Great escapes and rescues : an encyclopedia

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Title:

Great escapes and rescues : an encyclopedia

Author:

Howard, Roger, 1966-

ISBN:

9781576070321

Publication Information:

Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c1999.

Physical Description:

256 p. : some illustrations (photographs and drawings).

Subject Term:

Summary:

Alphabetical arrangement of particular escapes and rescues in history special emphasis on war prisoners and civilian from medieval England through the more famous of recent events.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	904.7 HOW	Searching... Unknown

In this entertaining and informative encyclopedia, disguises, ruses, stratagems, capers, devices, rescues, and plots abound. Topics range from a pâpiér-mache POW substitute and Bonnie Prince Charlie's successful 1746 masquerade as a maid to a British airman's short-lived escape from a German hospital wearing a nurse's cap and cape--and enormous flying boots and a luxuriant mustache. Each story is a tribute to ingenuity, perseverance, courage, and indomitable will. The A-Z entries, many of them illustrated, suggest sources for pursuing each subject further.

Author Notes

Roger Howard is a professional writer.

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-In his introduction, Howard explains that he has adopted "a wide perspective" on his subject "not only to inform but to entertain" general readers. However, those who pick up this encyclopedia for enjoyment or research will find confusing writing and articles that are either irrelevantly long or too cursory. Topics include the "Iranian Hostage Rescue Operation," the fictional character "Eliza Harris" from Uncle Tom's Cabin, "Imprisonment in Medieval England," the "Apollo 13" disaster, and "Harry Houdini." The criteria for inclusion here is ill-defined and sometimes questionable. For example, credibility is stretched when the Hackensack River merits an article because George Washington crossed it to escape the British, and the information on relatively unknown subjects such as Victor Klemperer and Joshua Barney is neither thorough nor helpful, frequently depending on weak links to other articles. References are made without explanation; MI5 is mentioned under the "Cambridge Spy Ring" of 1951, but nowhere does it say that this is the British Security Service. Sources are not always mentioned. The author has collected a great deal of material here, but his effort lacks consistency.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

This volume consists of more than 200 entries on people, places, and events that the author feels are related to escapes and rescues. Although escape narratives commonly stress escapes from prisons and prison camps or dangerous animals, this encyclopedia has a political and military orientation in addition to the adventure element. In his introduction, Howard says, among other things, that he is not only offering narratives about escapes and rescues but clues about successful ones and insights into the mind of escapees and their captors. The prefatory section, called "Entries by Category," demonstrates the kinds of information to be found here. There are entries under civil escapees and rescuers (e.g., Charles Edward Stuart, Mandela United Football Club); civil prisoners (Medieval England, imprisonment in; Schindler, Oskar); soldiers and the military (Cortes, Hernan; Mussolini, Benito); and 16 entries under terrorism and terrorists. The length of entries runs from a short paragraph to several pages for articles on such topics as Apollo 13, the Iron Curtain, the Titanic, and the Vietnam War. The scope is eclectic: Harry Houdini, the Khmer Rouge, Mohammed, Papillon, and the Underground Railroad all receive coverage. Each article is written with style, giving blow-by-blow accounts of how escapes were made or, in some cases, thwarted. There is a recognizable amount of British bias in the articles on Zionist terrorism and the English presence in India. Most accounts give a reference to the author's source and direct the reader to related entries. The bibliography includes many titles published in England that may not be available in U.S. libraries. This encyclopedia should be of interest to history buffs of all ages and could be used in middle and high schools to augment studies of World War II or the Civil War, because many of the entries relate to these conflicts. The reluctant reader will find this a good browse. Buy where need exists and money allows.

Choice Review

Howard's potpourri of entertaining and educational entries includes famous and not-so-famous examples of human courage, ingenuity, and indomitable will. The author, a freelance writer and historian, intends to provide a wide perspective and include newly discovered facts about past escapes and rescues. His book contains a wealth of historical information and an eclectic mix of events that pique curiosity and encourage further research. Included are escapes of personages like Napoleon Bonaparte, Jacques Casanova, Union soldiers at Andersonville Prison during the Civil War, and Mary Queen of Scots, and the rescues of astronauts from Apollo 13, survivors of the Titanic, and hostages at Entebbe. The entries, several illustrated, range in length from a paragraph to several pages and cover almost every era in history on every continent, though the majority took place in the 20th century. Easy to read and alphabetically arranged, with see also references, a list of entries by category, and a detailed bibliography and index, this is an interesting and informative volume for beginning researchers or general readers. D. J. Turner; Auraria Library

