Stalag Luft III: The Secret Story

Rating:
Summary: Accuracy of the book is good
Review: For the record, my father was interned at this camp as an Army Air Corp prisoner. He is no longer living and passed away in 1973 at the age of 54. I was only 18 at the time. He was not very open about his experience however what he did tell me about the camp was often repeated and brought back to life "in detail" in this book. This is a must read for those interested in our military when the soldiers fought a much different battle and served for a great purpose.

Rating:
Summary: Accuracy of the book is good
Review: For the record, my father was interned at this camp as an Army Air Corp prisoner. He is no longer living and passed away in 1973 at the age of 54. I was only 18 at the time. He was not very open about his experience however what he did tell me about the camp was often repeated and brought back to life "in detail" in this book. This is a must read for those interested in our military when the soldiers fought a much different battle and served for a great purpose.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good POW Book
Review: I did not do my research when buying this book, but luckily, it ended up having very good value. I was more interested in reading about "The Great Escape," which is covered in this book since it took place at the camp. However, it is only mentioned in a chapter or two.

Nonetheless, the book covers the span of most of WWII. There are great tales of prisoner life. Very detailed with regards to the German POW system and how Allied prisoners lived.

It reads more like a term paper and not so much like an adventure story. Sort of like you're watching a history channel special on "German POW camps." So if you're looking for a story, I don't think you'll be happy with this. It's more a research piece. The author gives you glimpses into the procedures, day to day life, etc.

Every facet of camp life is covered and for that, he gets excellent marks. Details about food, contraband, holidays, leisure activities, building the camps, administration of the camps, etc. etc. It's all here. There are some tales about the actual prisoners. But I don't think this is the book's strong point. It excels in the nuts and bolts of POW camps and POW life, however does not delve too deeply into their stories.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good POW Book
Review: I did not do my research when buying this book, but luckily, it ended up having very good value. I was more interested in reading about "The Great Escape," which is covered in this book since it took place at the camp. However, it is only mentioned in a chapter or two.

Nonetheless, the book covers the span of most of WWII. There are great tales of prisoner life. Very detailed with regards to the German POW system and how Allied prisoners lived.

It reads more like a term paper and not so much like an adventure story. Sort of like you're watching a history channel special on "German POW camps." So if you're looking for a story, I don't think you'll be happy with this. It's more a research piece. The author gives you glimpses into the procedures, day to day life, etc.

Every facet of camp life is covered and for that, he gets excellent marks. Details about food, contraband, holidays, leisure activities, building the camps, administration of the camps, etc. etc. It's all here. There are some tales about the actual prisoners. But I don't think this is the book's strong point. It excels in the nuts and bolts of POW camps and POW life, however does not delve too deeply into their stories.

Rating:
Summary: Stalag Luft III: The Secret Story
Review: I found this book to be interesting and pretty complete. I would have like to have seen more information on various escapes but it did give good insight into what the Air Force POWs went through. I would suspect that the experience of our regular ground soldiers had a much harding time and would have give a much bleaker view of life in a POW camp.