Great Escapes and Rescues: An Encyclopedia - Softcover

Howard, Roger

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1576071901 ISBN 13: 9781576071908

Publisher: ABC-CLIO, 1999

Synopsis

True stories of exciting escapes and rescues have always been popular. This encyclopaedia presents escapes and rescues from the earliest times to the late-1990s in an A-Z format. Roger Howard describes the events themselves, the reasons why they were successful, and what motivated the escapees.

About this title

About the Author

Roger Howard is a professional writer.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-In his introduction, Howard explains that he has adopted "a wide perspective" on his subject "not only to inform but to entertain" general readers. However, those who pick up this encyclopedia for enjoyment or research will find confusing writing and articles that are either irrelevantly long or too cursory. Topics include the "Iranian Hostage Rescue Operation," the fictional character "Eliza Harris" from Uncle Tom's Cabin, "Imprisonment in Medieval England," the "Apollo 13" disaster, and "Harry Houdini." The criteria for inclusion here is ill-defined and sometimes questionable. For example, credibility is stretched when the Hackensack River merits an article because George Washington crossed it to escape the British, and the information on relatively unknown subjects such as Victor Klemperer and Joshua Barney is neither thorough nor helpful, frequently depending on weak links to other articles. References are made without explanation; MI5 is mentioned under the "Cambridge Spy Ring" of 1951, but nowhere does it say that this is the British Security Service. Sources are not always mentioned. The author has collected a great deal of material here, but his effort lacks consistency.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: ABC-CLIO
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1576071901
• ISBN 13: 9781576071908
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240