Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-09-03 00:53:10
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ben Macintyre
- ISBN：0241408520
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
'A master at setting the pulse racing' Daily Mail
'Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else' John Preston
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THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE MOST INFAMOUS PRISON IN HISTORY -- FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SAS: ROGUE HEROES AND THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR
In a forbidding Gothic castle on a hilltop in the heart of Nazi Germany， an unlikely band of British officers spent the Second World War plotting daring escapes from their German captors。 Or so the story of Colditz has gone， unchallenged for 70 years。 But that tale contains only part of the truth。
The astonishing inside story， revealed for the first time in this new book by bestselling historian Ben Macintyre， is a tale of the indomitable human spirit， but also one of snobbery， class conflict， homosexuality， bullying， espionage， boredom， insanity and farce。 With access to an astonishing range of material， Macintyre reveals a remarkable cast of characters of multiple nationalities hitherto hidden from history， with captors and prisoners living for years cheek-by-jowl in a thrilling game of cat and mouse。
From the elitist members of the Colditz Bullingdon Club to America's oldest paratrooper and least successful secret agent， the soldier-prisoners of Colditz were courageous and resilient as well as vulnerable and fearful -- and astonishingly imaginative in their desperate escape attempts。 Deeply researched and full of incredible human stories， this is the definitive book on Colditz。
_____________________________
'The best true spy story I have ever read' John le Carre on The Spy and the Traitor
'Impeccably researched， superbly told' Antony Beevor on SAS
'This book is classic Ben Macintyre 。 。 。 quirky human details enliven every page' Spectator on Agent Sonya
'Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else' John Preston
_____________________________
THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE MOST INFAMOUS PRISON IN HISTORY -- FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SAS: ROGUE HEROES AND THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR
In a forbidding Gothic castle on a hilltop in the heart of Nazi Germany， an unlikely band of British officers spent the Second World War plotting daring escapes from their German captors。 Or so the story of Colditz has gone， unchallenged for 70 years。 But that tale contains only part of the truth。
The astonishing inside story， revealed for the first time in this new book by bestselling historian Ben Macintyre， is a tale of the indomitable human spirit， but also one of snobbery， class conflict， homosexuality， bullying， espionage， boredom， insanity and farce。 With access to an astonishing range of material， Macintyre reveals a remarkable cast of characters of multiple nationalities hitherto hidden from history， with captors and prisoners living for years cheek-by-jowl in a thrilling game of cat and mouse。
From the elitist members of the Colditz Bullingdon Club to America's oldest paratrooper and least successful secret agent， the soldier-prisoners of Colditz were courageous and resilient as well as vulnerable and fearful -- and astonishingly imaginative in their desperate escape attempts。 Deeply researched and full of incredible human stories， this is the definitive book on Colditz。
_____________________________
'The best true spy story I have ever read' John le Carre on The Spy and the Traitor
'Impeccably researched， superbly told' Antony Beevor on SAS
'This book is classic Ben Macintyre 。 。 。 quirky human details enliven every page' Spectator on Agent Sonya
Reviews
Kelsey
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I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway， and I’m so glad I did！ Fascinating telling of this place and the characters that filled it！ Will absolutely read more of Macintyre。 Love finding new authors to read！！
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Crown Publishing for an advanced copy of this history on one of the most famous German prisons of World War 2。I was familiar with the story and history of Colditz Castle and its denizens during the Second World War more from biographies of some of the inhabitants or from overviews of the war。 I knew that is was a prison for Allied soldiers， but thought it was more famed for the many escapes and derring- do or as in inspiration of many movies and tele My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Crown Publishing for an advanced copy of this history on one of the most famous German prisons of World War 2。I was familiar with the story and history of Colditz Castle and its denizens during the Second World War more from biographies of some of the inhabitants or from overviews of the war。 I knew that is was a prison for Allied soldiers， but thought it was more famed for the many escapes and derring- do or as in inspiration of many movies and television shows。 The real stories， the stories of imprisonment， the escapes， the lives of the internees in general turn out to be far more interesting and in many cases sadder than the boy's own adventures that I was familiar with。 Ben Macintyre a chronicler of many true World War II stories and tales of espionage has brought his outstanding skill in research and writing to this tale of both prisoners and captors in Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz， the Nazis' Fortress Prison。 This book tells the real story of what happened behind the walls， where men did their best to survive the psychological toll and physical pains of capture， and how many tried to keep fighting even behind concrete walls。Colditz Castle was a Renaissance castle that in the early days of the war with German advancement into Europe so swift and sudden， found themselves with a lot of enemy combatants to keep track of。 Originally the castle was for all Allied troops， French， Polish， English and others， before becoming strictly a prision for English officers in 1943。 This is where the troublesome prisoners went， the constant escapees， or the high valued prisoners， nephews and cousins of kings， ministers and the like。 To the British with their history of public schools and class status the prison soon was a reflection of their society， aides for the officers， clubs based on society standing， book discussions， religion classes， discrimination for Jewish and Indian officers， and yes constant attempts to escape。 The escape stories are fascinating as are the stories of espionage that prisoners would pass on in letters， or that they would receive in Red Cross Package。Being a book by Ben Macintyre the tale is well- written， well- told and well- sourced。 I look forward to anything that he writes for he has gift of telling a story and explaining things so well the reader never feels lost or confused。 The book is told chronologically which gives the book a good flow， with what is going on the the world， along with what is happening to the prisoners， mingling well。 I had no idea about all the work that went into getting equipment and supplies to prisoners for escape or for spying on the enemy。 The escapes are so well sketched a book or a miniseries could be developed just from that。 An interesting story of men in difficult situation who rose to the occasion， failed in every way or were destroyed by the enormity of it all。For readers of World War II stories， well it is Ben Macintyre， but still a different look at the war， and the price of capture on those who longed to fight or die for the cause， but instead found themselves in a cage。 For all the stories of escapes or gliders that were built in the prison， it is the personal stories that really make this book。 From the weight of not escaping after numerous attempts， being discriminated against for their heritage from his own side， even a few men who turned traitor， this book is filled with personal stories that gives a real sense to what happened to these men。 Recommended for historians， and readers who enjoy well- written nonficton。 。。。more
Gabriel Thomas Malanchuk
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I enjoyed the book。 At points it felt like it was getting boring hearing the drudgery of daily life in the prison but then it would start getting interesting again。 The greatest part is knowing that these men survived and had stories to tell。 So many stories from the greatest generation！ Great book and I will recommend it to many people！
Ryan Stock
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It is always a treat to dive into a Ben Macintyre book。 This one was quite different from his other work， but reads the same。 Instead of focusing on a singular story through an event or person， it focuses on a location [Prison} and all the characters that interacted with it。 The book is essentially a timeline， navigating the years of WW2， with each chapter focusing on either a character or event that occurred in the prison。 As always， Ben does a delightful job of storytelling the wild stories th It is always a treat to dive into a Ben Macintyre book。 This one was quite different from his other work， but reads the same。 Instead of focusing on a singular story through an event or person， it focuses on a location [Prison} and all the characters that interacted with it。 The book is essentially a timeline， navigating the years of WW2， with each chapter focusing on either a character or event that occurred in the prison。 As always， Ben does a delightful job of storytelling the wild stories that took place。 。。。more
Brendan Dowd
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Full review coming soon （spoiler: it's fantastic） Full review coming soon （spoiler: it's fantastic） 。。。more
K。
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