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We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance
If this story of espionage and survival were a novel, readers might dismiss the Shackleton-like exploits of its hero as too fantastic to be taken seriously. But respected historian David A. Howarth confirmed the details of Jan Baalsrud's riveting tale. It begins in the spring of '43, with Norway occupied by the Nazis and the Allies desperate to open the northern sea lanes to Russia. Baalsrud and three compatriots plan to smuggle themselves into their homeland by boat, spend the summer recruiting and training resistance fighters, and launch a surprise attack on a German airbase. But he's betrayed shortly after landfall. A quick fight leaves Baalsrud alone and trapped on a freezing island above the Arctic Circle. He's poorly clothed (one foot entirely bare), has a head start of only a few hundred yards on his Nazi pursuers and leaves a trail of blood as he crosses the snow. How he avoids capture and ultimately escapes—revealing that much spoils nothing in this white-knuckle narrative—is astonishing stuff. Baalsrud's feats make the travails in Jon Krakauer's Mount Everest classic Into Thin Air look like child's play. This amazing book will disappoint no one. —John J. Miller (edited)
231 pages, Paperback
First published November 18, 1954
About the author
David Howarth
85 books82 followersDavid Armine Howarth (1912 - 1991) was a British historian and author. After graduating from Cambridge University, he was a radio war correspondent for BBC at the start of the Second World War, joining the Navy after the fall of France. He rose to the rank of lieutenant commander and spent four yeas in the Shetland Islands, becoming second in command of the Shetland Naval base. He was involved in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), including the Shetland Bus, an SOE operation manned by Norwegians running a clandestine route between Shetland and Norway, which utilized fishing boats with crews of Norwegian volunteers to land agents and arms in occupied Norway. For his contributions to espionage operations against the German occupation of Norway, he received King Haakon VII's Cross of Liberty. The King also made Howarth a Chevalier First Class of the Order of St Olav.
After the War he designed and built boats before turning to writing full time. He wrote an account of the Shetland Bus operation, as well as many other books of history, bringing to his many of his books an immense practical knowledge of ships and the sea.
David Howarth died in 1991. At his request, his ashes were scattered over the waters of Lunna Voe, Shetland, near Lunna House, the first base of the Shetland Bus operation.
After the War he designed and built boats before turning to writing full time. He wrote an account of the Shetland Bus operation, as well as many other books of history, bringing to his many of his books an immense practical knowledge of ships and the sea.
David Howarth died in 1991. At his request, his ashes were scattered over the waters of Lunna Voe, Shetland, near Lunna House, the first base of the Shetland Bus operation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 831 reviews
August 22, 2023
Are you depressed? Are you sick of people? Have you just read a book that has put you in the dumps? Then you must read We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance. I am sure you will like it. It works like a tonic. People are not all creeps! People do help others. This book is non-fiction, it is true and I dare you to read this book and not feel happy at the end. G-o-o-d book!
It is about events that occurred in Norway during the German occupation of WW2. The story begins in March 1943. Here is a survival story and a war story that will make you be happy to be alive. Have you been in Norway? Then you will also appreciate it, the book I mean. You will recognize the people, the food, hear about the Lapps and of course be swallowed up by the dark nights in the winter and recognize how glorious it is when the spring comes and it never gets dark....but this is scary if you are hiding. This book takes place in northern Norway, near Tromsö and the Bardufoss Airstation and Kilpisärvi Lake.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Stuart Langton. The narration was OK, but the pronunciation of Norwegian names kind of threw me off at times. Other than that I have no complaints. Maybe he showed a bit too much engagement; I prefer neutral narrators but heck he never wrecked the story, and I was completely glued to it once I had stated it.
The events are amazing. The story is well written, and there is humor and hope. If you are just a teeny bit in the mood for a survival story - pick this. I liked it even better than Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival and will try Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster to compare all three. There is mountaineering in all three.
I am giving this five stars not really because it was amazing but because I enjoyed it from start to finish and felt extremely happy at the end. People need books like this.
It is about events that occurred in Norway during the German occupation of WW2. The story begins in March 1943. Here is a survival story and a war story that will make you be happy to be alive. Have you been in Norway? Then you will also appreciate it, the book I mean. You will recognize the people, the food, hear about the Lapps and of course be swallowed up by the dark nights in the winter and recognize how glorious it is when the spring comes and it never gets dark....but this is scary if you are hiding. This book takes place in northern Norway, near Tromsö and the Bardufoss Airstation and Kilpisärvi Lake.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Stuart Langton. The narration was OK, but the pronunciation of Norwegian names kind of threw me off at times. Other than that I have no complaints. Maybe he showed a bit too much engagement; I prefer neutral narrators but heck he never wrecked the story, and I was completely glued to it once I had stated it.
The events are amazing. The story is well written, and there is humor and hope. If you are just a teeny bit in the mood for a survival story - pick this. I liked it even better than Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival and will try Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster to compare all three. There is mountaineering in all three.
I am giving this five stars not really because it was amazing but because I enjoyed it from start to finish and felt extremely happy at the end. People need books like this.
