Research Catalog

The escape artists : a band of daredevil pilots and the greatest prison break of the Great War

Title

The escape artists : a band of daredevil pilots and the greatest prison break of the Great War / Neal Bascomb.

Author

Bascomb, Neal

Publication

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018.
©2018

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Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	JFE 18-9421	Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description

xxv, 310 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates; 24 cm

Summary

"The story of three downed British airmen who mastermind an elaborate, rollicking escape from a WWI German POW camp"--
"The spellbinding story of the downed Allied airmen who masterminded the remarkably courageous--and ingenious--breakout from Germany's most devilish POW camp. In the winter trenches and flak-filled skies of World War I, soldiers and pilots might avoid death only to find themselves imprisoned in Germany's archipelago of prison camps, often in abominable conditions. The most infamous was Holzminden, a landlocked Alcatraz that housed the most troublesome, escape-prone officers. Its commandant was a boorish, hate-filled tyrant named Karl Niemeyer, who swore that none should ever leave. Desperate to break out of "Hellminden" and return to the light, a group of Allied prisoners, led by ace pilot and former army sapper David Gray, hatch an elaborate escape plan. Their plot demands a risky feat of engineering as well as a bevy of disguises, forged documents, fake walls, and steely resolve. Once beyond the watchtowers and round-the-clock patrols, Gray and almost a dozen of his half-starved fellow prisoners must make a heroic 150-mile dash through enemy-occupied territory toward free Holland. Drawing on never-before-seen memoirs and letters, Neal Bascomb brings this narrative to cinematic life, amid the twilight of the British Empire and the darkest, most savage hours of the fight against Germany. At turns tragic, funny inspirational, and nail-bitingly suspenseful, this is the little-known story of the biggest POW breakout of the Great War."--Dust jacket.
World War I. Soldiers and pilots alike might avoid death, only to find themselves imprisoned in Germany's POW camps, often in abominable conditions. The most infamous was Holzminden, which housed the most troublesome, escape-prone prisoners. Its commandant was a hate-filled tyrant named Karl Niemeyer who swore that none should ever leave. A group of Allied prisoners led by ace pilot David Gray hatch an elaborate escape plan. Their plot demands a risky feat of engineering as well as a bevy of disguises, forged documents, fake walls, and steely resolve-- and a heroic 150 mile dash through enemy-occupied territory towards free Holland. Bascomb brings to life the little-known story of the biggest POW breakout of the Great War. -- adapted from jacket

Subject

Genre/Form

Biography.
Biographies.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Capture -- All roads lead to Hellminden -- The tunnel -- Breakout.

Call Number

JFE 18-9421

ISBN

9780544937116
0544937112

LCCN

2017058527
40028478194

OCLC

1042078376

Author

Bascomb, Neal, author.

Title

The escape artists : a band of daredevil pilots and the greatest prison break of the Great War / Neal Bascomb.

Publisher

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018.

Copyright Date

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Chronological Term

1900-1999

Other Form:

Online version: Bascomb, Neal, author. Escape artists Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018 9780544936904 (DLC) 2018030636

Other Standard Identifier

40028478194

Research Call Number

JFE 18-9421

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