- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Press; First Edition edition (1 April 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0593054083
- ISBN-13: 978-0593054086
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.6 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
625,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #34 in Books > Biography > Political > Countries & Regions > Canada
- #81 in Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Canada
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More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
The remarkable wartime adventures of an American Spitfire pilot, legendary escape artist and 'Cooler King'...
Product Description
Bill Ash is one of a rare breed – an American prepared to sacrifice his citizenship and risk his life to fight the Nazis at a time when the USA was still neutral. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and before long found himself in England and flying Spitfires in combat. Then, in March 1942, Bill was shot down over the Pas de Calais. He survived the crash-landing and, thanks to the bravery of local civilians, evaded capture for months. It was in Paris that he was betrayed to the Gestapo. Tortured and sentenced to death as a spy, he was saved from the firing squad by the intervention of the Luftwaffe who sent him to the ‘Great Escape’ POW camp, Stalag Luft III. It was from there that Bill - already branded a trouble-maker by his captors - began his extraordinary ‘tour’ of Occupied Europe, breaking out of one camp, being dispatched to the next – in Poland, Germany and Lithuania. Bill became one of only a handful of serial escape artists to attempt more than a dozen break-outs – over the wire, under it in tunnels, through it with cutters or simply strolling out of the camp gates in disguise. These were years of extraordinary hardship, frustration and brutality – each time he was recaptured his punishment was a long spell in solitary. He was a real-life ‘Cooler king’– but through it all he maintained not just remarkable courage, but also an anarchic sense of humour, great humanity and an unstoppable desire for freedom. From its honest, funny and exciting reflections on life in wartime Britain to the vivid, compelling, sometimes poignant recollections of his time as a POW, UNDER THE WIRE is more than just another memoir. It stands as a tribute to the bravery and resolve, not only of Bill Ash, but of an entire generation.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enthralled!,
By
This review is from: Under The Wire (Paperback)
Being ex-forces, and in my 40's, the daring-do books about the SAS and the Gulf Wars have been high on my agenda. I happened to see 'Under the wire' and thought "I'd give it a go". My opinion - absolutely brilliant! I couldn't put it down. A few years ago people applauded 'Chris Ryan' (or whatever his real name is) for his dramatic 'The one that got away'. I'm sorry Mr Ryan, in the hero stakes you're not in the same league as William Ash and his POW colleagues. These guys are the real un-sung heroes, I had no idea about life behind the wire in WWII apart from what I've seen on television (evidently not that accurate). I'd love to know what became of more of the characters in the book (particularly Jimmy 'Dixie' Deans), but most of all I'd love to meet Bill Ash, shake him by the hand, and know I've met one of the most inspirational characters that ever walked this earth.
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Under the Wire,
By Jim Sells (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Under The Wire (Hardcover)
I've read a lot of autobiographies and the 'I did this, I did that' factor can be pretty tiresome unless you are totally fascinated by the author. The fact is that I quickly forgot that 'Under the Wire' was an autobiography - it is so much more than 'just' a story about a man who becomes a fighter pilot, gets shot down and tries to escape. But it is story that makes this book so amazing: all at once it manages to be incredibly moving, heart-warming, hilarious, disturbing and inspiring - and it seems incredible (and often an injustice) that all this could have happened to one person. To come out the other side of these experiences with the deep love for people that Bill Ash clearly does have, just goes to show what an amazing human being he must be. You might say that he can only blame himself for the scrapes that he got into - he is clearly healthily obsessive with standing up to bullies (from playgrounds in depression hit America to nazi thugs bullwhipping women refugees), and it makes you wish that you had the guts to be by his side doing the same. Above all, I think that this book should give you hope - no matter how bad times are, the kindness of people will always find a way. Eternal thanks to Bill and our forbears who fought for a free world.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remarkable, gripping, impossible to put down,
By A Customer
This review is from: Under The Wire (Hardcover)
When I began reading UNDER THE WIRE, I expected a story of heroic "derring-do", recalled with a sort of misty, stiff-upper lipped nostalgia by a Grand Lion in the winter of his remarkable life.Instead, I got so, so much more. Bill Ash's life is remarkable by anyone's yardstick. From his earliest childhood in Depression-era Texas, he was a hero, ready and eager to take on any bully. While America watched as Europe fell to a maniacal Hitler, he made a decision to personally take on the biggest bully in modern history. Remarkable? Brave? Courageous? Yes, all of these adjectives describe the heroic life of Bill Ash. But his life, and his story -- told so extraordinarily well by Ash and his co-writer, Brendan Foley -- is also funny, human and a lesson in living one's life with heart and a true moral compass. There is as much Huck Finn and Jack Kerouac in Ash's war stories, as there is John Wayne. Like all great tales of history, UNDER THE WIRE does more than offer adventure after adventure (and WOW, what adventures Bill had!) The book offers a sense of the times, a sense of the politics, insights into the dangers, the choices, the cat-and-mouse existence of a Prisoner of War. Bill played cat-and-mouse with the Third Reich, and did it brilliantly. And I have never read an adventure story with so much genuine humor! UNDER THE WIRE is a glorious tribute to the sort of person we long for, but never really see anymore: a true hero. And it's a great, entertaining read.
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