procedural... it can get procedural. The most compelling part of the book is the view of investigators like McKenna who were trying to make a go of this in the shambles of the war.
The last page of the book perhaps says this best "The work of the RAF's Special Investigating Branch was nothing short of remarkable when one considers the conditions and circumstances under which it conducted the Sagan investigation. With no crime scene, physical evidence or actual eyewitness accounts to the fifty murders, McKenna and his men launched their inquiry into utter drakness. They had every reason to fail and little prospect of success, but sheer determination and dogged detective work yielded results not even McKenna originally thought possible. The RAF ultimately identified seventy-two men who played an active role in the Great Escape murders. Of those seventy-two indivdiuals, twenty-one went to the gallows, seventeen received prison sentences, six were killed in wartime, eleven killed themselves, five defendants had charges dropped three had their sentences overturned, one turned material witness, and another remained free in East Germany."
The last page of the book perhaps says this best "The work of the RAF's Special Investigating Branch was nothing short of remarkable when one considers the conditions and circumstances under which it conducted the Sagan investigation. With no crime scene, physical evidence or actual eyewitness accounts to the fifty murders, McKenna and his men launched their inquiry into utter drakness. They had every reason to fail and little prospect of success, but sheer determination and dogged detective work yielded results not even McKenna originally thought possible. The RAF ultimately identified seventy-two men who played an active role in the Great Escape murders. Of those seventy-two indivdiuals, twenty-one went to the gallows, seventeen received prison sentences, six were killed in wartime, eleven killed themselves, five defendants had charges dropped three had their sentences overturned, one turned material witness, and another remained free in East Germany."
June 3, 2016
In March 1944, 76 Allied officers tunnelled out of Stalag Luft III. Of the 73 captured, 50 were shot by direct order of Hitler. This is the story of how a British Bobby from Blackpool, Frank McKenna, was sent to post-war Germany on the express orders from Churchill to bring the Gestapo murderers to justice. In a quest that ranges from the devastated, bombed out cities of Europe to the horrors of the concentrations camps, McKenna is relentless in his pursuit. A gripping read set in the aftermath of World War II.
This book is about the hunt for the men who murdered most of the the Great Escapees during World War II. A British police officer (RAF) was charged with tracking down the men responsible in post war Germany. Quite how he was meant to achieve this would have been anybody's guess. Half of Europe was still on the move, Germany was in ruins, records were missing or destroyed, Germany was divided into 4 sectors, of which 1 sizeable portion of Germany was closed to him (the Russian sector) at the start of the book. The book is sometimes a bit slow; but that kind of conveys the frustration that the investigators must have felt in trying to achieve something in what initially seemed like an impossible situation. Interesting read which makes you think about the rights and wrongs of war, When should an order be obeyed, depending on the morals? Worth reading
This book is about the hunt for the men who murdered most of the the Great Escapees during World War II. A British police officer (RAF) was charged with tracking down the men responsible in post war Germany. Quite how he was meant to achieve this would have been anybody's guess. Half of Europe was still on the move, Germany was in ruins, records were missing or destroyed, Germany was divided into 4 sectors, of which 1 sizeable portion of Germany was closed to him (the Russian sector) at the start of the book. The book is sometimes a bit slow; but that kind of conveys the frustration that the investigators must have felt in trying to achieve something in what initially seemed like an impossible situation. Interesting read which makes you think about the rights and wrongs of war, When should an order be obeyed, depending on the morals? Worth reading
December 26, 2013
The truly great story of the (aptly named) Great Escape continues in this thorough book by Simon Read. I was given this book by someone who is much more into the historical non-fiction genre than I, a person who verbally gave it 4.5 stars. So my original rating of 3 stars might not be fair, so I gave it 4. The detail was amazing and an attempt to get into the emotions of the individuals was there but IMHO could have gone deeper. Read reads well, he put me on a snow covered road in a Jeep like I was there. I felt the frustration of the investigators. I felt the conflicting emotions of facing your conquered enemy in the court of law versus the field of battle. The tug of war across the gray area that is the moral and ethical swamp of war/post war. IF you like reading historical non-fiction THIS is a great book. Me? I am more likely to read a Neal Stephenson book like Cyrptonomincon https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8... to get my WWII fix.
