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The Great Escaper : The Life and Death of Roger Bushell - Love, Betrayal, Big X and the Great Escape by Simon Pearson (2014, Paperback)
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SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER 'This gripping biography... Pearson has done uncommonly well to unearth so much.' (Max Hastings, Sunday Times ) Roger Bushell was 'Big X', mastermind of the mass breakout from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, immortalised in the Hollywood film The Great Escape. Very little was known about Bushell until 2011, when his family donated his private papers - a treasure trove of letters, photographs and diaries - to the Imperial War Museum. Through exclusive access to this material - as well as fascinating new research from other sources - Simon Pearson, Chief Night Editor of The Times, has now written the first biography of this iconic figure. Born in South Africa in 1910, Roger Bushell was the son of a British mining engineer. By the age of 29, this charismatic character who spoke nine languages had become a London barrister with a reputation for successfully defending those much less fortunate than him. He was also renowned as an international ski champion and fighter pilot with a string of glamorous girlfriends. On 23 May, 1940, his Spitfire was shot down during a dogfight over Boulogne after destroying two German fighters. From then on his life was governed by an unquenchable desire to escape from Occupied Europe. Over the next four years he made three escapes, coming within 100 yards of the Swiss border during his first attempt. His second escape took him to Prague where he was sheltered by the Czech resistance for eight months before he was captured. The three months of savage interrogation in Berlin by the Gestapo that followed made him even more determined. Prisoner or not, he would do his utmost to fight the Nazis. His third (and last escape) destabilised the Nazi leadership and captured the imagination of the world. He died on 29 March 1944, murdered on the explicit instructions of Adolf Hitler. Simon Pearson's revealing biography is a vivid account of war and love, triumph and tragedy - one man's attempt to challenge remorseless tyranny in the face of impossible odds.Product Identifiers
PublisherHodder & Stoughton
ISBN-101444760661
ISBN-139781444760668
eBay Product ID (ePID)200484499
Product Key Features
Publication Year2014
Number of Pages448 Pages
LanguageEnglish
IllustratorYes
AuthorSimon Pearson
FormatPaperback
Dimensions
Item Height1.1 in
Item Weight11.7 oz.
Item Length7.8 in
Item Width5 in
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Most relevant reviews
- 03 Oct, 2018
A great book.
Superbly researched. I couldn't put the book down. You get a real feel for the real man. It makes you realise what the POW's and the people that helped them went through and the ordeals people suffered at the hands of the Nazis. If you want to find out more about Big X and the many people that helped with the escape and his life prior to being captured and what happened after the break out, this is the book to read. Brilliant.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
- 05 Apr, 2024
A well known story
It’s one of the greatest escapes of world war 2Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
