Just Had This EXCELLENT Book Delivered....

MutleyRules · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 11:18 am

I read it years ago after a mate lent me it....forget about Andy McNab et al....this is a True Story of REAL Survival!!!! :coool:

I'd been looking for a copy for years!!!!

I got the 1957 Edition in Hardbook with Cover and in Mint condition....apart from the dust like!!!! confised

Isn't the Internet great for finding stuff!!!! :coool:

Here's a few reviews off Amazon....

"March 29, 1943; occupied Norway. It was a small mission in a large war: infiltrate a 4-man team of expatriate Norwegian commandos and their equipment into Norway. They had spent 6 days at sea in a small fishing boat, carefully making their way from the Shetland Islands to the far north coast of Norway. In sight of their homeland for the first time in years, the mission went terribly wrong. The commandos and the boat crew were betrayed to the occupying German forces, and in a short but vicious firefight, 1 commando was killed and 2 others plus the 8-man boat crew were captured. The German occupying forces tortured 2 of the men to death and stood the others in front of a firing squad. The fourth commando, a former instrument maker from Oslo named Jan Baalsrud, evaded capture, and on June 1, 1943, escaped from occupied Norway into Sweden.

First published in 1955, it is the remarkable story of the escape of Jan Baalsrud, an epic of endurance and heroism. If this were a work of fiction, it would be considered outlandish. However, 10 years after the incident, historian David Howarth carefully reconstructed and verified the story, interviewing not only Baalsrud himself, but many of the Norwegians who aided in his escape. In simple, but elegant language, without histrionics, he portrays the stark realities of a failed unconventional warfare mission: sudden unexpected firefight, prisoners of war executed, local civilian resistance workers deported to death camps, and a headlong flight into the cold of the far north spring. Yet, this is much more than a war story. It is the story of an ordinary man placed into an extraordinary situation, and the many other ordinary people who when called on rose to the occasion and risked their lives to save a single man.
Much of the time, the environment was as much the enemy as the Germans. Avalanches, storms, cold, and darkness should have killed Baalsrud several times over, yet he survived. I must confess to having to suppress shudders when at one point a Norwegian farm family treats the badly frostbitten and probably hypothermic Baalsrud by rubbing his feet with snow. Crippled, Baalsrud became entirely dependent on the courage and self-sacrifice of the inhabitants of several remote villages. At one point, he was hidden in a snow trench for several weeks, crippled and unable to move. Villagers had to climb several miles up the walls of a fjord to bring him supplies every few days, usually at night to avoid detection by the Germans.
The full story of Baalsrud's escape I will leave for readers to discover. I will say that it is a measure of the quiet heroism of Jan Baalsrud that the end of the war found him once again in occupied Norway, on another mission behind enemy lines, fighting to free his country from occupation.
We Die Alone is a book that simply but elegantly tells of a small incident that took place in an almost forgotten theater of a huge war. It is a story of cruelty, courage, humanity, and almost unbelievable endurance. More importantly, it is the story of a man surviving the worst elements that his fellow man could throw at him and yet he prevailed. It is a story of quiet heroism that is more gripping than a dozen technothrillers. Don't start reading this book unless you have time to finish it."

"The author sets the scene very well and takes you into the story without delay. Four men set out to carry out sabotage operations in occupied Norway during WWII, arranged by London. An unfortunate set of circumstances leads to their discovery before they have a chance to even get going. This results in one man of Norweigan origin, on the run trying to evade capture.
Isolation, extreme temperatures, lack of food, lack of medical aid, constant real threat of capture and therefore death. This man appears to have survived on pure determination and the generosity of the people who helped "one of their own", despite risk of certain death and the death of their families should they be discovered."

"This book is unbelievably good. You would'nt believe this man could survive under these conditions, but he did !! A testament to human endurance like no other."

"In my opinion is one of the best books I've ever read. It symbolises the triumph of the courage and the spirit against the worst circunstances.
An incredible story. It seems impossible to believe it is a true story."

"This book makes the tales that cam out of the gulf war look tame. Stories about going 3 days walking through the deserts of Iraq and then having to do a couple of heroic things is nothing compared to the struggle faced by Jan.
Jan went to hell and back in the worse terrain the world has on offer. Not only is he the hero but he is helped by so many who risk their lives to help a man in the finals stages of life. Their actions are inspirational and truely saved him."

"Having operated in the region in winter myself,the story of this incredible Norwegian, who having landed on the North Nowegian coast by fishing boat from Shetland, was then to undertake a perilous journey over the mountains and fjords to safety in Sweden. Hunted by the Germans occupying his native country, the story of Jan Balstrud, as told by David Howarth, demonstrates the ability of the mind to conquer the body in appaling conditions and with little or no equipment. I could not put the book down."

Honestly....it's the most Amazing True Story I have ever read!!!! :coool:

MutleyRules · **Posted:** Tue Sep 22, 2009 11:24 am

Here's the Wikipedia page on Jan Baalstrud....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Baalsrud

:coool:

derwent · **Joined:** Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:59 pm **Posts:** 12368

I think you would like this book, Mr Mutley.

THE LONG WALK
by
Slavomir Rawicz.

It is an account of an escape from a Siberian labour camp. Good read.

derwent · **Joined:** Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:59 pm **Posts:** 12368

Or this one,
THE PAST IS MYSELF
by
Christabel Bielenberg.( who is the main character of what is a very true story)

It is set in Germany from before the war and during it.

The BBC serialised it, and Dennis Potter wrote the adaptation for TV.

Just Had This EXCELLENT Book Delivered....

Gadgies online