The Great Escape

Executive Summary: The rare case where I probably like the movie better than the book. It's a fascinating tale, but I found parts of it rather slow. 3.5 Stars.

Audiobook: Robert Whitfield does a good job with this. Nonfiction can be a challenge, because if the subject matter isn't very good, an audio book can sound more like a lecture. Even during the parts of this book I found slow, I felt that Mr. Whitfield did a good job.

Full Review
I've been on a bit of a “classic” movie kick the last year or two, so I only just watched The Great Escape recently. I snagged this because of a sale after enjoying the movie, because the book is almost always better than the movie. This however, was a rare case when it wasn't.

I suspect that won't be true for everyone. I like history, but it's not a subject I read about much. I tend to prefer documentaries or dramatizations instead. The story in this book, about an elaborate plan to build not one but three tunnels to escape a German camp during World War Two sounds so incredible that it just screams movie plot.

I found the early going with a lot of the background information rather dry and slow. I imagine history buffs will find that more interesting than I did. I tend to forget names just as soon as I learn them however. Once the meat of the plan got going, I found it quite a fascinating read.

It's by no means a long book. Running around 7.5 hours. The movie is nearly 3. For me personally, I think the movie did a better job in showing the best parts, and cutting out some of the less interesting ones. Your mileage may vary. Either way I'm glad I read the story, but I'd probably recommend renting the movie instead.

Great story, but a bit dry.