The Evaders

New York: Pocket Books, 1988. First Pocket Books Printing [stated]. Mass market paperback. Good. Peter Caras (cover art). xi, [3], 273, [1] pages. Bookstore stamp at bottom of first page. Corner of front cover gone. Loose part of cover reglued to spine. Includes Preface, The Memorial, The Beginning, The Evaders, The Flight, The Grey Goose. Also includes Afterword, Bibliography, Acknowledgments, and Index. The Most Remarkable Mass Escape of World War II. In September 1944, 10,000 Allied paratroopers parachuted into Holland behind German lines, triggering the devastating battle of Arnhem. Only 2,000 returned across the Rhine--8,000 were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. Trapped in enemy territory, 250 of the toughest, most determined Allied paratroopers--the Evaders--managed to survive for months with the help of the Dutch resistance and their own remarkable ingenuity and courage. This World War II adventure story offers a thrilling first-person account of the escape of Allied soldiers from behind enemy lines following the disastrous Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. Of 10,000 Allied troops, there were 8,000 casualties. However, some 250 men were hidden by the Dutch resistance: singly and in groups, theirs were some of the most remarkable escapes of the war. The author, a Canadian paratrooper taken prisoner during the battle, jumped from a moving train on its way to Germany, and subsequently organized the successful rescue of other survivors; for his part in one of the most incredible mass escapes ever recorded, he earned the Military Cross. The stories of the escapees are interweaved with those of the brave Dutch resistance who helped them. It is a moving portrayal of heroism and compassion. Leo Heaps was born in Winnipeg Canada in 1922, and lived his life in California, England and finally in Toronto. His early years were in the shadow of his father, a famous Parliamentarian, followed by his service in the British 1st Airborne during WW2, where he was awarded the Military Cross. His post-war exploits took him to the war of Independence in Israel, where he trained members of the Israeli army, and finally to the Hungarian revolution where he he worked with the International Rescue Committee. In civilian life, he had an unbridled passion for adventure and writing. His various exploits produced life-long relationships with a fascinating array of colleagues from all walks of life, many of them becoming the basis for characters in some of his published works. Derived from a Kirkus review: Readers may know that 10,000 Allied troops landed in Holland in September 1944 on the greatest airborne invasion ever undertaken and fought the disastrous Battle of Arnhem--and that 8,000 of them were killed, wounded, or captured. The Evaders is an almost wholly first-person account of 250 men who found themselves surrounded by German troops and assisted by the Dutch Resistance. Heaps covers this ground, while focusing on a multiplicity of first person views and his personal dilemma as a paratrooper in enemy territory. Much of his material comes from private diaries, letters, and interviews with about 40 commandos, paratroopers, and Resistance leaders whose audacious paths crossed his during that fateful week in the woods, fields, and houses around Arnhem. Some of these men died, but the survivors of this enclave within the war made some remarkable, often moving escapes with Dutch help. Heaps tells us at the beginning; and there is really no substitute for having been there--and suffered.