Keith Warren Lloyd

THE GREAT DESERT ESCAPE, by Keith Warren Lloyd, tells the amazing true story of the 25 German U-boat men who escaped a POW camp in Arizona in December 1944. Lloyd elaborates on men who serve on a U-boat and how most of the men ended up at the Papago Park POW camp leading up to the escape. In detail, Lloyd describes how the escape happened, where things went right and wrong on both sides and ultimately what happed to those 25 men, as well as outcomes for many of the US military men that were key participants at camp and during the escape investigation.
POW camp life at Papago Park was casual to say the least and Lloyd make sure to explain in detail the lazy approach to managing the POW's as well as the privileges POW's at Papago Park received that were unnecessarily beyond the norm. Lloyd walks the reader through the geography of the camp and how an escape route was established using the desert landscape and the layout of the camp buildings. Lloyd constantly toes the line on whether the escape happened because of ineptitude of camp management or ingenuity of the German POWs. In the end, while acknowledging the intelligence of the German soldiers, I believe Lloyd puts more blame on management of the camp, which I think Lloyd finds disappointing.
Fascinating look at an event few people today know about, THE GREAT DESERT ESCAPE enlightens and educates the reader in a very entertaining way. The book was a joy to read.
Thank you to Rowman & Littlefield/Lyons Press, Keith Warren Lloyd, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!… (altro)