The Great Escape - by Ted Barris (Paperback)

About the Book

One night in 1944, eighty airmen escaped a German POW compound in Poland. The event became known as "The Great Escape." Ted Barris writes of the planners, task leaders, and key players in the escape attempt, those who got away, those who didn't, and their families at home.

Book Synopsis

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER - Joint Winner of the 2014 Libris Award, Non-Fiction Book of the Year

"As always, Ted Barris, our best writer on Canadians at war, paints small, personal stories on the broad canvas of epic conflict, and in The Great Escape, gives us the real truth on a story we thought we knew. Riveting." -- LINWOOD BARCLAY

A unique retelling of WWII's most dramatic escape, told through first-hand recollections of the soldiers who experienced it.

On the night of March 24, 1944, eighty airmen crawled through a 400-foot-long tunnel, code-named "Harry," and dashed from Stalag Luft III, the infamous WWII German POW camp. It became known as The Great Escape. The breakout had taken a year to plan, involved 2,000 POWs, and prompted a massive manhunt across occupied Europe. All but three escapees were recaptured, and on Hitler's orders, fifty were murdered.

Bestselling author Ted Barris revisits the story made famous by the 1963 movie. But he recounts this battle of wits and determination through the voices of those involved. Drawing on the experiences of forty years of experience as a journalist, broadcaster, and historian, Barris assembles original interviews, memoirs, letters, diaries, and personal photos to reconstruct the Great Escape's untold story.

Review Quotes

Barris's re-examination is both timely and fascinating.-- "Publishers Weekly"

Military historian Ted Barris's seventeenth book of non-fiction...follows his well-honed and highly successful approach of combining vivid characters with thumping narrative.-- "Globe and Mail"

No one tells these stories better than [Ted Barris].-- "Matt Galloway, host of Metro Morning, CBC Radio"

About the Author

Ted Barris is an accomplished author, journalist and broadcaster. As well as hosting stints on CBC Radio and regular contributions to The Globe and Mail, the National Post, and various national magazines, he is a full-time professor of journalism at Centennial College in Toronto. Barris has authored 17 non-fiction books, including the national bestsellers Victory at Vimy and Juno.