Library Journal Review

This volume collects, in one place, information on history's greatest "escapes and rescues." Arranged both alphabetically and topically, it covers a quirky array of events, from the slave revolt led by Spartacus in the first century B.C.E. to the Peruvian Embassy Siege of 1997. Entries, which are in essay form, range in length from a paragraph to several pages and include a chronological account of each event, bibliographic references, and See also references. The author, a freelance journalist and historian, writes informally and capably, peppering his prose with colorful adjectives (dramatic, desperate, fantastic, swashbuckling, and ingenious). Although seemingly narrow in scope, this is actually a useful, focused historical encyclopedia. Recommended for public reference librarians.ÄMarilyn Rosenthal, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

List of Entries by Category	p. vii
Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
Acre Castle	p. 1
Afghanistan: The flight of the Russian air crew	p. 2
Air, escape by	p. 3
Alcatraz	p. 4
Algeria	p. 7
Al-Ould	p. 7
Amethyst	p. 9
Andersonville	p. 10
Apollo 13	p. 11
Arnhem	p. 13
Asrar al-Qabandi	p. 14
Attica Prison	p. 15
Auschwitz	p. 15
Aylward, Gladys	p. 17
Bailey, Lt. Col. Frederick	p. 19
Bangkok Airport	p. 20
Barney, Joshua	p. 21
The Bastille	p. 21
Belbenoit, Rene	p. 22
Ben Bella, Ahmed	p. 23
Beniowski, Count Maurice	p. 24
Berlin, Battle for	p. 25
Berlin Blockade	p. 26
Berlin Wall	p. 27
Biggs, Ronald	p. 30
Bitche Fortress	p. 30
Blake, George	p. 31
Blount, Father Henry	p. 33
Bonney, William H.	p. 34
Boston Massacre	p. 35
Bounty	p. 36
Bray, John	p. 37
Brixton Prison	p. 37
Broad, Lt. Col. Richard	p. 38
Brooklyn Heights	p. 39
Brown, Henry	p. 39
Buckley, Everett	p. 40
Burns, Robert Eliot	p. 40
Cabanatuan	p. 43
Cambridge Spy Ring	p. 43
Camp Morton	p. 45
Casanova, Jacques	p. 45
Catholic church, rescue by	p. 46
Cavell, Edith	p. 47
Cebekhulu, Katiza	p. 49
Chandos, Sydney, earl of Cardigan	p. 50
Charles Edward Stuart	p. 51
Charles Stuart	p. 52
Chavasse, Noel	p. 54
Chitral	p. 55
Chrastny, Nikolaus	p. 57
Churchill, Sir Winston L. S.	p. 57
Cody, William F.	p. 59
Colditz	p. 61
Collet, Charles	p. 62
Columbia Prison	p. 63
Conley, Capt. Edward	p. 64
"Cooper, D. B."	p. 64
Corregidor	p. 65
Cortes, Hernan	p. 65
Crumlin Road Prison	p. 66
Cuba, escape from	p. 66
Curion, Coelius Secundus	p. 67
Curragh	p. 67
Dalai Lama XIV of Tibet	p. 69
Davao Penal Colony, Mindanao	p. 69
De Gaulle, Charles	p. 70
De Marenches, Alexandre	p. 70
De Valera, Eamonn	p. 70
Deane-Drummond, Anthony	p. 72
Dengler, Lt. Dieter	p. 72
Dikko, Umaru	p. 73
Dith Pran	p. 73
Dodge, John	p. 75
Dunkirk	p. 77
Dutch train rescue	p. 78
Egyptian embassy	p. 81
Entebbe	p. 81
Escape attempts	p. 83
Execution, escape from	p. 85
Fanning, David	p. 89
Foley, Frank	p. 89
Forgery and impersonation	p. 90
Franco-Prussian War	p. 92
French Guiana	p. 92
Fugitive Slave Laws	p. 93
Gambetta, Leon	p. 95
Gambian rescue	p. 96
Garibaldi, Giuseppe	p. 97
German secret service	p. 98
Giraud, Gen. Henri	p. 99
Glass, Charles	p. 99
Gordievsky, Oleg	p. 100
The Great Escape	p. 102
Grimson, George	p. 103
Grotius, Hugo	p. 104
Hackensack River	p. 107
Haldane, Capt. Aylmer	p. 107
"Harris, Eliza"	p. 108
Hinds, Alfie	p. 108
