SAS Great Escapes Two: Six Untold Epic Escapes Made by World War Two Heroes
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‘Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller’ Lee Child
SAS Great Escapes Two recounts the hitherto untold stories of six of the most dramatic and daring escapes executed by the world’s most famous fighting force during WWII. From the very earliest SAS missions to the push into Nazi-occupied Europe, they cover some of the key figures in the Regiment, including its founder, David Stirling, plus other lesser-known heroes.
With each story comes an edge-of-the-seat, rollercoaster ride in classic Damien Lewis fashion, as readers are plunged into the escapees’ experiences – sharing their most terrifying yet inspiring moments. These stunning accounts of survival beggar belief, revealing nerve-racking bluff and deception, knife-edge encounters with enemy hunter forces hellbent on wreaking vengeance and murder, but also incredible acts of mercy and kindness from those who risk all to help the escapees on their way.
Each tale of breath-taking derring-do reveals how necessity really is the mother of all invention, as with every step and at every juncture these fugitives defied fate, snatching survival and freedom from the jaws of the enemy, and all the horrors that would have followed capture.
Damien Lewis has worked closely with the families of those portrayed, accessing wartime diaries, letters, mission reports, interrogation transcripts and more, to relate how the men of the SAS crossed blazing deserts, evaded enemy hunter forces and escaped through hostile lands, battling against seemingly insurmountable odds. But most of all, these uplifting tales of endurance beyond measure showcase the triumph of the human spirit and the will to survive.
‘Damien Lewis paints a uniquely vivid picture of the wartime SAS. Packed with detail, this fresh and dynamic book brings us as close to its remarkable members as we are ever likely to get.’ Joshua Levine, author of
Dunkirk
‘In these days when we are told to be scared of everything it is a relief to read of steely nerves and cold courage. Damien Lewis has collected examples of exactly these qualities from World War II and they are all thrillers, to be read with pleasure – and a bit of nostalgia!’ Frederick Forsyth
‘The fund of SAS escapes turns out to be too big for one book, and in Damien Lewis there is a writer of rare narrative gifts able to bring alive these epic stories for us today’ Mark Urban
‘An astonishing book: a collection of truly riveting stories of bravery, all brilliantly told. In terms of sheer drama and audacity, SAS: Great Escapes Two goes where no fiction writer would dare venture’ Alex Gerlis, author of Agent in the Shadows
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Additional information
| Publisher | Quercus (25 May 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 352 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1529429382 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1529429381 |
| Dimensions | 16 x 3.6 x 23.8 cm |
by Amazon Customer
There are insufficient superlatives to describe the jaw-dropping courage of the men portrayed in this book. It is utterly humbling to read of their exploits, as all the while you ask yourself: ‘would I have performed as they did?’
Lewis keeps us gripped from start to finish with his signature breathless pose and eye for the details that draw out the characters and background of the quite remarkable men he portrays. We worry that such men no longer exist; that such selflessness, courage, inventiveness and derring-do is lost to our society. Fortunately, it is not, as Lewis’s tales of more recent exploits confirm. This is doubtless happening today in Ukraine and in untold inhospitable corners of the earth and whilst you enjoy this book, spare a thought for the latest generation tasked with keeping us safe.
by Richard
An insight into the story and state of mind of a number of heroes who laboured with unimaginable fortitude. We owe them a debt of gratitude. Hearing their tales, undoubtedly strengthens a reader’s resilience to the challenges of modern life. A brilliant read.
by Kristoffar Endicott
As per usual damien lewis has delivered. Yet more history being brought to the fore about this band of misfits in life but not misfits in the sas buy it u won’t be disappointed!!!!
by Kerr Avon
Another fantastically researched and written book by Lewis, I now have 10 of his Books in my collection.
by MacRankin
Well, no one’s really born to fight, but when your world is in great peril as was theirs’ at a time of great evil and uncertainty, that’s when you’ll find that there are people who’re willing to make the most extraordinary decisions, even when some of those were hampered by older injuries. They still went ahead and joined up, anyway.
A couple of times in its early days the higher ups wanted to disband the SAS. But they really didn’t have a handle on what this war with Germany meant, as did Churchill back then. For them, they may have seen it as ungentlemanly. Well, whatever their view was, it wasn’t the right one we needed back then. And the men of the SAS would do all they could to oblige Churchill’s view, in that regard.
While reading these stories, you may wonder how much more exciting and, or moving it can all feel. Yet, in a way, that’s its joy. One moment, your eyes are racing along at an impossible speed to capture it all, because you want to know it all sooner, and at other times you find yourself maybe wanting to savour some moments a little longer. For me though — at times, me eyes couldn’t keep up. LOL
by Venessa rushton
Delivery was good and the book was in good condition
by David J Powell
This book is superb in its description of “escape” situations endured by SAS member in North Africa, Crete and France. It is not only meticulously researched but is also fast-moving and gripping throughout. Unlike many accounts of WWII it is also very moving in parts and I would recommend that anyone reading the final section of this book is prepared for tears to roll…. without wishing to spoil it, the final few pages are exceptionally beautifully written.
by Kevin Martin
This latest offering by the author recounts 6 short stories of SAS activity during WW2, which do not merit dedicated books, but collectively illustrate a broad picture of the experiences of a few determined special forces servicemen during the war.
I have a problem with the publishers narrative on the fly leaf ‘SAS Great Escapes Two recounts the hitherto untold stories…….’ And then lists in the bibliography and Acknowledgements of the book, much earlier books which highlight the stories, and for a couple I’m sure are the primary source of the accounts ‘recounted’.
The chapters concerned;
1) Bill Fraser and his teams escape from an early desert raid in 1941
2) George Jellicoe and his teams raid on an airfield in Crete during the tense months of June 1942
3) Malcolm Pleydell’s desperate evasion from the compromised raid on Benghazi in Sept 42
4) Johnny Cooper and 2 colleagues unique evasion to achieve the first recorded junction of Eighth and First Armies in North Africa in Jan 43
5) John Tonkin’s decimated Bulbasket team’s survival and extraction from western France in the immediate days after D-Day
6) Herbert Castelow’s survival from the Garstin stick’s compromised drop, which featured in an earlier dedicated Lewis book
The preceding books that recount these stories are all classics of SAS folklore, but as usual the author manages to update where possible and energise the accounts to give them appeal to a 21st Century reader. It’s been a while since I read them, therefore it was a pleasant romp thro classic special forces action – for although the book is framed as great escapes, the chapters predominately covered the intended raid and the participants evasion (chapter one being the exception).
There were 2 notable errors in the book, which merit mention. The first I put down to the publishers, which cringingly repeated the misspelling of Bill Fraser throughout chapter 1. Bill was a proud Scotsman, and would hate to have been recorded under the English spelling of his name, therefore the publishers computer spellchecker was probably to blame (I noted this modern type of error recently in another recent SAS account) – where was the copy editor ?
The second error was a minor one, but worthy of highlighting, which concerned the POW history of David Stirling, with the author highlighting on p197 that he was incarcerated in a Rome prison camp, when in fact he was sent to the impregnable Gavi camp in northern Italy. Stirling, along with Jack Pringle, were the only British POW’s to spend time in both Gavi and Colditz camps, considered the most secure camps of the Axis countries.
An easy read, with generous acknowledgement to sources, I enjoyed this.