The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram cover art

The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram

A Compelling Story of Courage and Endurance in the Second World War

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The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram

By: David M. Guss
Narrated by: Joshua Manning
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Summary

'Endlessly fascinating. Cram's story sizzles with adventure.' Giles Milton, Sunday Times

A genuinely new Second World War story, The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram is a riveting account of the wartime exploits of Alastair Cram, brilliantly told by the American author, David Guss. Cram was taken prisoner in North Africa in November 1941, which began a long odyssey through twelve different POW camps, three Gestapo prisons and one asylum. He became a serial escapee – fleeing his captors no fewer than twenty-one times, including his final, and finally successful, escape from a POW column in April 1945.

Perhaps the most dramatic of his attempts was from Gavi, the ‘Italian Colditz’. Gavi was a maximum-security prison near Genoa for the pericolosi, the ‘most dangerous’ inmates because of their perpetual hunger to escape. It was here that Alastair met David Stirling, the legendary founder of the SAS, and cooked up the plan for what would become the ‘Cistern Tunnel’ escape, one of the most audacious but hitherto little-known mass escape attempts of the entire war.

A story of courage in the face of extraordinary odds, it is a testament to one man's dogged determination never to give up.

 20th Century Europe Great Britain Historical Military Military & War Modern World War II War Africa
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Critic reviews

Endlessly fascinating. Cram’s story sizzles with adventure and the author plays it for all it is worth. I found myself rooting for his hero at every scrape and turn.
The story of Alastair Cram is a remarkable one, perhaps richer for having remained untold for so long . . . a book that ranks among the best escape literature
An enthralling portrait of true courage
An extraordinary story, vividly told.
Reads like a John Buchan novel.
[A] masterful account . . . Harrowing and deeply touching 21 Escapes pays homage to an inspiring figure and the determination of the human spirit.
All stars
Most relevant
This is the second time I have listened to this audio book. The story is even more epic then the first reading. The unbelievable hardships these men endured and the power of mind and body to over come them. The last sentence was so sad but uplifting it brought a tear to my eye.
Fantastic story beautifully told.

What a story

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Just when you think this book is going to run out of steam it picks up the pace.

It carries on doing this right until the end of the last chapter

Lt Alastair Cram was a giant amongst men and this book pays a moving testament to his life, both during and after WW2.

Download it today - you won’t regret it.

An exceptional retelling of an exceptional life

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Amazong man with an amazing atory. They were a different breed back then. Many other interesting stories along with Alastair's here.

Different class

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An army officer from Perthshire would be highly unlikely to have a drunken Gorbals pirate accent. It’s a huge distraction to the story because vowells are elongated bent out of shape, pronunciation of nearly every proper noun is incorrect, and crass errors: David Stirling was in the Scots Guards not the Scots Guard; at least his personification isn’t like a punchdrunk brawler from Dundee. I am about halfway through and determined to persevere, but the fact that I’ve written this, rather than listen to that, is indicative.

Good story, weird production choices

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It would be great if the narrator was able to pronounce even the most basic place name or description - the mispronunciations of place names, descriptive nouns was horrendous. To pronounce 'gelignite' with a hard 'g' took the biscuit.

Narrator unable to pronounce just about everything

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