December 27, 2008
I was not even aware the Nazis had occupied Norway in WWII (that far north??). This book tells the true story of a group of expatriate Norwegian commandos who sailed in a fishing boat from northern England to arctic Norway, with the aim of organizing and supplying the Norwegian resistance. They were betrayed soon after arrival; the Nazis ambushed them and only one man, Jan Baalsrud, survived (though wounded) and escaped. The book tells the story of his flight across Norway to exile in Sweden. Baalsrud suffered extreme exposure, survived an avalanche, had frostbite and snowblindness; but aided by a remarkable string of people who quietly risked their lives to aid his flight from the pursuing Nazis, he lived to tell a remarkable story.
May 18, 2017
This true WWII tale starts fast. Without much buildup, it has an almost cinematic approach as we zero in on a little boat heading toward Norway from the Shetland Islands in 1943. The men are impersonating fishermen but are really aiming to help the Norwegians with the Nazi occupation that has overtaken their land (Norway was neutral but that didn't bother the Germans). Then, BAM! The action begins as the men are betrayed (Quislings ruled the day).
He knew what it meant to be disloyal to the Germans, or rather, to be caught at it: the concentration camp for himself and perhaps for his wife as well; the end of the little business he had begun to build up; the end of his safety was so easy.
As the book's subject goes into survival mode with a goal of somehow making his way to Sweden, it's a page-turner for the reader. For one thing, who can he trust? Average Europeans had to choose between saving their own lives or risking those lives for others. A tight line to follow.
But when a man's mind is numbed by sudden disaster, he acts less by reason than by reflex.
This survival tale is so extraordinary that, to be honest, I didn't really believe it had happened. Anyone can tell a tale of their war adventures and who is to say it did or didn't happen? But the detail and the names of the heroes/heroines won out in the end, and I started to cheer for a happy resolution. While this is a story of bravery and of hope, it's also a story of fear. The fear of the isolated villagers who could lose their homes and families if their clandestine activities are discovered. The fear of Jan, the man on the run, if his goal to survive ends up in others being killed. The fear of average fishermen, of average workers, of average Norwegians, who wondered if they had done enough to put up a fight against the occupiers.
By the time I reached the end, I wanted an extra epilogue so the book wouldn't have to end.
Book Season = Winter (snow caves)
He knew what it meant to be disloyal to the Germans, or rather, to be caught at it: the concentration camp for himself and perhaps for his wife as well; the end of the little business he had begun to build up; the end of his safety was so easy.
As the book's subject goes into survival mode with a goal of somehow making his way to Sweden, it's a page-turner for the reader. For one thing, who can he trust? Average Europeans had to choose between saving their own lives or risking those lives for others. A tight line to follow.
But when a man's mind is numbed by sudden disaster, he acts less by reason than by reflex.
This survival tale is so extraordinary that, to be honest, I didn't really believe it had happened. Anyone can tell a tale of their war adventures and who is to say it did or didn't happen? But the detail and the names of the heroes/heroines won out in the end, and I started to cheer for a happy resolution. While this is a story of bravery and of hope, it's also a story of fear. The fear of the isolated villagers who could lose their homes and families if their clandestine activities are discovered. The fear of Jan, the man on the run, if his goal to survive ends up in others being killed. The fear of average fishermen, of average workers, of average Norwegians, who wondered if they had done enough to put up a fight against the occupiers.
By the time I reached the end, I wanted an extra epilogue so the book wouldn't have to end.
Book Season = Winter (snow caves)
September 21, 2012
I loved this book.
It’s about Jan Baalsrud, a Norwegian. He begins WWII as a courier between Stockholm and Oslo, gets caught by the Swedes, imprisoned, and then manages to make his way to England and join a group of other Norwegians being trained to return to their country and fight the Nazis. That’s where the book begins, with Jan and the other men on his mission approaching the Norwegian coast. Their plan is to hide their sabotage gear, train local groups to resist the Nazis, and then attack a German airfield that’s wrecking havoc on convoys between England and the Soviet Union. But their plans fall apart pretty quickly, and Jan soon finds himself alone in the snow with nothing but his clothing, his pistol, and one boot. What follows is how he survives and eventually makes it back to Sweden, with a lot of help along the way.
I was initially interested in this book because of its title. I like titles with the words like “death” or “die” or “dead” in them (when I submit title suggestions to my publisher, the list usually has at least one that includes “dead” or “death,” but so far they’ve chosen something else). But the title isn’t entirely accurate: Jan doesn’t die (comes close several times). And the people who do die don’t die alone—there’s usually at least a gestapo agent around.
But enough about the title. Jan is brave and resourceful and he can ski like something else. But then events leave him gradually more and more at the mercy of others, and the tough commando becomes vulnerable. Howarth did a wonderful job of finding an amazing story, researching it thoroughly, and then writing it in a way that uses good principles of storytelling so that this true story reads like a novel.
We Die Alone is one of those books I recommend for just about everyone. Readers that enjoy Unbroken or The Long Walk may be especially interested in adding this to their to-read list.
It’s about Jan Baalsrud, a Norwegian. He begins WWII as a courier between Stockholm and Oslo, gets caught by the Swedes, imprisoned, and then manages to make his way to England and join a group of other Norwegians being trained to return to their country and fight the Nazis. That’s where the book begins, with Jan and the other men on his mission approaching the Norwegian coast. Their plan is to hide their sabotage gear, train local groups to resist the Nazis, and then attack a German airfield that’s wrecking havoc on convoys between England and the Soviet Union. But their plans fall apart pretty quickly, and Jan soon finds himself alone in the snow with nothing but his clothing, his pistol, and one boot. What follows is how he survives and eventually makes it back to Sweden, with a lot of help along the way.
