Colditz

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 instant bestseller by historian Ben Macintyre, is a tale of the indomitable human spirit, but also one of class conflict, homosexuality, espionage, insanity and farce. Through an astonishing range of material, Macintyre reveals a remarkable cast of characters, wider than previously seen and hitherto hidden from history, taking in prisoners and captors who were living 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.

“Fascinating”

A fine feat of storytelling . . . will surely become the last word on the subject -- Patrick Bishop Telegraph
Like watching a black-and-white photograph being colourised . . . rich in humour and quirky detail . . . another compelling narrative -- Clare Mulley Spectator
Nuanced and gripping . . . told with sensitivity and insight, with an eye for telling detail -- Gerard DeGroot The Times
The Sun
Every Ben Macintyre book is a treat -- Jane Thynne The Tablet
Entertaining yet objective and often moving Wall Street Journal
Macintyre's genius has long been to excavate the nuance, subtlety and ambiguity beneath the myths he explores . . . remarkable -- Matthew D'Ancona Tortoise Media
Another fine history . . . His unerring eye for the telling detail that can illuminate a greater story is apparent in Colditz -- Ronan McGreevy The Irish Times
Macintyre so seamlessly fuses so many different accounts that their compilation creates something more profound than a simple escape yarn: a biography of the prison itself and the world detainees built there -- Andrea Pitzer Washington Post
Macintyre recreates the daring escape stories with punchy flair . . . a lively page-turner -- NJ McGarrigle Independent.ie
My book of the year . . . a masterful history of Colditz. It's absurdly readable (and at times just absurd) as well as being informative, hilarious and deeply moving -- Geoff Dyer LitHub

Ben Macintyre is the multimillion-copy bestselling author of books including Agent Sonya , SAS- Rogue Heroes , The Spy and the Traitor , Agent Zigzag , Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends . He is a columnist and Associate Editor at The Times , and has worked as the newspaper's correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. Several of his books have been made into films and television series, including Operation Mincemeat , A Spy Among Friends and SAS- Rogue Heroes .

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