Holzminden	p. 109
Houdini, Harry	p. 110
Iranian embassy siege	p. 113
Iranian hostage rescue operation	p. 115
Irian Jaya	p. 117
Iron Curtain	p. 118
Japanese army, prisoners of	p. 121
Kabul	p. 125
Kalbowski, Harry	p. 125
Kandahar	p. 126
Kashmir	p. 127
Kennedy, John F.	p. 127
Kerensky, Aleksandr	p. 127
Khe Sahn	p. 128
Khmer Rouge	p. 130
King David Hotel	p. 131
Klemperer, Victor	p. 132
Koldyczewo Camp	p. 132
Kolwezi	p. 132
Korea	p. 133
Kosovo	p. 134
Latude, Henri Masers de	p. 135
Lawrence, Thomas Edward	p. 135
Le Chambon	p. 137
Lebrun, Lt. Pierre	p. 137
Lefebre, Gen. Louis	p. 138
Libby Prison	p. 138
Logan, Harvey	p. 140
Long Kesh Prison	p. 141
The Long March	p. 141
Louis XVIII	p. 142
Louis Napoleon	p. 143
Louis Phillipe	p. 144
Lucan, Lord Richard John	p. 144
Lucknow	p. 146
Ludendorff, Erich	p. 146
MacArthur, Douglas	p. 147
Magdeburg Prison	p. 148
Malmedy	p. 149
Mandela United Football Club	p. 149
Maple Leaf	p. 149
Maroon communities	p. 150
Mary, Queen of Scots	p. 151
Masaryk, Tomas	p. 153
Matilda, Empress	p. 153
Maze Prison	p. 154
McGartland, Martin	p. 155
McVicar, John	p. 156
Medieval England, imprisonment in	p. 157
MIS-X, M19	p. 158
Mitchell, Frank	p. 159
Modena train break	p. 160
Mogadishu plane rescue	p. 161
Mohammed	p. 162
Morgan, Gen. John	p. 163
Mossad	p. 164
Moundsville Penitentiary, West Virginia	p. 165
Munich	p. 166
Mussolini, Benito	p. 166
My Lai	p. 168
Myagkov, Capt. Aleksei	p. 169
Nadir, Asil	p. 171
Napoleon Bonaparte	p. 171
Napoleonic Wars	p. 171
Nazaroff, Paul	p. 172
New York	p. 173
Nijmegen	p. 173
Norway	p. 174
O'Grady, Scott	p. 177
Paine, Thomas	p. 179
Palestine	p. 179
Papillon (Henri Charriere)	p. 179
Parker, John	p. 181
Peruvian embassy siege	p. 182
Peterhead Prison	p. 184
Pignata, Giuseppe	p. 185
Pitman, Henry	p. 185
Pluschow, Gunther	p. 185
Potter, Arthur	p. 186
Prendergast, Sgt. John	p. 187
Press gangs, escape from	p. 187
Probyn, Walter	p. 188
Pym, John	p. 189
Rawicz, Slavomir	p. 191
Rescue attempts	p. 192
Rowe, James "Nick"	p. 193
Russian Revolution and civil war	p. 194
Rwandan genocide	p. 195
"Ryan, Chris,"	p. 195
Sadat, Anwar	p. 197
Saigon	p. 197
Salado Prison, Mexico	p. 199
Salisbury Prison, Virginia	p. 199
San Quentin	p. 199
Santa Fe, New Mexico	p. 200
Schindler, Oscar	p. 201
Sea, escape and rescue at	p. 202
Servitude, escape into	p. 203
Sheppard, Jack	p. 204
Sing Sing	p. 204
Sobibor Concentration Camp	p. 205
Sparks, John	p. 206
Spartacus	p. 206
Spooner, Lt. Col. Pat	p. 207
Stalin, Joseph	p. 208
Tall, Robert	p. 211
Tchernavin family	p. 211
Tehran	p. 212
The Terror	p. 212
Titanic	p. 214
Tokyo, raid on	p. 216
Tower of London	p. 216
Trenck, Baron Frederick Von Der	p. 219
Trotsky, Leon	p. 220
Underground Railroad	p. 223
U.S. prisoner of war camps	p. 225
Valcour Island	p. 227
Vienna	p. 227
Vietnam War	p. 228
Von Trapp Family Singers	p. 229
Wagner, Richard	p. 231
Wallenberg, Raoul	p. 231
Warburg	p. 233
Ward Road Prison, Shanghai	p. 233
Werra, Franz von	p. 234
Wilson, Charlie	p. 236
Wooden Horse	p. 237
Zwickau Prison	p. 239
Bibliography	p. 241
Index	p. 247

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Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Booklist Review

Choice Review

Library Journal Review

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