I was initially interested in this book because of its title. I like titles with the words like “death” or “die” or “dead” in them (when I submit title suggestions to my publisher, the list usually has at least one that includes “dead” or “death,” but so far they’ve chosen something else). But the title isn’t entirely accurate: Jan doesn’t die (comes close several times). And the people who do die don’t die alone—there’s usually at least a gestapo agent around.
But enough about the title. Jan is brave and resourceful and he can ski like something else. But then events leave him gradually more and more at the mercy of others, and the tough commando becomes vulnerable. Howarth did a wonderful job of finding an amazing story, researching it thoroughly, and then writing it in a way that uses good principles of storytelling so that this true story reads like a novel.
We Die Alone is one of those books I recommend for just about everyone. Readers that enjoy Unbroken or The Long Walk may be especially interested in adding this to their to-read list.
May 30, 2023
QUICK UPDATE: When one thinks of WWII, one rarely thinks of Norway - or at least this "one" doesn't. However, this book highlights how control of the Norwegian coast and its ports was crucial to Germany's disruption of Allied supply convoys sailing from England to Murmansk - as so brutally portrayed in Alistair MacLean's classic HMS Ulysses. And then I recently picked up (unintentionally but serendipitously) the movie "The King's Choice," which covers Germany's invasion of Norway and installation of Vidkun Quisling as its puppet president - a level of infamy which made his name synonymous with "collaborator." (Probably not how he would have wanted history to remember him; but it didn't matter for long as he was executed just five months after Germany's surrender.)
ORIGINAL REVIEW: Took an unintentional deep dive into the unimaginable WWII adventures of Norwegian resistance fighter Jan Baalsrud. First learned of him a few years back by watching the 2018 film "The 12th Man" while recovering from a knee replacement, (apparently watching people's genuine and indeed horrific suffering helps put our own minor inconveniences in better perspective - try it sometime). Was then interested enough to put this book on my TBR list, but there it languished until I noticed the audiobook on Hoopla recently.
Turned out both the book and narration were excellent - was genuinely hard to believe this came out back in 1954, as it could easily have been something written by someone like Mitchell Zuckoff just last year. The only thing that seemed at all dated was Howarth's reluctance to describe the torture of the captured Norwegian agents, since if this were written in today's more horror-saturated environment, this would have been a macabre highlight.
At the same time, I saw our library also had the 2014 book The 12th Man: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance,* on which the movie was supposedly based, and which claimed to correct much of "the fiction" of earlier tellings. So of course, I wanted to know where Alone got it wrong, and so read/skimmed 12th Man to look for those damning inaccuracies. Except…it turned out there really weren't any, or at least many - minor details about just how long Baalsrud stayed hidden where, or how exactly the Laps/Sami (depending on the book, apparently "Laps" is no longer PC) aided in his escape…little stuff like that. Indeed, overall - and as would be expected - the main differences were between both books and the film, which for obvious reasons wanted to up the drama. And so evil Nazi Kurt Stage - our main antagonist throughout the movie - was mentioned only briefly in 12th Man and not at all in Alone; and the avalanche that in the film was caused by an attacking German plane was in reality…just an avalanche.
I'm really glad I read Alone first and foremost, as it was just a rousing and hair-raising story. Unfortunately, the well-intentioned 12th Man was workmanlike at best, reading more like a well-researched but tone-deaf school paper with too much cringey dialogue, and whose many B&W photos were either blurry faces or repetitive shots of mountains and fjords. Best of all three, however, was the movie, which I heartily recommend to all. Thomas Gullestad looks like a cross between Tom Hiddleston and Michael Fassbender, but outacts them both - a sorely overlooked film that is currently available on Kanopy. You're welcome!
4.5 stars (rounded down because the movie) - We Die Alone
2.5 stars (rounded up for effort) - The 12th Man
The Full 5 - Harald Zvart's outstanding "The 12th Man" film
__________________________________
* Unfortunately, it seems as if Howarth's publishers forgot to copyright the phrase "A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance," because this seems like a pretty blatant example of plagarism.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: Took an unintentional deep dive into the unimaginable WWII adventures of Norwegian resistance fighter Jan Baalsrud. First learned of him a few years back by watching the 2018 film "The 12th Man" while recovering from a knee replacement, (apparently watching people's genuine and indeed horrific suffering helps put our own minor inconveniences in better perspective - try it sometime). Was then interested enough to put this book on my TBR list, but there it languished until I noticed the audiobook on Hoopla recently.
Turned out both the book and narration were excellent - was genuinely hard to believe this came out back in 1954, as it could easily have been something written by someone like Mitchell Zuckoff just last year. The only thing that seemed at all dated was Howarth's reluctance to describe the torture of the captured Norwegian agents, since if this were written in today's more horror-saturated environment, this would have been a macabre highlight.
At the same time, I saw our library also had the 2014 book The 12th Man: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance,* on which the movie was supposedly based, and which claimed to correct much of "the fiction" of earlier tellings. So of course, I wanted to know where Alone got it wrong, and so read/skimmed 12th Man to look for those damning inaccuracies. Except…it turned out there really weren't any, or at least many - minor details about just how long Baalsrud stayed hidden where, or how exactly the Laps/Sami (depending on the book, apparently "Laps" is no longer PC) aided in his escape…little stuff like that. Indeed, overall - and as would be expected - the main differences were between both books and the film, which for obvious reasons wanted to up the drama. And so evil Nazi Kurt Stage - our main antagonist throughout the movie - was mentioned only briefly in 12th Man and not at all in Alone; and the avalanche that in the film was caused by an attacking German plane was in reality…just an avalanche.
