The Greatest Escape, a True American Civil War Adventure

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Why would “The Greatest Escape, a True American Civil War Adventure” make a fantastic movie? As an experienced, life-long filmmaker, let me count the ways: It is a unique and compelling action drama, with obsessed young characters, brave and noble slaves, and the most effective female spymaster in American history. Who in Hollywood would not want to play these heroic roles---and defeat slavery in the process?! This is an extremely visual story that barely needs dialogue. Every scene is filled with the tension of life or death decisions, of intense striving, and extreme consequences for failure. Any veteran filmmaker will see this immediately. Since the book is based on over 50 original eyewitness accounts, (which the author spent 20 years locating), it has the true ring of authenticity. It depicts a world no one has ever seen. A desperate world, where over a thousand starving Union men were packed into a gloomy stone warehouse by the Confederacy. They were never let outside, and conditions were beyond miserable. The prison warden was a sadistic former slave handler. Every day the “dead cart” loaded up more bodies. It was truly “escape or die”. And escape they did. It was ingenious. It was improbable. One hundred and nine U. S. Army Officers! It was truly historic, and celebrated as such at the time (and for decades after). It is a breakout full of dramatic twists and turns, cat and mouse, reversals and triumphs of the “you can’t make this stuff up” variety. Did I mention that this is ALL true? It all happened during a freezing February, and getting out of the prison itself was just the beginning. The POWs had no food and no warm clothing. They had to travel over 50 miles of half frozen swamps to reach Union lines and freedom. Every white person in Virginia was after them. But every Black person they encountered was their friend, and in every recorded case they risked their lives to aid the escapees. This book fits perfectly into the most natural three act structure: Act One: The capture and the prison Act Two: The plan, disasters, and the final tunnel Act Three: The escape and the reckoning. The book itself came out when COVID was still raging, so it got little publicity. Nevertheless, it has sold well enough to inspire an upcoming paperback, and the reviews have all been raves. Check them out on my website and/or Amazon. Notice that the most common remark from this wide variety of readers is “how is this not already a movie?!” Prison/escape movies have consistently been one of the most popular of all Hollywood genres… “Escape from Alcatraz”, “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Stalag 17”, “Papillon”, “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and of course “The Great Escape”. It’s time for another! More at our website: Thegreatestescapebook.com