The gripping, vividly told story of the largest POW escape in the Second World War - organized by an Australian bank clerk, a British jazz pianist and an American spy. In August 1944 the most successful POW escape of the Second World War took place - 106 Allied prisoners were freed from a camp in Maribor, in present-day Slovenia. The escape was organized not by officers, but by two ordinary soldiers: Australian Ralph Churches (a bank clerk before the war) and Londoner Les Laws (a jazz pianist by profession), with the help of intelligence officer Franklin Lindsay. The American was on a mission to work with the partisans who moved like ghosts through the Alps, ambushing and evading Nazi forces. How these three men came together - along with the partisans - to plan and execute the escape is told here for the first time. The Greatest Escape, written by Ralph Churches' son Neil, takes us from Ralph and Les's capture in Greece in 1941 and their brutal journey to Maribor, with many POWs dying along the way, to the horror of seeing Russian prisoners starved to death in the camp. The book uncovers the hidden story of Allied intelligence operations in Slovenia, and shows how Ralph became involved. We follow the escapees on a nail-biting 160-mile journey across the Alps, pursued by German soldiers, ambushed and betrayed. And yet, of the 106 men who escaped, 100 made it to safety. Thanks to research across seven countries, The Greatest Escape is no longer a secret. It is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of the last century.

'Beautifully told by David Grann, one of the best true-crime writers around... Nuanced and gripping' Evening Standard Now a major film starring Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck, The Old Man and the Gun is joined by two other riveting true-crime tales by the author of the bestselling Killers of the Flower Moon The Old Man and the Gun is the incredible story of a bank robber and prison escape artist who modelled himself after figures like Pretty Boy Floyd and who, even in his seventies, refuses to retire. True Crime follows the twisting investigation of a Polish detective who suspects that a novelist planted clues in his fiction to an actual murder. And The Chameleon recounts how a French imposter assumes the identity of a missing boy from Texas and infiltrates the boy's family, only to soon wonder whether he is the one being conned. In this mesmerizing collection, David Grann shows why he has been called a 'worthy heir to Truman Capote' and 'simply the best narrative non-fiction writer working today', as he takes the reader on a journey through some of the most intriguing and gripping real-life tales from around the world. Praise for Killers of the Flower Moon 'An extraordinary story with extraordinary pace and atmosphere' Sunday Times 'A marvel of detective-like research and narrative verve' Financial Times 'A riveting true story of greed, serial murder and racial injustice' Jon Krakauer 'A fiercely entertaining mystery story and a wrenching exploration of evil' Kate Atkinson 'A fascinating account of a tragic and forgotten chapter in the history of the American West' John Grisham And for The Lost City of Z (shortlisted for the 2009 Samuel Johnson Prize) 'Absorbing... a wonderful story of a lost age of heroic exploration' Sunday Times 'Marvellous... engrossing' Daily Telegraph 'At once a biography, a detective story and wonderfully vivid piece of travel writing... suspenseful... rollicking... fascinating' New York Times