I'm really glad I read Alone first and foremost, as it was just a rousing and hair-raising story. Unfortunately, the well-intentioned 12th Man was workmanlike at best, reading more like a well-researched but tone-deaf school paper with too much cringey dialogue, and whose many B&W photos were either blurry faces or repetitive shots of mountains and fjords. Best of all three, however, was the movie, which I heartily recommend to all. Thomas Gullestad looks like a cross between Tom Hiddleston and Michael Fassbender, but outacts them both - a sorely overlooked film that is currently available on Kanopy. You're welcome!
4.5 stars (rounded down because the movie) - We Die Alone
2.5 stars (rounded up for effort) - The 12th Man
The Full 5 - Harald Zvart's outstanding "The 12th Man" film
__________________________________
* Unfortunately, it seems as if Howarth's publishers forgot to copyright the phrase "A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance," because this seems like a pretty blatant example of plagarism.
October 16, 2019
OK, in this world, some people are tougher than others. This book is about one guy who offers an answer the next time someone asks well, exactly how tough was he? And, then, well, it only takes a couple of hundred pages to explain....
Having said that, I didn't love the book. It's a good book, and the story is fascinating, ... but, but ... What I found most frustrating (although not enough to stop reading) was that the story is incredible ... absolutely defying belief ... but the telling felt more workmanlike than (to my mind) the epic, extraordinary tale deserved. And, after the action-packed opening sequence, the tale bogs down because, well, it's non-fiction, and ... as the title makes clear ... endurance represents one of most unimaginable aspects of the book (and story).
Well worth reading, particularly to the extent it's a relatively small (short) book. The book is also worthwhile to the extent it's just one of a(nother) million small (individual? micro?) stories that took place off the front pages, outside of the leaders' situation/meeting/briefing rooms, and largely outside of the public's consciousness.
Having said that, I didn't love the book. It's a good book, and the story is fascinating, ... but, but ... What I found most frustrating (although not enough to stop reading) was that the story is incredible ... absolutely defying belief ... but the telling felt more workmanlike than (to my mind) the epic, extraordinary tale deserved. And, after the action-packed opening sequence, the tale bogs down because, well, it's non-fiction, and ... as the title makes clear ... endurance represents one of most unimaginable aspects of the book (and story).
Well worth reading, particularly to the extent it's a relatively small (short) book. The book is also worthwhile to the extent it's just one of a(nother) million small (individual? micro?) stories that took place off the front pages, outside of the leaders' situation/meeting/briefing rooms, and largely outside of the public's consciousness.
October 27, 2014
Anything with endurance in the title gets my attention, especially when it's a tale of survival. Add that to the fact that I was planning a winter trip to Norway, and this was the perfect winter read.
The tale begins 1943, in Nazi-occupied Norway, with a group of young men of the Norwegian resistance planning a mission to attack of German air base. The mission comes to a bad end, and three of the resistance fighters are killed, leaving the central character, Jan Baalsrud, injured and fleeing the Nazis. The ordeal he endures as he ultimately escapes -- almost unbelievable at times, but convincingly documented -- is a harrowing tale of survival in brutal elements. I gained a real sense of the unforgiving landscape of Norway by reading this book.
We Die Alone is also a tale of another kind of heroism, for Jan is aided by villagers who risked everything to help him. Still, for much of the book, Jan is alone, and it made clear that it is only his incredible will that keeps him alive.
This is an absorbing read, and I finished the book in almost one sitting. Why read fictional thrillers when there are true accounts as amazing and inspiring as this?
The tale begins 1943, in Nazi-occupied Norway, with a group of young men of the Norwegian resistance planning a mission to attack of German air base. The mission comes to a bad end, and three of the resistance fighters are killed, leaving the central character, Jan Baalsrud, injured and fleeing the Nazis. The ordeal he endures as he ultimately escapes -- almost unbelievable at times, but convincingly documented -- is a harrowing tale of survival in brutal elements. I gained a real sense of the unforgiving landscape of Norway by reading this book.
We Die Alone is also a tale of another kind of heroism, for Jan is aided by villagers who risked everything to help him. Still, for much of the book, Jan is alone, and it made clear that it is only his incredible will that keeps him alive.
This is an absorbing read, and I finished the book in almost one sitting. Why read fictional thrillers when there are true accounts as amazing and inspiring as this?
March 14, 2010
Amazing story, badly written. Howarth takes what should be a fascinating account of a man's survival and manages to make it almost unbearable to read because of the book's lack of organization and sloppy sentence structure. I admit that I was also only able to read it a bit at a time because Jan's story is so painful to read. I rated the book only three stars because the story deserved better treatment than Howarth gave it. If you liked books like Slavomir Rawicz's The Long Walk you'll want to finish this one.
January 26, 2019
3.5 rounded up to 4. Went into this with great interest, and I did enjoy it and did care about Jan and his supporting cast of brave people who helped all along his way. But something about the writing style of this book sucked the inherent energy & drama out of what is an inherently exciting story. It felt like a report oftentimes. Well worth reading even if it felt occasionally like homework. Amazing what people will do under such circumstances. Recommended.
