Sage

by Jerry Sage

Book Overview

Book signed by author. A true story about the man the Nazis couldn't hold. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440075807
• ISBN13: 9780440075806
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
• Length: 470 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Combines Adventure and Factual History

Sage describes his actions as a commando in the African theater in World War II, his subsequent imprisonment, and his escape activities. Sage consistently accepted challenges boldly, with considerable courage and cleverness. For example, when a German civilian demanded that he shows his identification papers (while he was on the lam after an escape), he coolly said: "Not for you!" When a German woman began a conversation with him that exceeded his limited German skills, he faked deafness and made a gesture indicating that a bomb blast had deafened him. The ruse worked. While in Stalag Luft III, Sage worked as a stooge and penguin. He set up numerous diversions. When the garden in which the sand was dumped grew noticeably higher than the surrounding soil, he deftly disguised this by placing a row of stones around the garden. When a suspicious German would not leave the area, Sage made a deliberately silly request for white paint for the rocks "in order to beautify the Third Reich." Predictably, the goon walked away in disgust. Throughout this book, Sage emphasizes his strong Christian faith. While in solitary confinement, he often recounted Scriptures from memory. Sage also experienced numerous answered prayers, some of which were spectacular. For example, when being surrounded by a dog-wielding posse during one of his escapes, he prayed for a swamp in which he could submerge himself and breathe through a straw (based on a movie he had previously seen). He fully realized that there were no swamps in that part of Germany. But he prayed, and his prayer was answered almost immediately. He came upon a body of water in which he could hide, and he did so successfully. Sage also recounts his experiences in war-torn Poland, providing details seldom seen in the writings of non-Polish authors. Sage saw the ruins of Warsaw caused by vindictive Germans following the Warsaw Uprising, whose doom had been guaranteed by the deliberate 6-month pause of the Soviet armies at the gates of Warsaw. Sage also saw firsthand and described the forced installation of the Communist puppet regime upon Poland that occurred just as soon as the Germans had been driven out--all the result of the sellout of Poland by the USA and Britain in the events up to and including the Yalta Conference. He personally protected a group of Polish women from being raped by Russian soldiers. He saw firsthand the widespread robbery of Poles by the Russians. They took whatever of value that the Germans had not taken first. He described the Poles as very generous, as they shared things with Sage and his men even though they had very little left after the German and now Russian occupations of Poland.

An extremely good read!

Jerry Sage was one of the true American heroes, and his book gives us a close, detailed account of his experiences as one of the most notorious American POWs in Nazi Germany. Very personal and gripping, this true tale of adventure is far better than any work of fiction.From his training as an OSS agent, to his capture (he convinced his captors that he was a downed airman -- *very* fortunate for him), to his participation in some of the best known events in POW history, this book will hold you spellbound.One of the things that struck me the most about this story is how much he writes about his close relationship with God, and how it helped him throughout his time as a POW and the rest of his life.There are occasional passages that move by slowly, but these are few and far between, and overall do not detract from the book. This is an extremely hard book to find at a decent price. If you can get it, do! You won't be disappointed.

The autobiography of an American hero

Jerry Sage was one of the original members of the OSS, the pre-World War II military intelligence agency which eventually became the CIA. After America's entry into the war, Sage was captured by the Germans in North Africa (he convinced the Nazis he was actually a paratrooper--otherwise they would have shot him on the spot) and was sent to a prison camp within Germany istelf. He escaped from the camp numerous times, and aided British officers in staging the famous "Great Escape" (the Steve McQueen character in the film about that escape was based on none other than Jerry Sage).His autobiography is a riveting account of the long years in (and occasionally out of) German captivity--and goes on to describe the even more facinating life that Sage lived after the war, working covertly behind the Iron Curtain to subvert yet another savage dictatorship."Sage" is difficult to find today, but it's worth the search. For those who were unlucky enough to never have met Jerry Sage, who died a few years ago, it is an unforgettable history lesson, told by a genuine American hero.For me, it's all that... plus a reminder of a brave man whom I was proud to call a friend.

real american hero escapes from german pow camp

If you like the movie "The Great Escape", then take the time to read this book and find out what really happened. COL Sage will tell you in his own words how he survived life in a POW camp and traveled across Europe to link up with his unit and "get back in the fight" Sage stands for all that is good in our country, and his story is truely inspirational