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Blue Vase Books

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

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

Author: Fox, Margalit

Regular price $6.07
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Condition: Good

paperback

In stock

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - The Great Escape for the Great War: the astonishing true story of two World War I prisoners who pulled off one of the most ingenious escapes of all time.

FINALIST FOR THE EDGAR(R) AWARD - ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR - "Fox unspools Jones and Hill's delightfully elaborate scheme in nail-biting episodes that advance like a narrative Rube Goldberg machine."--The New York Times Book Review

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 s�ances 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.

ISBN: 1984853856

SKU:31UTLL004WBG_ns

Note on Condition

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  • Used - Good: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.

  • Used- Acceptable: The item is very worn but continues to work perfectly. Signs of wear can include aestetic issues such as scratches, dents, worn and creased covers, folded page corners, and minor liquid stains. All pages and the cover are intact, but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include moderate to heavy amount of notes and highlighting, but the text is not obscured or unreadable. Page edges may have foxing (age related spots and browning). May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.

  • Used-Ex-Library (Good/Acceptable): Former library book with the usual stamps, stickers, and labels. See Good/Acceptable notes for more detail.

  • Used- Very Good: Book has little sign of wear or use

  • New- Brand new, unread book

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