July 8, 2021
England sent a ship full of expatriate Norwegian commandos to Nazi-occupied arctic Norway in March 1943 to help the Norwegian resistance. The Nazis found them and only one man, Jan Baalsrud, survived. This is his story and the story of the countless others who helped him escape into Sweden.
Why I started this book: Navy Professional Reading title and a short audio book, I figured that I could quickly knock this one out.
Why I finished it: Yikes! I should remember that books with the word "endurance" in the title are never gentle reads. Fascinating, horrifying and rewarding but never gentle.
Why I started this book: Navy Professional Reading title and a short audio book, I figured that I could quickly knock this one out.
Why I finished it: Yikes! I should remember that books with the word "endurance" in the title are never gentle reads. Fascinating, horrifying and rewarding but never gentle.
Read
April 9, 2022The short version....
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/ma...
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/ma...
November 15, 2014
Throughout childhood books along the lines of "Norway and the Norwegians" were recommended to me by parents, grandparents, collateral relatives and friends of the family. This was particularly the case when I was in Norway itself, visiting Mom's parents.
Fin Graff, Mom's dad, had been born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. When his dad, Dr. Harald Graff, committed suicide by shoving a amputation blade into his heart, his mother, Olga, lacking the means to support her three children, sent Fin and his sister, Gerda, back to Oslo to be raised by relatives and kept Einar with herself in the States, ultimately in Chicago. Einar was Dad's father, making my parents cousins.
I went to Norway to visit the grandparents at ages 2-3, and 10-11. By the second visit I was already a reader and being surrounded by Norsk-speakers encouraged even more reading than I was accustomed to. No problem, Morfar Fin had an extensive collection of books, many of them in English, which he encouraged me to read, one of them being We Die Alone. It was a good choice as I was fascinated by WWII, by Nazis (Morfar had a Nazi helmet left over from the Occupation in his attic!) and, like most everyone, by adventure-in-the-wastelands stories.
Fin Graff, Mom's dad, had been born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. When his dad, Dr. Harald Graff, committed suicide by shoving a amputation blade into his heart, his mother, Olga, lacking the means to support her three children, sent Fin and his sister, Gerda, back to Oslo to be raised by relatives and kept Einar with herself in the States, ultimately in Chicago. Einar was Dad's father, making my parents cousins.
I went to Norway to visit the grandparents at ages 2-3, and 10-11. By the second visit I was already a reader and being surrounded by Norsk-speakers encouraged even more reading than I was accustomed to. No problem, Morfar Fin had an extensive collection of books, many of them in English, which he encouraged me to read, one of them being We Die Alone. It was a good choice as I was fascinated by WWII, by Nazis (Morfar had a Nazi helmet left over from the Occupation in his attic!) and, like most everyone, by adventure-in-the-wastelands stories.
November 7, 2022
I have one word for you: TOES
Dude I felt this book just so terrible this poor guy
Dude I felt this book just so terrible this poor guy
June 30, 2011
If this weren’t a true story, no one would buy it as fiction. The book opens in the spring of 1943, as Norway is suffering under Nazi occupation. Four ex-pat Norwegian commandos are heading to the coast with the intent of recruiting and training saboteurs – their ultimate goal is a German airbase, as the Allies desperately need a sea route to Russia. The mission is compromised, and young Jan Baalsrud is left on a tiny, snowy island in the Arctic Circle, drenched, shot, bleeding, unarmed, with only one shoe and a team of Nazis a couple hundred yards behind. How could anyone survive? The cold alone is enough to kill most of us off, not to mention the fright. What follows – frostbite, snow blindness, avalanches, treachery, heroism, starvation, and, always, miles and miles of Arctic snow – kept my mouth hanging open most of time. You couldn’t make this stuff up. Almost as astonishing as Jan’s story is the will of the people who help him, the danger they faced knowing what would happen to their families if they were found out. I have to admit I never think of Norway unless I’m watching the winter Olympics, and certainly I never think of it in the context of World War II, yet the Norwegians’ love of their country in all its frozen, inhospitable glory, and their will to fight the occupation are truly inspiring. Howarth’s prose is a bit bland, but perhaps that was intentional, as the story is breathtaking enough.
March 19, 2012
We Die Alone is the story of a Norwegian named Jan Baalsrud who, along with a team of Norwegian commandos trained by the British, sailed in a disguised fishing boat from the Shetland Islands to Norway in a mission to sabotage German forces during World War II. Unfortunately, things go horribly awry, and Baalsrud, the only surviving member of his team, is forced to make a desperate escape through Arctic terrain crawling with German soldiers. In a series of horrific experiences that reads like a cross between Endurance and Touching the Void, Baalsrud faces avalanches, hypothermia, starvation, and being forced to cut off nine of his gangrenous toes with a dull knife. Most remarkable, however, are the scores of Norwegian civilians who help him over the course of his journey at great financial and personal sacrifice, with a very real risk of ruin and death for themselves and their families if they are caught by the German occupation forces.
January 19, 2019
4.5 stars
In the winter of 1943, 12 Norwegians sailed to the northern coast of Norway for the purpose of infiltrating the country to train local citizens in anti-German resistance and to attack the German military base at Bardufoss. Their mission was discovered and all aboard the boat were captured and/or killed except for Jan Baalsrud. This book is the story of his harrowing journey over the next three months to escape the German occupiers and reach safety across the border in neutral Sweden - a journey of over 80 miles.
