Colditz
Prisoners of the Castle
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4.4 • 51 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - AND PERFECT GIFT FOR HISTORY BUFFS!
'A master at setting the pulse racing' Daily Mail
'A fine feat of storytelling . . . will surely become the last word on the subject' Telegraph
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FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SAS: ROGUE HEROES
Colditz Castle: a forbidding Gothic tower on a hill in Nazi Germany. You may have heard about the prisoners and their daring and desperate attempts to escape, but that's only part of the real story.
In Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle, bestselling historian Ben Macintyre takes us inside the walls of the most infamous prison in history to meet the real men behind the legends. Heroes and bullies, lovers and spies, captors and prisoners living cheek-by-jowl for years in a thrilling game of cat and mouse - and all determined to escape by any means necessary.
Deeply researched and full of incredible stories, this is a tale of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances - and will change how you think about Colditz forever.
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'Like watching a black-and-white photograph being colourised' Spectator
'Every Ben Macintyre book is a treat' The Tablet
Sunday Times bestseller, November 2022
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Accounts of infamous Second World War prison camp Colditz tend to be painted in broad strokes. Boys’ own stories tell of dashing Allied heroes, nasty Nazis and feats of derring-do as they tunnel out of the high-security hilltop castle and into the history books. Now broadsheet columnist Macintyre brings a journalistic eye to the legend and unearths hidden depths. His meticulously researched account of the day-to-day routines, social divides and internal politics bring prison to vivid life. Charismatic characters leap off the page, jailbreak bids are pacy and pulse-racing—while just as riveting are the games of psychological cat-and-mouse they play with their captors. Their fortitude is incredible, their ingenuity inspiring. There’s gallows humour, high emotion and even romance. Full of quirky details and human drama, these untold tales are also far more diverse than the hoary old Colditz myths. Several of Macintyre’s previous books, notably Operation Mincemeat, have been adapted for film and TV. The thrillingly cinematic Colditz is surely destined for the screen treatment too.
Customer Reviews
Excellent readable account
Excellently written and researched, the author has uncovered many fascinating facts -and corrected some -about this infamous place. Despite the bleak subject of war and imprisonment the author brings real characters to life and their spirited resistance as well as their suffering.