The Grand Escape: The Greatest Prison Breakout of the 20th Century
At the height of World
War I, as Allied and German forces battled in the trenches and in the
air, any captured soldiers and pilots were sent to a web of German
prisons. The most dangerous POWs, the ones most talented at escape, were
sent to the camp of Holzminden--better known as "Hellminden." Protected
by every barrier imaginable, its rules enforced with cruel precision,
the prison was the pride of a ruthless commandant named Karl Niemeyer.
This
is the story of a group of ingenious and defiant Allied pilots and
soldiers who dared to escape from Holzminden, right under Niemeyer's
nose. Leading a team that tunneled underneath the prison and far beyond
its walls, these breakout artists forged documents, smuggled in
supplies, and bribed guards. Twice the tunnel was almost exposed, and
the whole plan foiled. But in the end, a group of ten POWs escaped and
made it out of enemy territory in the biggest breakout of WWI, which
inspired their countrymen in the darkest hours of the war.
Neal Bascomb
Neal Bascomb is a national
award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of a number of
books, all non-fiction narratives, all focused on inspiring stories of
adventure or achievement. His work has been translated into over 18
languages, featured in several documentaries, and optioned for major
film and television projects.
Born in Colorado and raised in St.
Louis, he is the product of public school and lots of time playing
hockey. He earned a double degree in Economics and English Literature at
Miami University (Ohio), lived in Europe for several years as a
journalist (London, Dublin, and Paris), and worked as an editor at St.
Martin’s Press (New York). In 2000, he started writing books full time.
His
first book HIGHER was selected for the Barnes and Noble Discover Great
New Writer award and was featured in a History Channel documentary. His
second THE PERFECT MILE was a New York Times bestseller and frequently
ranks as one of the top books on running. His third RED MUTINY won the
United States Maritime Literature Award and critical acclaim around the
world. His fourth HUNTING EICHMANN was an international bestseller and
led to a young adult edition called NAZI HUNTERS that was the 2014
winner of the YALSA Award, Sydney Taylor Book Award (Gold Medal), among
numerous others. His fifth book THE NEW COOL was optioned by major
producer Scott Rudin for film. His sixth ONE MORE STEP, focused on the
first man with cerebral palsy to climb Kilimanjaro and finish the Kona
Ironman, was a New York Times bestseller as well.
An avid hiker, skier, and coffee drinker, he is happily settled in Seattle, Washington with his family.
D-Day: The World War II Invasion That Changed History
The WWII invasion known as D-Day
was the largest military endeavor in history. By June 6, 1944, Hitler
and his allies had a strong grip on the European continent, where Nazi
Germany was engaged in the mass extermination of the Jewish people. The
goal of D-Day was the total defeat of Hitler's regime, and the defense
of free democracies everywhere. Knowing they had to breach the French
coast, the US, Great Britain, and Canada planned for the impossible.
D-Day
was an invasion not for conquest, but liberation, and required years to
plan and total secrecy to keep the advantage of surprise. Once
deployed, Operation Overlord involved soldiers, sailors, paratroopers,
and specialists. Acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson weaves together the
contributions of not only D-Day's famous players, but African Americans,
women, journalists, and service members in a masterful tapestry of
official documents, personal narratives, and archival photos to bring
this decisive battle to vivid, thrilling life.
Deborah Hopkinson
She has won
the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text twice, for A Band of
Angels and Apples to Oregon. Sky Boys, How They Built the Empire State
Building, was a Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awardee. She lives near
Portland, Oregon.
The Great Trouble, A Mystery of London, the
Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel won the OCTE Oregon Spirit Award and
was named a Best Book of 2013 by School Library Journal and an Oregon
Book Award finalist.
In 2017, Deborah's awards include the Leslie
Bradshaw Oregon Book Award for Courage and Defiance; the Jane Addams
Peace Association award for Steamboat School; and the Green Earth
Environmental Stewardship Award for Follow the Moon Home, which was also
a finalist for the Cook STEM prize. Her middle grade novel A Bandit's
Tale, The Muddled Misadventures of a Pickpocket was a Charlotte Huck
Recommended book for fiction.
Visit her on the web at www.deborahhopkinson.com and follow her on Twitter at @deborahopkinson.
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