Through a series of good fortunes and misfortunes, Jan is helped unfailingly by countrymen and women who put their own lives at risk to save him. Although weakened by illness and fatigue, frozen and frostbitten, snow blinded, and alone for long lonely days and weeks in the unforgiving Arctic landscape, Jan's spirit and will simply would not let his body die. An incredible true story that had me turning pages non stop until the dramatic ending.
In the winter of 1943, 12 Norwegians sailed to the northern coast of Norway for the purpose of infiltrating the country to train local citizens in anti-German resistance and to attack the German military base at Bardufoss. Their mission was discovered and all aboard the boat were captured and/or killed except for Jan Baalsrud. This book is the story of his harrowing journey over the next three months to escape the German occupiers and reach safety across the border in neutral Sweden - a journey of over 80 miles.
Through a series of good fortunes and misfortunes, Jan is helped unfailingly by countrymen and women who put their own lives at risk to save him. Although weakened by illness and fatigue, frozen and frostbitten, snow blinded, and alone for long lonely days and weeks in the unforgiving Arctic landscape, Jan's spirit and will simply would not let his body die. An incredible true story that had me turning pages non stop until the dramatic ending.
June 26, 2007
This story was amazing! It was recommended by my friend Martha as a book club selection and because I'm not that into non-fiction, much less war stories, I was kind of hesitant to read it. I'm glad she recommended it and I'm glad I read it - I've recommended or talked about this book so much since then!
This guy's story is so unbelievable that if it were fiction, or a Hollywood movie, you'd turn it off b/c it would seems like total bullshit. But he went through some impossible odds in the snowy wilderness of Norway, alone, with barely any food, multiple injuries, and made it out alive - all while being chased by the Nazis.
It's well written, easy to read, and really worth it. I highly recommend it.
This guy's story is so unbelievable that if it were fiction, or a Hollywood movie, you'd turn it off b/c it would seems like total bullshit. But he went through some impossible odds in the snowy wilderness of Norway, alone, with barely any food, multiple injuries, and made it out alive - all while being chased by the Nazis.
It's well written, easy to read, and really worth it. I highly recommend it.
December 31, 2012
The movie takes place during World War II and depicts the true story of Jan Baalsruds amazing escape from the German army from the coast of Northern Norway and across the border to the neutral country Sweden. Jan Baalsrud is on a sabotage mission from England to Norway together with 11 other soldiers in the winter of 1943 in a fishing boat when they are attacked by a German patrolboat. Jan Baalsrud is the only one who manages to escape and sets off towards Sweden through the enormous amounts of snow and the steep mountains of Norway. The local communities where he passes through help him despite the danger of being arrested and killed. Jan Baalsrud, snowblind and having to cut off his toes because of frost-damage survives alone in the mountains for weeks. The locals are constantly trying to get him over to Sweden, but German patrols and the winter storms delay their departure.
This movie Nine Lives (1957)
Ni liv (original title) is available at You Tube.
Director: Arne Skouen
David Howarth book "We Die Alone"
James L. Shute translation (uncredited)
Arne Skouen
Stars: Jack Fjeldstad, Henny Moan and Alf Malland
This movie Nine Lives (1957)
Ni liv (original title) is available at You Tube.
Director: Arne Skouen
David Howarth book "We Die Alone"
James L. Shute translation (uncredited)
Arne Skouen
Stars: Jack Fjeldstad, Henny Moan and Alf Malland
September 10, 2016
Truth is stranger than fiction - that is so true, particularly in this case - what an amazing story! During World War II, in 1943 Jan Baalsrud along with 11 other Norwegian men sailed from the U.K. where they had trained and headed to Nazi-occupied Norway to destroy a German air control tower and support the Norwegian resistance. The mission was compromised and their boat destroyed. Eleven men were captured or died - only Jan Ballsrud managed to escape. The book is about one man’s survival against all odds overcoming frostbite and snow blindness for more than two months, relying on the patriotism of the Norwegians and Lapps who put their lives on the line to transport him out of Nazi-occupied Norway across Finland and then into neutral Sweden. War brings out the worst in people, but equally and amazingly, the best in people. This is a story of the latter. Definitely a recommended read or listen (which I did).
September 17, 2007
Loving world travel, the experience is always enhanced by good airplane reading that helps me learn more about the destination. Named after my Norweigan great-grandmother, I know the source of my stoicism -- yet this book taught me so much more about Norway during WWII and how herioc individuals fought and resisted occupation while the allied leaders deployed troops elsewhere. A fictional account of endurance like this would not be believed. This book -- and these people -- are worth reading and saluting. Enjoy.
July 25, 2016
"If Jan had stopped to think, everything would have seemed hopeless. He was alone, in uniform, on a small bare island, hunted by about fifty Germans. He left a deep track as he waded through the snow which anyone could follow. He was wet through and had one bare foot, which was wounded, and it was freezing hard. The island was separated from the mainland by two sounds, each several miles wide and patrolled by the enemy, and all his money and papers had been blown up in the boat."
That is the first paragraph of the third chapter in what is truly the most incredible -- and true! -- story I have ever read. Jan Baalsrud ultimately survives and escapes.
