Free As a Running Fox

by T.D. Calnan

Book Overview

Mass market paperback. Autobiography of Wing Commander T. D. Calnan, who survived imprisonment by the Germans after his Spitfire was shot down. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0018NJP0O
• Release Date: January 1970
• Publisher: The Dial Press
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Great WW II story

Great book for anyone interested in that era of war. Its one of those can't put it down type reads and probably should have been made into a movie. Like one of the reviewers above I read this when I was about 12-13 years old and purchased it for my son's to read.

A Memorable Read

I read this book over 30 years ago and feel compelled to recommend it as I have read many books since then and this one sticks out in my mind. I read it at age 14 while living in Germany, and I'm not sure that really had anything to do with it's impact on me, even though I certainly got a feel for the countryside where the action took place. This was a different time. In any case, the story has stuck with me and I purchased a copy so my 11 year old son could enjoy, and I imagine, learn something from this great story.

Enjoyed it very much

I read it several years ago but I know I enjoyed it very much. A solid WW2 escape book.

A reader of WWII POW books

A fine WWII POW story written by T.D. Calnan, an RAF pilot shot down over occupied France in the early stages of WWII. Calnan is badly burned but makes several successful escapes over the next several years. In something of a contrast to other, better known WWII POW books (e.g. The Great Escape, The Colditz Story), Calnan's story is a very personal, almost romantic adventure story at points. Calnan's prose is not particularly literary but it is very effective. When Calnan surveys the German countryside on a crisp evening soon after escaping from a train, the reader truly experiences the feeling of being as free as a running fox.In describing life in the prison camps, Calnan displays a keen understanding of human nature, the universal and those aspects which are uniquely British, German and Russian. Throughout his captivity, Calnan seems almost pathologically obsessed with escaping, but never seems to lose his dry, uniquely British wit for very long, even though his hatred for the German war machine is palpable.In summary, this book is a must read for all fans of WWII POW books, and others who enjoy a good adventure story.

A British fighter pilot's adventures escaping the Nazis.

His aircraft hit during a mission over France in December of 1940, Tommy Calnan jumps from his flaming spitfire. His face so severely burned that he cannot even see when he hits the ground, he is quickly picked up by the Nazis. After a brief stay in a hospital, plotting escape all the while, Calnan is transferred to the first of many prisoner of war camps. Committed to escape and return to England, Calnan gets involved with any escape attempt. Some of these ingenious plans fail, but the author does manage to escape and lead the Germans on a rambunctious chase all over the countryside. To tell any more would spoil this wonderful book. If you enjoyed the movie "The Great Escape," you'll love this book and marvel at the ways these "defeated" prisoners of war continue to fight Hitler after their capture