September 12, 2014
Not so much a story of the escape itself, but the detective story of find those who murdered the 50 escaped airmen. I was a bit put off to learn of harsh interrogation in London of captured Germans including allegations of torture. I could actually see some of the anger of the Germans for the "Terror" bombers. However, it's hard not to be reminded of what the Germans did to London. It was sad to hear of those that got away for various reasons. Certainly a long cast of very diverse characters. Interesting to read. This was one of those books that I had trouble setting aside. I adore the film version of the Great Escape so in some ways I'm seeing the Hollywood murder of Roger, Mac, and all the rest. At the same time, the reality is even more chilling.
March 9, 2015
This was a good book, but the thing that will last with me is the question it raised - if you are ordered to do something that you believe is wrong, and your life or those of your family members are at risk, what do you do? The Germans who murdered 50 airmen who were POWs and tried to escape all claimed to be only following orders. That is no defense in a war crimes trial. It is not justification for acts of brutality. But...what would I do? Got some heavy thinking to do...The book begins with the story of the escape. I doubt that people today could do,what these airmen did. Who knows how to make a compass or carve official stamps out of boot heels? (For that matter, who wears boots with heels that can be carved?).
September 23, 2014
Takes up where the original GREAT ESCAPE left off with British officers tracking down those responsible for executing 50 of the 76 recaptured escapees. Nice to see a follow-up to a story I knew so well (read the original multiple times) but, ultimately, tedious detective work in ravaged post-war Germany is just not as interesting a tale as that of the escape itself and this book doesn’t really add much, beyond some details, to what the final chapter of the original gave you.
So go read ‘Great Escape’ instead in case you haven’t already. And if you have then go read it again.
So go read ‘Great Escape’ instead in case you haven’t already. And if you have then go read it again.
January 14, 2013
A nice read by Simon Read. Read's detective work was impressive but paled by comparison to the lead character McKenna. The book reminds me how astounding human behavior can be, both good and bad. A couple of questions for you English usage types out there 1] Do you "tow the line" or do you "toe the line"? and 2] If you are captured and kept by the captors are you "interned" or are you "interred"? A couple of slips by the editor I think. Enjoy.
February 3, 2014
I got this after watching The Great Escape and wanted to learn some history of the event. It reads like a crime novel. The book is divided into chapters based on each group of prisoners that were murdered and follows through to the eventual capture of the SS men responsible. Very well written and moving.
July 11, 2015
This was a very good book. I was well aware of The Great Escape, but was not aware of the intense investigation into the murders after. The RAF Special Investigative Branch was tireless in their efforts. This book does a good job of balancing the stories of the murdered fliers, their escape and subsequent capture, their murder, and the search for the guilty.
November 11, 2015
This is an account of the British Officers who promised to track down all of the Gestapo who participated in the murders of 50 of the Air Force POW Officers who escaped from prison camp in the Great Escape. After World War II Europe was in chaos, and it was difficult to find the people who were involved in this crime, but they found most of them. The story is quite interesting, but very dry.
January 6, 2013
It's not terribly interesting as an entire work. You should not think of this as a book about a single event. It's more accurate to say this is a book filled with summary accounts of a few dozen independent events that are distantly related. (The book is about as fulfilling as that sentence.)
November 16, 2012
Very interesting to me because of my interest in the topic. The book does plod through each and every detail. Not a quick read but a worthy one for those who are looking for nuggets about WWII.
January 11, 2013
Interesting procedural about the hunt for the men who murdered the 50 "Great Escape" POWs. Writing was a bit dry.
February 15, 2013
The "rest of the story" to "The Great Escape." Well documented and well organized.
January 16, 2013
The story in itself is remarkable and sad but the book becomes very repetitious after the first few chapters
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews