The Great Desert Escape
How the Flight of 25 German Prisoners of War Sparked One of the Largest Manhunts in American History
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Narrated by:
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Noah Michael Levine
About this listen
Dramatic, highly listenable, and painstakingly researched, The Great Desert Escape brings to light a little-known escape by 25 determined German sailors from an American prisoner-of-war camp.The disciplined Germans tunneled unnoticed through rock-hard, sunbaked soil and crossed the unforgiving Arizona desert. They were heading for Mexico, where there were sympathizers who could help them return to their fatherland. It was the only large-scale domestic escape by foreign prisoners in US history. Wrung from contemporary newspaper articles, interviews, and first-person accounts from escapees and the law enforcement officers who pursued them, The Great Desert Escape brings history to life.
At the US Army’s prisoner-of-war camp at Papago Park just outside of Phoenix, life was, at the best of times, uneasy for the German Kreigsmariners. On the outside of their prison fences were Americans who wanted nothing more than to see them die slow deaths for their perceived roles in killing fathers and brothers in Europe. Many of these German prisoners had heard rumors of execution for those who escaped. On the inside were rabid Nazis determined to get home and continue the fight. At Papago Park in March 1944, a newly arrived prisoner who was believed to have divulged classified information to the Americans was murdered - hung in one of the barracks by seven of his fellow prisoners.
The prisoners of war dug a tunnel six feet deep and 178 feet long, finishing in December 1944. Once free of the camp, the 25 Germans scattered. The cold and rainy weather caused several of the escapees to turn themselves in. One attempted to hitchhike his way into Phoenix, his accent betraying him. Others lived like coyotes among the rocks and caves overlooking Papago Park. All the while, the escapees were pursued by soldiers, federal agents, police, and native American trackers determined to stop them from reaching Mexico and freedom.
©2019 Keith Warren Lloyd (P)2019 Keith Warren LloydListeners also enjoyed...
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Extra. Ordinary.
- By Anonymous User on 12-15-21
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Taking Paris
- The Epic Battle for the City of Lights
- By: Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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May 1940: The world is stunned as Hitler's forces invade France with a devastating blitzkrieg aimed at Paris. Within weeks, the French government has collapsed, and the City of Lights, revered for its carefree lifestyle, intellectual freedom, and love of liberty, has fallen under Nazi control — perhaps forever.
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Incorrectly titled
- By Mike From Mesa on 01-11-22
By: Martin Dugard
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The Jedburghs
- The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944
- By: Will Irwin
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The first full history of the pioneering Special Forces units of World War II, dropped behind German lines into France to assist with the D-Day landings, told by a former U.S. Special Forces colonel with unique access to surviving veterans.
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Really Enjoyed It
- By Alex on 01-19-06
By: Will Irwin
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Donovan's Devils
- OSS Commandos Behind Enemy Lines - Europe, World War II
- By: Albert Lulushi
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The OSS - Office of Strategic Services - created under the command of William Donovan, has been celebrated for its cloak-and-dagger operations during World War II and as the precursor of the CIA. As the "Oh So Social", it has also been portrayed as a club for the well-connected before, during, and after the war.
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Unique Look
- By Darren Sapp on 03-09-17
By: Albert Lulushi
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But Not in Shame
- The Six Months After Pearl Harbor
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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What were the events which determined the Pearl Harbor catastrophe? What were the last few days on Wake Island like? What really occurred on the infamous Bataan Death March, and why did it happen? How did MacArthur make his dramatic escape from Corregidor? And what is the story behind the greatest capitulation in American history, General Wainwright’s forced surrender of the Philippines?
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Great story
- By dexter on 03-03-20
By: John Toland
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Churchill's Band of Brothers
- WWII's Most Daring D-Day Mission and the Hunt to Take Down Hitler's Fugitive War Criminals
- By: Damien Lewis
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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On the night of June 13th, 1944, a 12-man SAS unit parachuted into occupied France. Their objective: hit German forces deep behind the lines, cutting the rail-tracks linking Central France to the northern coastline. In a country crawling with enemy troops, their mission was to prevent Hitler from rushing his Panzer divisions to the D-Day beaches and driving the Allied troops back into the sea. It was a Herculean task, but no risk was deemed too great to stop the Nazi assault.
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Fascinating story of incredible bravery.
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 10-02-21
By: Damien Lewis
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Shadow Commander
- The Epic Story of Donald D. Blackburn - Guerrilla Leader and Special Forces Hero
- By: Mike Guardia
- Narrated by: Jason Huggins
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The fires on Bataan burned on the evening of April 9, 1942 - illuminating the white flags of surrender against the nighttime sky. Woefully outnumbered, outgunned, and ill-equipped, battered remnants of the American-Philippine army surrendered to the forces of the Rising Sun. Yet amongst the chaos and devastation of the American defeat, Army Captain Donald D. Blackburn refused to lay down his arms.
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A great tale of an unsung American hero and Special Forces legend.
- By Thomas Le Min on 08-21-16
By: Mike Guardia
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Undefeated
- America's Heroic Fight for Bataan and Corregidor
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Abandoned by their government, the men and women of the American garrison struggled against impossible military odds, rampant disease, and slow starvation to delay inevitable surrender by the largest American military force ever. Rather than picturing these defenders as little more than helpless victims of an overwhelmingly powerful and sadistic enemy-as most previous books about the Philippines campaign have done- Undefeated credits American troops with the unexcelled heroism and indomitable spirit they displayed under the worst imaginable conditions.
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Mesmerizing
- By Amazon Customer on 03-30-17
By: Bill Sloan
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Given Up for Dead
- America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: David Cochran Heath
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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On December 8, 1941, just five hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes attacked a remote US outpost in the westernmost reaches of the Pacific. It was the beginning of an incredible 16-day fight for Wake Island, a tiny but strategically valuable dot in the ocean. Unprepared for the stunning assault, the small battalion was dangerously outnumbered and outgunned. But they compensated with a surplus of bravery and perseverance, waging an extraordinary battle against all odds.
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For want of a nail...
- By Kindle Customer on 07-21-21
By: Bill Sloan
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The Last Battle
- When US and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe
- By: Stephen Harding
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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May 1945. Hitler is dead, and the Third Reich is little more than smoking rubble. No GI wants to be the last man killed in action against the Nazis. But for cigar-chewing, rough-talking, hard-drinking, hard-charging Captain Jack Lee and his men, there is one more mission: rescue 14 prominent French prisoners held in an SS-guarded castle high in the Austrian Alps. It's a dangerous mission, but Lee has help from a decorated German Wehrmacht officer and his men, who voluntarily join the fight.
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A Maddening Book
- By Reggie on 09-23-17
By: Stephen Harding
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One Thousand Miles to Freedom
- A British Soldier's Impossible WWII Escape from the Burma Railway of Death
- By: Mark Felton
- Narrated by: Mark Felton
- Length: 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The thrilling true story of a British Army soldier who was determined to break free from Japanese captivity in World War II. Corporal Roy Pagani staged a daring escape from the Burma-Thailand Railway of Death, after already escaping twice from captivity, and set out to walk 1,000 miles to freedom in India through some of the most challenging landscape in the world. Along to way he endures great hardships, joins a guerrilla force, launches daring raids against the Japanese and faces betrayal and torture at every step. Can he make it to freedom where none have yet succeeded?
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Splendid story of human perseverance and determination.
- By S. H. Moore on 01-12-20
By: Mark Felton
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Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs
- The Unknown Story of World War II's OSS
- By: Patrick K. O'Donnell
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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"A revealing look into the intrigue and extraordinary courage of our intelligence gatherers of World War II. A rare combination of suspense thriller and true heroism by a great American writer." (Clive Cussler, New York Times best-selling author)
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Great book...
- By Nicholas G. on 05-11-05
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Taking Berlin
- The Bloody Race to Defeat the Third Reich
- By: Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Fall, 1944. Paris has been liberated, saved from destruction, but this diversion on the road to Berlin has given the Germans time to regroup. The American and British armies press on from the west, facing the enemy time and again in the Hurtgen Forest, during the Market-Garden invasion, and at the Battle of the Bulge, all while American general George Patton and British field marshal Bernard Montgomery vie for supremacy as the Allies’ top battlefield commander.
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Great until personal politics showed up
- By UP North on 12-16-22
By: Martin Dugard
What listeners say about The Great Desert Escape
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 11-10-21
Good historical read.
Well done, enjoyed the story....only issue was the pronunciation of Gila River and Palo Verde incorrectly over and over. Research the area and local names before reading to the masses...
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