The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World

by Kati Marton

Book Overview

'The Great Escape' is the story of the breathtaking journey of nine extraordinary men from war-torn Budapest to freedom, what they experienced along their dangerous route, and how they changed the world.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743261151
• ISBN13: 9780743261159
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 271 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

great escape review

The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World, by Kati Marton is an exceptional and inspiring piece of literature which deals with the escape of nine Hungarian Jews from the toxic grip of the Nazi's, and through their determination and intelligence, changed the world. The book is well written, and grasps the reader's attention from the very beginning. The Great Escape tells the story of Edward Teller (the father of the Hydrogen bomb, and early member of the Manhattan Project), John von Neumann (mathematician, member of the Manhattan Project, and involved in the making of the hydrogen bomb), Leo Szilard (physicist, initiator and member of the Manhattan Project), Eugene Wigner (physicist and mathematician), Michael Curtiz (director of Casablanca), Alexander Korda (producer), Robert Capa (famous war photographer), Arthur Koestler (author of Darkness at Noon), and Andre Kerteszr. The novel, released in October 2006 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, truly provides honor to those of Hungarian heritage and grants them a sense of cultural pride. The book is an extremely influential and inspirational piece of work that can provide any human being with a sense of motivation and enthusiasm to succeed. Like the characters in the book, anybody, regardless of age, race, color, faith, or social economic background, can affect and change the world around them. With perseverance and commitment, the nine Jews who fled a regime of violence, terror, and oppression, showed the world that although they come from nothing, were able to change history. Overall my opinion of the book is very high, and I believe that inspirational and heroic stories like these should be told more often.

A Remarkable Historic Reality

During the dark days before the Nazi ambush overcame all of Europe, nine Jewish men fled from Hungary. Determined to escape their homeland away from anti-Semitism, nine men went on to change the world. In The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World, Kati Marton, records the lives of these nine men and their significant achievements. She also shows how each of these nine men individually changed by their experience in Budapest, and how a city that once welcomed and accepted Jews, quickly changed into a dictatorship and the Nazi nuisance began to overcome Europe. While these nine men were able to escape, about seventy percent of Hungary's Jewish population was destroyed in the later days of World War II. The nine men whose lives are written about in this book include the scientists Edward Teller, John Von Neumann, Leo Szilard, and Eugene Wigner. Also mentioned are moviemakers, Michael Curtiz and Alexander Korda. Legendary photographers Robert Capa and Andre Kertesz, and the political writer, Arthur Koestler are also included. Of the nine, Teller, Wigner, and Szilard gained recognition for their work in physics and on the atomic bomb; Von Neumann was the developer of electronic computers and the Game Theory. Of the filmmakers, Curtiz, the only one of the nine to be raised in an Orthodox household, directed Casablanca, and Korda produced The Third Man, as well as numerous propaganda films for the Allies. Meanwhile, Capa is known through his photographs; Francisco Franco's was a Spanish dictator during the devastating airborne assault in the Spanish Civil War. Along with Kertesz, he helped to pioneer the field of photojournalism. The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World is an amazing book, both for the remarkable historic reality of pre and post war in Europe, and also for the greatly gifted insight that is provided into the lives of these nine brilliant men. Kati Marton paints a dramatic picture of life in Budapest before the war, and the changes that were made as the military was trying to force the world again through war, then leading to the beginning of gaining strength. Marton also allows us to explore how each of these nine men, together, approach the decision that they needed to escape Hungary and go into exile; as well as how each managed to escape the dictatorship that was out to destroy them. She also deals with the issues they faced as they tried to establish themselves in new countries and how they tried, each in their own ways, to warn the world of the threatening crisis that was on the horizon. In this insightful and moving book, Marton also shows the achievements of each of these men, and she also examines the impact that they had on the world: politically, scientifically, and culturally. Kati Marton's writing and narration captures the insightful passion of detailed history, Jewish and Hungarian. This book will interest anyone who is interested in Hungarian or Jewish history, or in dis

A Historical Winner!

The introduction to the book was very intriguing and made me want to continue reading. However, once I began reading further into the book it began to sound more like a history book and less exciting. If the author would have kept her tone of voice throughout the book the same as the introduction, I believe it would have been more interesting to read. I liked the way that she portrayed the different people in the story and the influences they each had. I enjoyed the fact that she was able to disperse her attention to not only the scientific accomplishments but also described the impact in which the film directors and photographers had. The amazing story not only had a historical message but a moral one as well. This was shown through the many accomplishments that the nine men were able to achieve once they were able to flee from Hitler. Stylistically I feel as though the author's choice of words were good however I did not like her transitions throughout the book. Often times these transitions from one section or paragraph to the next were confusing. Overall I feel it was a great book as well as a great history lesson. My favorite thing about the book was its focus on details. Although the story of the atomic bomb is well known, the lives of those that created it are not. The author's choice to focus furthermore into the lives of these nine men is what made it stand out from all other history books.

Budapest's loss is the world's gain...

Ms Marton is a wonderful writer and her subject matter is close to her heart as she is a transplanted Hungarian, like the subjects of her fascinating tale: "The Great Escape". Marton has focused on nine Hungarians,scientists, film makers and photographers, who fled their homeland because of the country's intolerance to their religion. To a man they went on to make their mark in their respective fields the common thread besides their birthplace, was their everlasting affection for Budapest as one of the subjects stated "Everything I am is because of my experience growing up in Budapest". A very fine read, as a result of the book, I have been looking into travelling to this fabled city .

Very important

In this very insightful work the lives of only nine people, saved from the Holocaust, are delved into and their impact on the world shown. John Von Nueman, Edward Teller and Robert Capa are only a few of these. The idea is partly to give a slice of life of the Hungarian Jews who were able to flee, showing how they made new lives and impacted the world. But the more sad and disturbing question is, imagine the contribution the 400,000 or more Hungarian Jews could have had, had the German Nazis and their collaborators not murdered them, gassing them all as they were deported in just a few weeks in 1944, destroying in one breadth an entire world. Seth J. Frantzman