The Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky were all written by Paul Brickhill, an Australian hero of WWII. 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of his birth and the 25th anniversary of his death. It was 1956 and the writer from Sydney’s lower North Shore had every reason to feel blessed. Former journalist Paul Brickhill was the highest-earning author in the UK and two of his bestselling books – The Dam Busters and Reach for the Sky – had recently been made into blockbuster films. Another of his books – inspired by his experiences as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft 3 in Germany during the Second World War – was attracting Hollywood interest. That book was The Great Escape. Yet, life for the enigmatic Brickhill was never simple. He was beset with mental-health issues and his marriage to model Margot Slater was tempestuous. He struggled with alcohol and writer’s block too, as his success – and all that accompanied it – threatened to overwhelm him. In The Hero Maker, award-winning historical author and biographer Stephen Dando-Collins exposes the contradictions of one of Australia’s most successful, but troubled, writers. Brickhill’s extraordinary story – from the youth with a debilitating stutter to Sydney Sun journalist to Spitfire pilot and POW to feted author – explodes vividly to life on the centenary of his birth.

"The Dam Busters, The Great Escape and Reach for the Sky were all written by Paul Brickhill, an Australian hero of WWII. 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of his birth and the 25th anniversary of his death. It was 1956 and the writer from Sydney's lower North Shore had every reason to feel blessed. Former journalist Paul Brickhill was the highest-earning author in the UK and two of his bestselling books - The Dam Busters and Reach for the Sky - had recently been made into blockbuster films. Another of his books - inspired by his experiences as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft 3 in Germany during the Second World War - was attracting Hollywood interest. That book was The Great Escape. Yet, life for the enigmatic Brickhill was never simple. He was beset with mental-health issues and his marriage to model Margot Slater was tempestuous. He struggled with alcohol and writer's block too, as his success - and all that accompanied it - threatened to overwhelm him. In The Hero Maker, award-winning historical author and biographer Stephen Dando-Collins exposes the contradictions of one of Australia's most successful, but troubled, writers. Brickhill's extraordinary story - from the youth with a debilitating stutter to Sydney Sun journalist to Spitfire pilot and POW to feted author - explodes vividly to life on the centenary of his birth.:--Publisher's description.

Introduction -- Engineering The great escape : from book to film (and in-between) -- Tunneling in : The great escape : style, theme, and structure -- After-lives -- Appendix : "It really happened".

Records the efforts of six hundred British and American officers to escape from a Nazi prison camp.

The story opens in the stinking latrines of the Schubin camp as an American and a Canadian lead the digging of a tunnel which enabled a break involving 36 prisoners of war (POWs). The Germans then converted the camp to Oflag 64, to exclusively hold US Army officers, with more than 1500 Americans ultimately housed there. Plucky Americans attempted a variety of escapes until January, 1945, only to be thwarted every time. Then, with the Red Army advancing closer every day, camp commandant Colonel Fritz Schneider received orders from Berlin to march his prisoners west. Game on! Over the next few days, 250 US Army officers would succeed in escaping east to link up with the Russians - although they would prove almost as dangerous as the Nazis - only to be ordered once they arrived back in the United States not to talk about their adventures. Within months, General Patton would launch a bloody bid to rescue the remaining Schubin Americans. In The Big Break, this previously untold story follows POWs including General Eisenhower's personal aide, General Patton's son-in-law, and Ernest Hemingway's eldest son as they struggled to be free. Military historian and Paul Brickhill biographer Stephen Dando-Collins expertly chronicles this gripping story of Americans determined to be free, brave Poles risking their lives to help them, and dogmatic Nazis determined to stop them.

The Cambridge History of the Australian Novel is an authoritative volume on the Australian novel by more than forty experts in the field of Australian literary studies, drawn from within Australia and abroad. Essays cover a wide range of types of novel writing and publishing from the earliest colonial period through to the present day. The international dimensions of publishing Australian fiction are also considered as are the changing contours of criticism of the novel in Australia. Chapters examine colonial fiction, women's writing, Indigenous novels, popular genre fiction, historical fiction, political novels, and challenging novels on identity and belonging from recent decades, not least the major rise of Indigenous novel writing. Essays focus on specific periods of major change in Australian history or range broadly across themes and issues that have influenced fiction across many years and in many parts of the country.

Students, military historians, and casual readers will all find this compelling collection useful in learning about escape strategies, hostage situations, and rescue operations during times of conflict. Great Wartime Escapes and Rescues tells the captivating stories of dozens of escapes and rescues from conflicts dating from the 16th century to present, with extensive coverage of the world wars of the 20th century and the Vietnam War. In addition, escapes and rescues related to terrorist activities and regional conflicts are featured. Some stories of escapes and rescues included in this work have been written about extensively and portrayed in films, including The Great Escape and Captain Phillips' rescue by Navy SEALs. Other stories are less widely known but just as absorbing. The book opens with a detailed introductory essay that illuminates the government policies and tactics various countries have used to rescue soldiers and civilians during wartime, as well as the diverse methods that prisoners of war have used to escape notorious camps and prisons. The entries, organized alphabetically, are augmented by engaging sidebars related to the escapes and rescues. The book also includes references to such sources as autobiographies, biographies, news accounts, and interviews with veterans.