In Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis’ Fortress Prison, Ben Macintyre tells the story of one of the most interesting and infamous prisons in history. The prison was used to hold the most rebellious European Allied captives during World War II. Some of whom would go on to make a mark after hostilities concluded. The climax of the account seems fit for a Hollywood ending
Prisoners of the Castle is well-written and well-researched chapter of World War II History. Far from a dry tome, this volume is full of colorful characters and informative insights. To his credit, the author is a master storyteller, and his work reads like a suspense novel, replete with unforeseen twists and turns. Macintyre makes an astute observation that the regular German soldier viewed the war and his adversaries quite differently than the Nazi leadership did. This thought is important as the reader progresses through the book, and an important fact when one considers the war in total.
The reader should be aware that there is some language and irreverent humor in the book. Hopefully, it doesn’t overshadow an informative and entertaining account of one of the most interesting settings of World War II. I highly recommend Prisoners of the Castle to lovers of history everywhere who want to be informed and enlightened about how adversaries interacted with each other in close quarters.
Katherine's Chronicle 