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quietkat's review
4.0
War stories are usually about what happened. The story of Colditz, by contrast, is largely a tale of inactivity, a long procession of duplicate days when little of note occurred, punctuated by moments of intense excitement.
I honestly could not have asked for a more perfect summary of the feel of Prisoners of the Castle.
While POTC offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the prisoners within the walls of the Colditz castle POW camp as well as those of some of the more prominent guards of the castle, at times, it was a bit of a slog. As I mentioned in one of my status updates, the content is well researched & entertaining but the storytelling could have benefitted from more critical editing and paring down of some of the extraneous detail. The individual stories within this book are fascinating, enlightening and engaging but interspersed between and within these stories are trivial, extraneous details that bog down the narrative. Not even 50%, I began to feel the drag to the point I low key wanted to quit. Forging on was absolutely worth it though as POTC is filled with information and stories that are surprising, shocking, inspiring and humorous as well as those that are heartbreaking, enraging and saddening.
Having read many WWII books and memoirs, Prisoners of the Castle is a new and unique addition to my WWII library that helps to broaden my perspective and understanding of the war and lives of those touched by it.
I tend to prefer to read a book before listening to the audiobook but in this case, I think I would have preferred to listen to the audiobook from the outset. The audio sample sounds good and I may return to it some day.
3.75 -4 stars
I honestly could not have asked for a more perfect summary of the feel of Prisoners of the Castle.
While POTC offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the prisoners within the walls of the Colditz castle POW camp as well as those of some of the more prominent guards of the castle, at times, it was a bit of a slog. As I mentioned in one of my status updates, the content is well researched & entertaining but the storytelling could have benefitted from more critical editing and paring down of some of the extraneous detail. The individual stories within this book are fascinating, enlightening and engaging but interspersed between and within these stories are trivial, extraneous details that bog down the narrative. Not even 50%, I began to feel the drag to the point I low key wanted to quit. Forging on was absolutely worth it though as POTC is filled with information and stories that are surprising, shocking, inspiring and humorous as well as those that are heartbreaking, enraging and saddening.
Having read many WWII books and memoirs, Prisoners of the Castle is a new and unique addition to my WWII library that helps to broaden my perspective and understanding of the war and lives of those touched by it.
I tend to prefer to read a book before listening to the audiobook but in this case, I think I would have preferred to listen to the audiobook from the outset. The audio sample sounds good and I may return to it some day.
3.75 -4 stars
lindarlissima's review against another edition
5.0
Another five-star book by Ben Macintyre. I knew nothing about Colditz before picking up this book, despite numerous memoirs, histories and documentaries about it. It was fascinating how there was this little gentlemanly prison oasis in the middle of WWII. Great character studies, escape stories, and fun. Such a bizarre world was created in this castle and sometimes the interactions were absolutely absurd. This was the first I heard about the Swiss government overseeing relations between POWs and their captors. While I applaud the bureaucratic heroism of the Swiss official tasked with overseeing conditions at Colditz, I was absolutely infuriated with the conspicuous absence of the Swiss at every other damned prison in Germany, including the slave labor camp THREE MILES AWAY. Did nobody really honestly have no idea? I assumed no foreign government was allowed in but apparently not! But that’s not the story of this book.
As with all non-fiction histories, it’s sometimes hard to keep all the characters straight, but Macintyre does a good job reminding you who each guy is. He also has a playful writing style that helps you see the humor of some of the situations.
As with all non-fiction histories, it’s sometimes hard to keep all the characters straight, but Macintyre does a good job reminding you who each guy is. He also has a playful writing style that helps you see the humor of some of the situations.
inwit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.0
bradpetovello's review against another edition
4.0
Detailed the many escape attempts throughout the war, the 'big players' on either side of the prison (POW and German jailors), how the progress of the war impacted the workings of the prison, and how social order within the prison compared to social order out of the prison. A great read!
fictionwriter's review against another edition
4.0
I listen to the audiobook version of anything, Ben McIntyre writes. His mastery of the shady characters who work as spies on both sides of political divides are always riveting.
firstwords's review against another edition
3.0
About a third longer than it needed to be as a story, but it goes into detail of all escapes, so as a record it was just the right length. As I read it, I kept wondering why certain stories were kept in since they didnt advance the larger narrative, then reminded myself that the author was writing a complete account, and wanted to portray daily life, even if some of the details recounted dont add anything to the narrative.