Jan is a Norwegian commando in 1943 on an undercover mission in the very north of Nazi-occupied Norway, with the aim of establishing and training a resistance squad to take out a Nazi air base. His mission is almost immediately compromised (in an absurdly coincidental way) and he soon finds himself the only remaining part of the team not killed or captured. Once he escapes the Germans' initial search, he encounters a series of patriotic Norwegians willing to risk their lives and sacrifice much to get him a step closer to safety.
These characters and their sacrifice drive the book as much as Jan does. In remote 1940s Norway, people fish, farm, and trade, and little else. No one is poor, but no one is by any means rich – they seem to live such that they have exactly what they need and nothing more. The people who helped Jan took precious money out of their pockets and food off their families' tables. They all knew what the Nazis would do to them and their families if they were caught. But though they were aware of the war effort, they were far removed from it, and many looked at assisting Jan's escape as their contribution.
The book is very poorly edited – way too many unnecessary 'thats' and 'hads' and 'whichs' and 'ands' that nearly make reading about Jan's actions unbearable. I counted at least 20 typos, including a brutal two/to mixup and one in a photo caption. I don't understand how that happens. Really the only reason this does not merit a coveted 5-star rating. But once the author sets about describing the next stage of scenery and conveying the idea of just what Jan was up against, it's mesmerizing. Several times I had to doublecheck just to make sure the story was true. It really is a "what else could possibly happen to make this worse?" kind of story…and then it does. Stephen Ambrose writes the preface and has to almost implore you to believe that yes, this story really is true.
Once Jan is given a set of skis, it seems imminent that the expert skier would zoom to Sweden, about 40 miles away, in no time. He even buzzed through a village and within arm's reach of off-duty, disinterested Nazi soldiers. But that pesky avalanche, which sends him falling 300 feet and leaves him wandering aimlessly, delirious and hallucinating from a concussion, and completely snowblind. He somehow stumbles across a cabin inhabited miraculously by another patriotic Norwegian.
And so on, and so on. Each new part of the journey becomes more incredible than the last. The author explores the depth of human endurance, suffering, loneliness, and hopelessness with moving acuity. It is tough to tell which is more amazing: Jan's will and ability to survive, or the string of Norwegians – such simple but dedicated people – who risked everything for a stranger, but a fellow countryman. It truly is an inspirational story. The next time something seems hopeless or too difficult, I can think of Jan, alone, frostbitten, starving, unable to move, on a barren Norwegian mountain, and that he lived to be 71 years old.
That is the first paragraph of the third chapter in what is truly the most incredible -- and true! -- story I have ever read. Jan Baalsrud ultimately survives and escapes.
Jan is a Norwegian commando in 1943 on an undercover mission in the very north of Nazi-occupied Norway, with the aim of establishing and training a resistance squad to take out a Nazi air base. His mission is almost immediately compromised (in an absurdly coincidental way) and he soon finds himself the only remaining part of the team not killed or captured. Once he escapes the Germans' initial search, he encounters a series of patriotic Norwegians willing to risk their lives and sacrifice much to get him a step closer to safety.
These characters and their sacrifice drive the book as much as Jan does. In remote 1940s Norway, people fish, farm, and trade, and little else. No one is poor, but no one is by any means rich – they seem to live such that they have exactly what they need and nothing more. The people who helped Jan took precious money out of their pockets and food off their families' tables. They all knew what the Nazis would do to them and their families if they were caught. But though they were aware of the war effort, they were far removed from it, and many looked at assisting Jan's escape as their contribution.
The book is very poorly edited – way too many unnecessary 'thats' and 'hads' and 'whichs' and 'ands' that nearly make reading about Jan's actions unbearable. I counted at least 20 typos, including a brutal two/to mixup and one in a photo caption. I don't understand how that happens. Really the only reason this does not merit a coveted 5-star rating. But once the author sets about describing the next stage of scenery and conveying the idea of just what Jan was up against, it's mesmerizing. Several times I had to doublecheck just to make sure the story was true. It really is a "what else could possibly happen to make this worse?" kind of story…and then it does. Stephen Ambrose writes the preface and has to almost implore you to believe that yes, this story really is true.
Once Jan is given a set of skis, it seems imminent that the expert skier would zoom to Sweden, about 40 miles away, in no time. He even buzzed through a village and within arm's reach of off-duty, disinterested Nazi soldiers. But that pesky avalanche, which sends him falling 300 feet and leaves him wandering aimlessly, delirious and hallucinating from a concussion, and completely snowblind. He somehow stumbles across a cabin inhabited miraculously by another patriotic Norwegian.
And so on, and so on. Each new part of the journey becomes more incredible than the last. The author explores the depth of human endurance, suffering, loneliness, and hopelessness with moving acuity. It is tough to tell which is more amazing: Jan's will and ability to survive, or the string of Norwegians – such simple but dedicated people – who risked everything for a stranger, but a fellow countryman. It truly is an inspirational story. The next time something seems hopeless or too difficult, I can think of Jan, alone, frostbitten, starving, unable to move, on a barren Norwegian mountain, and that he lived to be 71 years old.
January 13, 2016
This true-life story of human endurance is genuinely gripping, a factual account which is as riveting as any fictionalised adventure tale. Every chapter rings with the echo of authenticity. It’s as grim and as gritty as any noir novel, but does ultimate justice to the inner strength of an indomitable human spirit.
