Defiant Courage

A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance

De: Astrid Karlson Scott, Tore Haug

Narrado por: Peter Altschuler

In late March of 1943, four commandos arrive in northern Norway with a mission of establishing a base for sabotage operations. Before they can unload their cutter, they are betrayed, as a German Schnell boat arrives and turns the quiet fjord into a battle zone. Only one man, Jan Baalsrud, surrvives the attack. This is the story of his perilous journey to freedom.

Wounded, the dauntless soldier swims icy fjord waters, climbs snow-laden granite peaks, endures violent snowstorms and is hurled off a mountain by an avalanche. Fleeing the Gestapo and battling the harsh Arctic cold, Jan suffers snowblindness and frostbite. Though he possesses raw courage and an iron will, they are not enough to deliver him all the way to neutral Sweden and safety.

The people of northern Norway's Troms district step forward to assist Jan. Selflessly defying Nazi dictates, more than 60 people risk their lives to help the fugitive commando.

©2010 Astrid Karlsen Scott and Dr. Tore Haug (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Amazon book with an espectacular narrator

Got this book after I watched the movie. Could start reading by myself, so I decided to hear the audio. The narrator was incredible, he made me feel every page he read. I absolutely love the book more than the movie because of him.

Excellent, old-school story

The tone of this book reminded me of 1950s America, before Nam and endless scandals stole our innocence.

The subject matter is first rate. The heroic soldier certainly inspired me not to whine about my little physical problems. I’ve been recommending this one to everyone I know who uses Audible.

Gripping story of courage and love

What a powerful story of courage... so thoroughly researched and artfully crafted. I had a difficult time putting it down. For days I lived and dreamed the story I had listened to. Captivating.

Epic war story

I liked this true story of another aspect of WW2.
Felt frozen most of the time from author's descriptions of snow and wind!

Great untold story.

A well read and very interesting story. Amazing courage from all involved in Jan’s escape.

what a great story

insane stuff happened in this situation during world War 2 incredible story telling that will leave you wanting more

The Courage of a Community to Rescue One Man

This is a great story and Audible has done another outstanding job with the audio version of this book.

The 12th Man

This is an excellent tale of one man’s incredibly dangerous mission to Norway during WWII and the unspeakable pain, fear, and loneliness he endured while evading the Gestapo who were searching for him.

The book also describes in detail how so many ordinary Norwegian men, women, and even young adults and children who aided and comforted him despite the knowledge that they would be killed if it was ever discovered that they had helped him.

The narrator does a wonderful job with this book. He is very easy to listen to and does a good job pronouncing many Norwegian and German words.

Finally, the Netflix movie “The 12th Man” is based on this epic tale.

Norwegian’s

I love this story. It’s different than the movie that has the title the 12th man. I am Norwegian, and whenever I feel like I am failing, don’t have the omph to get up and do something I listen to this, or watch the movie. It is one of the most amazing stories of perseverance ever. I am so grateful to know of this story, and to be able to share it to friends.

A “page turner”

I could not put this book down it was so captivating and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. So glad you offered it and hope that other people listen to it and learn a little bit more history about World War II, Norway, Germany, and the goodness of people. It’s also an encouragement to push on no matter how severe the pain or difficulties!