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Loading... No Picnic on Mount Kenyaby Felice Benuzzi
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. An interesting story, well told and well illustrated. ( ) Charming little WWII prison escape story about an Italian in a British POW camp in Kenya. The author escapes for 17 days in order to climb Mt Kenya which he can see from his barracks window tempting him. Like Robinson Crusoe he builds mountaineering gear, ice-axes and crampons, from scraps found around the prison, then escapes with two mates and heads for the hills. The writing is funny with a literary bent, while the story is effective since the idea of escaping from "prison" to climb a mountain would strike a chord with many later readers seeking the freedom of the outdoors. No Picnic on Mount Kenya is a tale of a bizarre and thrilling adventure, a story that quickly grips the reader with a unique combination of daring and suspense. In 1943, Felice Benuzzi and two Italian compatriots escaped from a British POW camp in equatorial East Africa with only one goal in mind--to climb the dangerous seventeen-thousand-foot Mount Kenya. Their story is one of bravery and mountaineering that is enthralling. The sheer poetry of the story makes it vivid for the reader and that is what one remembers long after putting the book down. But beyond the poetry is the spirit of adventure which transcends the page and inspires the reader. For all who would dream of adventure this is one book that comes close to fulfilling that dream. no reviews | add a review
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In the shadow of Mount Kenya, surrounded by the forests and creatures of the savannah, life drags interminably for the inmates of POW Camp 354, captured in Africa during World War II. Confined to an endless cycle of boredom and frustration, one prisoner realizes he can bear it no longer. When the clouds covering Mount Kenya part one morning to reveal its towering peaks for the first time, Felice Benuzzi is transfixed. The tedium of camp life is broken by the beginnings of a sudden idea--an outrageous, dangerous, brilliant idea. Not many people would break out of a POW camp and trek for days across perilous terrain before climbing the north face of Mount Kenya with improvised equipment, meager rations, and a picture of the mountain on a tin of beef as their most accurate guide. Fewer still would break back into the camp on their return. This is the remarkable story of three such men--a powerful testament to the human spirit of rebellion and adventure--reissued in a deluxe edition featuring Benuzzi's own watercolor paintings of the expedition and a final chapter that has never before appeared in English. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)940.547241092History and Geography Europe Europe 1918- Military History Of World War II Prisoners of war; medical and social services Prisioner-of-War CampsLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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