We Die Alone is a detailed account of a military operation which went horribly wrong, back in WW2 when Norway was occupied by Nazi forces. A Norwegian resistance unit sneaks from the British Shetlands to the northern fjords, on a fishing boat stuffed to the gunwales with explosives and equipment. Yet before they can even land safely, everything goes horribly wrong.
And it’s here that the story really begins, with Jan, the surviving fighter, isolated in an utterly unfamiliar landscape, facing torture and execution if captured. He doesn’t know who he can trust; any locals he involves run the same risks as he does, and the weather, water and towering mountains stand between him and a possible safe haven in Sweden…
The writing is crisp, descriptive without being fussy, detailed enough to explain the situation without overwhelming the reader in acres of exposition. Half of the chapters end on a cliff-hanger – and that’s not simply through deft story-telling but because that’s how the actual events unravelled. Jan faced a seemingly insurmountable series of disasters – frostbite, septicaemia, starvation, avalanche, abandonment, being buried alive – yet somehow contrives not to die, not to sleep, not to be swallowed by the deep snowdrifts.
The story also reflects the bravery of the people who helped him, and of those who died during this operation. It’s a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit, told with subtlety and quite some style. How it hasn’t been made into a blockbuster movie is a total mystery.
9/10
We Die Alone is a detailed account of a military operation which went horribly wrong, back in WW2 when Norway was occupied by Nazi forces. A Norwegian resistance unit sneaks from the British Shetlands to the northern fjords, on a fishing boat stuffed to the gunwales with explosives and equipment. Yet before they can even land safely, everything goes horribly wrong.
And it’s here that the story really begins, with Jan, the surviving fighter, isolated in an utterly unfamiliar landscape, facing torture and execution if captured. He doesn’t know who he can trust; any locals he involves run the same risks as he does, and the weather, water and towering mountains stand between him and a possible safe haven in Sweden…
The writing is crisp, descriptive without being fussy, detailed enough to explain the situation without overwhelming the reader in acres of exposition. Half of the chapters end on a cliff-hanger – and that’s not simply through deft story-telling but because that’s how the actual events unravelled. Jan faced a seemingly insurmountable series of disasters – frostbite, septicaemia, starvation, avalanche, abandonment, being buried alive – yet somehow contrives not to die, not to sleep, not to be swallowed by the deep snowdrifts.
The story also reflects the bravery of the people who helped him, and of those who died during this operation. It’s a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit, told with subtlety and quite some style. How it hasn’t been made into a blockbuster movie is a total mystery.
9/10
June 12, 2018
Terrific book about an exciting rescue in WWII occupied Norway. Jan is the sole survivor of a failed attempt to organize Norwegian resistance. His fortitude and optimism reminded me of Louis in Unbroken, but the Norwegian patriots who risked all to help a stranger in their German occupied country are the true heroes. Howarth does a great job describing the frigid landscape and conditions of arctic Norway and some idea of the life of the people who manage to live there. I'd like to know more about the Lapp people and wonder how accurate this 1955 description of them is today. I'm glad I wasn't put off by the title We Die Alone which to me doesn't really doesn't fit the book. Although Spoiler Alert I guess we all do. Four and a half stars rounded up for restored faith in humanity.
November 3, 2018
It might be a non fiction book, but it reads like a very suspenseful espionage novel. When a group of soldiers get dropped by boat in Norway and are betrayed very quickly, only 1 survives, Jan Baalsrud. Wounded he escapes the Nazi’s that try to capture them.
He escapes and stays alive thanks to all kinds of help courageous people,
Very interesting story, if you are interested in WWII, resistance, and survival. I enjoyed it, but thought it sometimes a bit long.
He escapes and stays alive thanks to all kinds of help courageous people,
Very interesting story, if you are interested in WWII, resistance, and survival. I enjoyed it, but thought it sometimes a bit long.
January 9, 2021
A well told, engaging, amazing story of endurance against the odds. Set in Norway in 1943, twenty six years old Jan Baalstrud is part of a commando raid that goes horribly wrong. All his comrades are killed by the Germans, who occupied Norway at that time. Jan suffers frostbite, snow blindness, a fall in an avalanche, and many weeks living through storms in the mountains on his own. His survival depended on the help of many Norwegians who, in helping Jan, risked being killed by the Germans. A worthwhile read.
January 20, 2023
Entusiasmante. Quando si confronta la nostra vita con quella che hanno vissuto i nostri padri durante la seconda guerra mondiale ci rendiamo conto che molte nostre depressioni sono ingiustificate.Una volta letto consiglio il film Ni Liv del 1957, lo si trova su YouTube, e poi una serie della tv norvegese disponibile su internet nella quale due militari ripetcorrono la strada della fuga di Jan Baalsrud attraverso fiordi e montagne, con interviste ai superstiti tra le persone che lo hanno aiutato.
August 17, 2024
This real life story of survival is coo coo bananas. It makes all the contestants on Alone look like children. Would be a 5 start book if the author knew how to tell a story. Sentence structure is poor, and the timelines are sloppy, but whooooo boy, you can’t make this stuff up!
February 4, 2021
By the time you reach the part where our hero, Jan, suffering from frostbite and gangrene, decides to cut off his toes with a dull rusty knife, and you look up at the clock, you realize you have just read 150 pages without pause and, at times, without breath. This is a remarkable true story of espionage, escape, and endurance. Real life writ like fiction.
February 2, 2022
First published in 1955. A thrilling story.
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