The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History

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Synopsis
The astonishing true story of two World War I prisoners who pulled off one of the most ingenious escapes of all time.&“A wonder, a marvel, a feat of invention and dogged persistence, and most of all, a testament to the power of the human capacity to believe.&”—Liza Mundy, author of Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II Imprisoned in a remote Turkish POW camp during World War I, having survived a two-month forced march and a terrifying shootout in the desert, two British officers, Harry Jones and Cedric Hill, join forces to bamboozle their iron-fisted captors. To stave off despair and boredom, Jones takes a handmade Ouija board and fakes elaborate séances for his fellow prisoners. Word gets around, and one day an Ottoman official approaches Jones with a query: Could Jones contact the spirit world to find a vast treasure rumored to be buried nearby? Jones, a trained lawyer, and Hill, a brilliant magician, use the Ouija board—and their keen understanding of the psychology of deception—to build a trap for their captors that will ultimately lead them to freedom. A gripping nonfiction thriller, The Confidence Men is the story of one of the only known con games played for a good cause—and of a profound but unlikely friendship. Had it not been for &“the Great War,&” Jones, the Oxford-educated son of a British lord, and Hill, a mechanic on an Australian sheep ranch, would never have met. But in pain, loneliness, hunger, and isolation, they formed a powerful emotional and intellectual alliance that saved both of their lives. Margalit Fox brings her &“nose for interesting facts, the ability to construct a taut narrative arc, and a Dickens-level gift for concisely conveying personality&” (Kathryn Schulz, New York) to this tale of psychological strategy that is rife with cunning, danger, and moments of high farce that rival anything in Catch-22.
Copyright:
2021

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
352 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781984853868
Related ISBNs:
9781984853844
Publisher:
Random House Publishing Group
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Margalit Fox
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Military, Nonfiction
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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