The Cooler King, Patrick Bishop
The Cooler King, Patrick Bishop
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The Cooler King
The True Story of William Ash - Spitfire Pilot, POW and Wwii's Greatest Escaper

Author: Patrick Bishop

Narrator: Peter Noble

Unabridged: 8 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Soundings

Published: 04/01/2016

Synopsis

The Cooler King tells the astonishing story of William Ash, an American flier, who after being shot down in his Spitfire over France in early 1942 spent the rest of the war striving to escape from every prisoner of war camp in which he was incarcerated. It is a saga full of high drama, climaxing in a break out via a tunnel dug in the latrines of the Oflag XXIB prison camp in Poland. Alongside William Ash is a cast of fascinating characters including Douglas Bader and Roger Bushell, who would go on to lead the Great Escape. Patrick Bishop vividly recreates the multiple escape attempts, while also analysing the passion that drove some prisoners to risk death in repeated bids for freedom.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rowan on April 23, 2017

"The Cooler King" is a must-read for fans of the Great Escape and WWII stories. After finishing it, I'm now inspired to read more of Bishop's war works! Patrick Bishop writes in an engaging, informative and gripping style. It was easy to picture imagery from the Great Escape throughout - certain scen......more

Goodreads review by Nick on March 24, 2018

This was interesting, and a really good insight into the nature of life in a POW camp during WWII (albeit perchance more the privileged sections of these camps reserved for officers) well researched and told with a factual thoroughness that I quite liked. I learned a lot about the subject, it was th......more

Goodreads review by Ellie on January 27, 2016

As a big 'Great Escape' and 'Colditz Story' fan I read pretty much everything I can around this subject of POWs in World War Two. 'The Cooler King' is one of the most enjoyable I have read, and one of the easiest as well. Bishop has a very accessible style and a good sense of humour throughout, whic......more

Goodreads review by Connor on October 01, 2015

Brilliant. My favourite biography. Brilliantly written by Patrick Bishop as he captures the humour, adventure and bravery of William Ash story. Recommended to anyone interested in WWII especially stories of P.O.Ws......more

Goodreads review by Rich on November 27, 2021

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. The author picks a fascinating topic but the story falls fairly flat, I consider this history light. Unfortunately for the author he wrote the book after William Ash passed away, so all of the writing is second hand. Ash comes across as a bit of se......more

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