In the folklore of World War II, the memory of those heroes who staged 'Great Escapes' from POW camps still endures. But what of the other side of the coin: the villains and jack-the-lads who painstakingly plan their escapes and await their moment at great personal risk? For the first time, Prison Break, tells the stories of all the most ruthless and desperate bad boys and chancers who broke out of gaol and into the annals of criminal history. While no one applauds the escape of a murderer or predator, such men are invariably recaptured within a short time. But in Paul Buck's definitive study of Notorious Prison Escapes, we share the military-style planning and minute-by-minute tension of more 'respected' convicts: those whose major economic or political crimes provide both the criminal support network and the audacious temperament needed to escape from heavy sentences, and maximum security conditions
Оглавление
Paul Buck. Prison Break - True Stories of the World's Greatest Escapes
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
OVER THE WALLS AND FAR AWAY
Time to Go
Going Places
Under Your Noses
Not Stopping
Who Goes There?
Up and Over
Into the Blue Beyond
Forcing the Issue
Beyond the Bounds
Taking Their Leave
Room to Move
Bibliography
Index of Escapees, Would-Be Escapees, and (Named) Associates
Copyright
Отрывок из книги
Title Page
Over the Walls and Far Away
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Sometimes one has to suspend belief at some of the details, for fact has often been more extraordinary than fiction. Reading about some of those who appear within, notwithstanding some of their crimes, the spirit of these people in escaping from incarceration has been far more inspirational than any of the splurge of biographies that our celebrity culture pours out daily.
But our age of celebrity affects villains as much as anyone else. They are no different. The criminal is as much a part of society as a film star, a politician or a lawyer. (Or even a debt collector.)
