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Escape: A Love Letter to a Cult Football Classic
The definitive story of cult classic movie Escape to Victory, bringing you the inside track through new interviews with the football legends, cast and crew.
From John Smith, author of the widely acclaimed Booked!, Second Yellow and Final Third!
Blessed with the winning combination of Pelé, Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone, this much-loved classic is the gold standard of football films. This compelling
Explores the familiar tale we know from the screen, and a multitude of stories we haven’t heard from off screenOffers fresh insight from stars of the film and football legends – including Ossie Ardiles, Mike Summerbee, John Wark, Hallvar Thoresen, Paul van Himst, Russell Osman, Soren Lindsted and Werner Roth – as well as first-hand accounts from crew, with tales from on and off setTraces the film’s development from the germ of an idea, to the all-important casting and filming in Hungary, to achieving its cult statusGives a personal take on one of the author’s favourite films, with new observations and insightsPacked with stories and revelations, from Ipswich Town to Tinseltown, Escape is a must-read for film buffs and football fans, along with anyone who enjoys sharing anecdotes and trivia with friends. Everything you ever wanted to know about this timeless classic is here!
From John Smith, author of the widely acclaimed Booked!, Second Yellow and Final Third!
Blessed with the winning combination of Pelé, Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone, this much-loved classic is the gold standard of football films. This compelling
Explores the familiar tale we know from the screen, and a multitude of stories we haven’t heard from off screenOffers fresh insight from stars of the film and football legends – including Ossie Ardiles, Mike Summerbee, John Wark, Hallvar Thoresen, Paul van Himst, Russell Osman, Soren Lindsted and Werner Roth – as well as first-hand accounts from crew, with tales from on and off setTraces the film’s development from the germ of an idea, to the all-important casting and filming in Hungary, to achieving its cult statusGives a personal take on one of the author’s favourite films, with new observations and insightsPacked with stories and revelations, from Ipswich Town to Tinseltown, Escape is a must-read for film buffs and football fans, along with anyone who enjoys sharing anecdotes and trivia with friends. Everything you ever wanted to know about this timeless classic is here!
320 pages, Hardcover
Published October 20, 2025
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
John Smith
2,125 books106 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
John Smith, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, enjoyed a forty-two year career with General Motors, beginning in 1968 when he started work at the Chevrolet-Kansas City assembly plant. For someone just a few days removed from high school graduation, the rigors of life on the line in an automobile assembly plant. . .even if only for the summer. . .provided John with important grounding for everything that followed.
After receiving an Industrial Engineering degree from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and an MBA from Harvard, John joined GM’s New York Treasurer’s Office in 1976. This group provided key staff support to the company’s top leaders and its Board of Directors, and offered John a top-down view of GM’s breadth and depth. Over the following years, John would lead GM’s joint venture vehicle programs with Toyota, Isuzu, Suzuki and Daewoo, help establish GM operations in Central Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and be part of the team that developed options for the company’s all-important China business. John would later serve as GM’s first global product planning leader, and be on the ground floor of many of the company’s alternative propulsion initiatives.
Prior to coming to Cadillac in early 1997, John was President of Allison Transmission following the collapse of a possible sale of that business in late 1993 to German car parts maker ZF. John and team developed and executed a turnaround plan for Allison that lead to a twenty-fold increase in its sale price a decade later. John retired from GM at the end of 2010 and has since served as consultant or company director for a number of public and private for-profit businesses. He and his wife Nancy have been involved in ongoing relief and social services work in Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010, principally in and around the city of Jeremie, in support of which they co-founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization named Jeremie Rising. All proceeds from the sale of Fin Tales will be contributed to Jeremie Rising.
John Smith, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, enjoyed a forty-two year career with General Motors, beginning in 1968 when he started work at the Chevrolet-Kansas City assembly plant. For someone just a few days removed from high school graduation, the rigors of life on the line in an automobile assembly plant. . .even if only for the summer. . .provided John with important grounding for everything that followed.
After receiving an Industrial Engineering degree from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and an MBA from Harvard, John joined GM’s New York Treasurer’s Office in 1976. This group provided key staff support to the company’s top leaders and its Board of Directors, and offered John a top-down view of GM’s breadth and depth. Over the following years, John would lead GM’s joint venture vehicle programs with Toyota, Isuzu, Suzuki and Daewoo, help establish GM operations in Central Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and be part of the team that developed options for the company’s all-important China business. John would later serve as GM’s first global product planning leader, and be on the ground floor of many of the company’s alternative propulsion initiatives.
Prior to coming to Cadillac in early 1997, John was President of Allison Transmission following the collapse of a possible sale of that business in late 1993 to German car parts maker ZF. John and team developed and executed a turnaround plan for Allison that lead to a twenty-fold increase in its sale price a decade later. John retired from GM at the end of 2010 and has since served as consultant or company director for a number of public and private for-profit businesses. He and his wife Nancy have been involved in ongoing relief and social services work in Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010, principally in and around the city of Jeremie, in support of which they co-founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization named Jeremie Rising. All proceeds from the sale of Fin Tales will be contributed to Jeremie Rising.
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