The 21 escapes of Lt Alastair Cram : a compelling story of courage and endurance in the Second World War
Guss, David M.2019
Book
Total copies: 2
This is the extraordinary - and never before told - story of Alastair Cram, the British soldier who escaped from prisoner-of-war camps not once but more than twenty times. `The greatest serial escaper of the Second World War' The Times 'Endlessly fascinating. Cram's story sizzles with adventure' Giles Milton, Sunday Times In November 1941 Lt Alastair Cram was taken prisoner in North Africa as a devastating tank battle unfolded as Operation Crusader struggled to relieve Tobruk. His capture began a four year-long odyssey as he passed through twelve different POW camps, three Gestapo prisons and one asylum. Determined to regain his freedom, he became a serial escapee fleeing his captors no fewer than twenty-one times. The most dramatic of these attempts was from Gavi, the `Italian Colditz'. This maximum-security prison built inside a thousand year old stone fortress was for the pericolosi, those classified as the `most dangerous' prisoners due to their unrelenting desire to escape. It was here that Alastair met David Stirling, the legendary founder of the SAS, and cooked up the plan for the `Cistern Tunnel', one of the most audacious but little-known mass escape attempts of the entire war. A genuinely new Second World War story, The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram by David M. Guss is a riveting account of the wartime exploits of the Scotsman. It is a tale of courage in the face of extraordinary odds and a testament to one man's dogged determination never to give up.
Main title:
Author:
Guss, David M., author
Imprint:
London : Pan Books, 2019.
Collation:
432 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black and white, and colour), maps (black and white) ; 20 cm
Notes:
Originally published: London: Macmillan, 2018.Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
9781509829590 (pbk)
Dewey class:
940.5472092940.5472 GUS
LC class:
D805
Language:
English
Added title:
Subject:
Cram, AlastairWorld War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisonsPrisoners of war -- ScotlandPrisoner-of-war escapes -- History -- 20th centuryWorld War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, BritishWarfare and DefenceEuropean historyTrue stories of heroism, endurance & survivalSecond World WarHistoryPrisoners of warGeneral & world historyMilitary historyBattles & campaignsBiography: historical, political & militaryUnited Kingdom, Great Britain20th century, c 1900 to c 1999
BRN:
334986