Mark Felton

Zero Night: The Untold Story Of World War Two'S Greatest Escape Mark Felton

Brief Description: "On August 30, 1942--Zero Night--40 Allied officers staged the most audacious mass escape of World War II. Months of meticulous planning and secret training hung in the balance during three minutes of mayhem as the officers boldly stormed the huge double fences at Oflag Prison. Employing wooden ladders and bridges previously disguised as bookshelves, the highly coordinated effort succeeded and set 36 men free into the German countryside. Later known as the 'Warburg Wire Job', fellow prisoner and fighter ace Douglas Bader once described the attempt as 'the most brilliant escape conception of this war'. The first author to tackle this remarkable story in detail, historian Mark Felton brilliantly evokes the suspense of the escape and the adventures of those escapees who managed to elude the Germans, as well as the courage of the civilians who risked their lives to help them in enemy territory. Fantastically intimate and told with a novelist's eye for drama and detail, this rip-roaring adventure is all the more thrilling because it really happened"--Marc Notes: First published in Great Britain by Icon Books Ltd--Title page verso.; Includes bibliographical references and index.; On August 30, 1942--Zero Night--40 Allied officers staged the most audacious mass escape of World War II. Months of meticulous planning and secret training hung in the balance during three minutes of mayhem as the officers boldly stormed the huge double fences at Oflag Prison. Employing wooden ladders and bridges previously disguised as bookshelves, the highly coordinated effort succeeded and set 36 men free into the German countryside. Later known as the 'Warburg Wire Job', fellow prisoner and fighter ace Douglas Bader once described the attempt as 'the most brilliant escape conception of this war'. The first author to tackle this remarkable story in detail, historian Mark Felton brilliantly evokes the suspense of the escape and the adventures of those escapees who managed to elude the Germans, as well as the courage of the civilians who risked their lives to help them in enemy territory. Fantastically intimate and told with a novelist's eye for drama and detail, this rip-roaring adventure is all the more thrilling because it really happened--; Provided by publisher. Biographical Note: MARK FELTON has written over a dozen books on prisoners of war, Japanese war crimes and Nazi war criminals, and writes regularly for magazines such as "Military History Monthly" and "World War II." His most recent book is "China Station: The British Military in the Middle Kingdom, 1839-1997." He has recently returned to the UK after having spent almost a decade teaching in Shanghai. Table of Contents: Prologue1 Barbed Wire Horizon2 Trial and Error3 The Wire4 Short Circuit5 Diversions6 'Big X'7 Operation Timber8 Practice Makes Perfect9 The Road Less Travelled10 Pack Up Your Troubles11 Fifteen Yards to Freedom12 Zero Night12 'Another British Evacuation'14 A Walk in the Woods15 '"Hande Hoch!"'16 The Bitter Road17 Three Blind Mice18 Comet Line19 The Last FrontierEpilogueBrief Description: "First published in Great Britain by Icon Books Ltd"--Title page verso. Publisher Marketing: On August 30, 1942 - 'Zero Night' - 40 Allied officers staged the most audacious mass escape of World War II. Months of meticulous planning and secret training hung in the balance during three minutes of mayhem as the officers boldly stormed the huge double fences at Oflag Prison. Employing wooden ladders and bridges previously disguised as bookshelves, the highly coordinated effort succeeded and set 36 men free into the German countryside. Later known as the 'Warburg Wire Job', fellow prisoner and fighter ace Douglas Bader once described the attempt as 'the most brilliant escape conception of this war'. The first author to tackle this remarkable story in detail, historian Mark Felton brilliantly evokes the suspense of the escape and the adventures of those escapees who managed to elude the Germans, as well as the courage of the civilians who risked their lives to help them in enemy territory. Fantastically intimate and told with a novelist's eye for drama and detail, this rip-roaring adventure is all the more thrilling because it really happened. Review Citations:

Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2015 (EAN 9781250073747, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Contributor Bio:  Felton, Mark Mark Felton teaches at Fudan University, Shanghai. He has written an impressive number of successful works on the Second World War such as "The Real Tenko, The Final Betrayal" and "The Last Nazis."