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True Stories of Great Escapes
Presents forty-two accounts of death-defying attempts to escape and elude captors, including Winston Churchill's account of his daring prison break during the Boer War
608 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
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134 people want to read
About the author
Reader's Digest Association
4,607 books494 followersThe Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global media and direct marketing company based in Chappaqua, New York, best known for its flagship publication founded in 1922, Reader's Digest. The company's headquarters are in New York City, where it moved from Pleasantville, New York.
The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.
The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 21, 2016
Whatever be its drawbacks (and it has many), Reader's Digest has given me hours of reading pleasure in my youth. This tome is one from their series of coffee-table books. It details the daring escapes attempted and achieved by desperate men and women.
Some of the stories are very familiar and still remain in the mind: Paul Brickhill's "Tunnel to Freedom", on which the movie "The Great Escape" was based; "The Long Walk", about the prisoners who supposedly walked from Siberia to India (since then disproved, I understand); and one youngster who escaped from Cuba in the wheel-well of an aircraft.
Enjoyable light reading.
Some of the stories are very familiar and still remain in the mind: Paul Brickhill's "Tunnel to Freedom", on which the movie "The Great Escape" was based; "The Long Walk", about the prisoners who supposedly walked from Siberia to India (since then disproved, I understand); and one youngster who escaped from Cuba in the wheel-well of an aircraft.
Enjoyable light reading.
October 18, 2024
Exceptional reading, and it was all based on a win-win concept.
These True Stories could come from anywhere in any situation where escape was desired and necessary. It was also quite uplifting, as the stories were all ending in successful escapes from either military and/or political situations. There were unsuccessful escapes, which were a part of the greater story, and added to the drama, helping it to be a gripping read all the way through.
The escapes were largely from wartime prison camps, but also from oppressive situations in East Germany, Cuba, or Communist China. Not everyone lived to tell their tale, but there was someone to retell the details and verify.
The two longest stories stood out from the rest, and that was very hard to do with each story in this anthology standing high on its own merits.
The Long Walk, near the center of the 606 pages, left lasting impressions. The only time I questioned the word True was in the final part of The Long Walk was when it described the few survivors seeing the Yeti snowman, and his wife, up in the Himalayas. But then my simple math skills kicked in, realizing they had this vision after going eight days without food. There were other foodless periods in their long trek from a Stalinesque gulag in northern Siberia to final freedom in India.
The final story originated in the WWII German prison camp at Colditz. The camp wasn't like other Nazi prison camps. Colditz was built deep in the German interior in a stone fortress. That helped to restrict escapes down to one or two POWs. The account of this escape came from a British Royal Air Force officer who managed to escape to neutral Switzerland. There was nothing easy in that feat. Good luck played a great role there.
Numerous movies and documentaries leaped from these stories throughout the years, giving further testimony to the quality of this book. An easy 5 0ut of 5 for me.
These True Stories could come from anywhere in any situation where escape was desired and necessary. It was also quite uplifting, as the stories were all ending in successful escapes from either military and/or political situations. There were unsuccessful escapes, which were a part of the greater story, and added to the drama, helping it to be a gripping read all the way through.
The escapes were largely from wartime prison camps, but also from oppressive situations in East Germany, Cuba, or Communist China. Not everyone lived to tell their tale, but there was someone to retell the details and verify.
The two longest stories stood out from the rest, and that was very hard to do with each story in this anthology standing high on its own merits.
The Long Walk, near the center of the 606 pages, left lasting impressions. The only time I questioned the word True was in the final part of The Long Walk was when it described the few survivors seeing the Yeti snowman, and his wife, up in the Himalayas. But then my simple math skills kicked in, realizing they had this vision after going eight days without food. There were other foodless periods in their long trek from a Stalinesque gulag in northern Siberia to final freedom in India.
The final story originated in the WWII German prison camp at Colditz. The camp wasn't like other Nazi prison camps. Colditz was built deep in the German interior in a stone fortress. That helped to restrict escapes down to one or two POWs. The account of this escape came from a British Royal Air Force officer who managed to escape to neutral Switzerland. There was nothing easy in that feat. Good luck played a great role there.
Numerous movies and documentaries leaped from these stories throughout the years, giving further testimony to the quality of this book. An easy 5 0ut of 5 for me.
October 12, 2016
Amazing and inspiring read about humans need to be free.
Content: These stories are real people and real scenarios and a lot of what these people suffered isn't pleasant. The chapter about the prisoners and the young girl escaping across the desert in particular is quite vivid and very sad. For older readers.
Content: These stories are real people and real scenarios and a lot of what these people suffered isn't pleasant. The chapter about the prisoners and the young girl escaping across the desert in particular is quite vivid and very sad. For older readers.
November 19, 2025
This book was an incredible read. I felt for everyone in this. The long walk was the story that stuck with me the most, the dangerous journey to India. It had quite a lot of hardships, but some of them managed to make the 4,000 mile journey.
The Colditz story was a really good one, it showed all the ups and downs, and the community that was made even when they were all imprisoned.
Every story left a lasting impression on me, it was a great read.
The Colditz story was a really good one, it showed all the ups and downs, and the community that was made even when they were all imprisoned.
Every story left a lasting impression on me, it was a great read.
June 5, 2020
Interesting stories. But after reading ten of them they got pretty boring
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August 18, 2020This is a childhood favorite. Whets appetite for full story.
May 11, 2021
AMAZING book! I had read it and gifted it to my uncle.
November 10, 2023
Harrowing but very interesting; what people will put themselves through for freedom! Interestingly, more than half of the stories were people escaping communism....
June 27, 2025
One of my favorite books, I tracked down an unabridged copy of one of its stories .
May 19, 2016
Very fascinating stories of escape from a great variety of situations: from prison, from POW camps, from Communist countries, from legal sentences, etc. The stories are wonderful and well-chosen: the reason I did not give 4 stars was more about the quality of each one and how it was condensed. Sometimes endings just fell flat and there were other quality issues, but for a book that holds interest, this one is tops.
August 28, 2016
Some good stories here but I had to discard it when I realised that this was the usual Readers Digest fare of anti- communist propaganda
November 7, 2013
Wonderful stories of the human spirit, including the famous Great Escape memorialized in the motion picture starring Steve McQueen, James Garner and others.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews