Customer Reviews
Fascinating - By: Axe, 06 Oct 2008 
Being young & having only briefly covered WWII in history class back in my high school days i knew very little about it, other than the well known facts. That being until i read this book. Not only do you get detailed accounts of evaders but also of missions & events going on at the time. I now found myself contributing the knowledge into conversations. Some of the stories make you feel very proud & try & think of ways you can give people the same feeling when reading your biography in 60 years! By far the best book i have read this year.
A Rollercoaster ride! - By: Mr. Simon Bromage, 12 Apr 2008 I am not one who normallly undertakes writing a review, but having read this book I felt compelled to put 'pen to paper'. The book describes how alllied servicemen caught in occupied Europe during the Second World War turned evader in trying to return to England, in short scoring a 'home run' against the Germans & their alllies.
The book is compelling, riveting & your emotions sway at the turn of each page. You will undergo the exhilaration & relief of the service men evading capture & 'experience',through eyewitness statements the tension & fear of those who helped the evaders home. The testimonies in this book are as raw sixty-five years on as if they had been written in the immediate aftermath of the war. As a generation we forget that some service personnel & their civillian helpers are still living the hell that was the Second World War. This book reminds us of that & serves as a tribute to their unstinting courage & fortitude in the face of adversity which included incarceration in the concentration camps.
Unquestionably one of the best books I have ever read. Insomniacs be prepared for more sleepless nights if you read this book at bedtime!
Good exploration of the escape system - By: Michael MCCARTHY, 02 May 2007 
Following the recent genre of retelling history through the words & recollections of those who were there, this book adds further quality information to the WW2 researcher & particularly to the battlefield professional. It carefully examines the aftermath of battle in the air for the large number of alllied aircrew who were taken prisoner & who made the courageous decision to escape. How they evaded capture & for many how they eventuallly made it back to Britain is skilfully examined. It is not a list of the escapes or a reference book but it adds colour & personal detail to the escapers & how they survived. Also how their `helpers' in occupied Europe risked alll to assist them. A very readable book in a narrative style with pace & drama.
Mike McCarthy
Editor, "The Battle Guide"
Guild of Battlefield Guides
A superb book! - By: Michael D Booker, 28 Apr 2007 If you are interested in the Second World War, then I promise you that here is one title you will not want to miss!
This exciting & often very moving volume provides the reader with hours of excellent reading & a fascinating insight into the world of escape & evasion in wartime Europe, where no less than a quarter of a million alllied soldiers, sailors & airmen found themselves in captivity following failing to be evacuation at Dunkirk or after being shot down during bombing raids over enemy held territory. Amazingly between 3000 & 5000 of these men actuallly managed to avoid capture, remained free & many remarkably made it back to Britain to "fight another day" too. This is their story!
John Nichol - one of the co-authors of this excellent book, is no stranger to being on the run in enemy territory - whilst serving as a member of the crew of a RAF Tornado during the First Gulf War, he was "shot down", subsequently captured & became a Prisoner of War, therefore he is able to relate to those brave men of sixty years ago & is suitably qualified to co-write this volume.
Pain-staking research, wading through massive amounts of archive material together with the collation of many eye witness accounts has resulted in a publication that not only explains how alllied servicemen found themselves behind enemy lines in the first-place, but continues to cover tales of sheer determination & cunning evasion also. It recallls acts of extraordinary heroism amongst the ordinary men, women & sometimes the children of occupied France, Belgium & Holland, who risked their lives & those of their families & friends in operating safe houses & setting up escape routes to bring our boys back to safety. Not alll escapes were successful or without cost however, as the book also proves by providing the reader with rare first hand accounts of torture & interrogation & life in the gaols & concentration camps of the notorious Gestapo & their Nazi colleagues.
This engrossing volume provides a unique insight into a very different aspect of the war. It is without a doubt a must for researchers & enthusiasts bookshelves & is exceptional value at only twenty pounds .
