Defiant Courage (A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance in Occupied Norway)

Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; INTRODUCTION; AT ANCHOR IN SCALLOWAY; M/K BRATTHOLM; THE CONVOYS; THE LINGE COMPANY; FEARLESS MEN; CROSSING THE ATLANTIC; I WON'T TELL A SOUL; A TRAGIC DECISION; BATTLE IN TOFTEFJORD; EXPLOSION; COURAGE THAT DEFIED DEATH; VÅRØYA ISLAND; THE GESTAPO BRINGS TERROR; A SICKENING FEAR; A WARM WELCOME ON HERSØY ISLAND; TROMSØ HAPPENINGS; FATE OF THE BRATTHOLM MEN; A TRIUMPHANT FIND; THE HELPFUL MIDWIFE; KARANES; DÅFJORD; DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINS; BJØRNSKAR; EINAR AND BERNHARD; LØVLI; A NARROW ESCAPE; ALONE IN THE MOUNTAINS.;I remember reading We Die Alone in 1970 and I could never forget it. Then when we went to Norway to do a docu-drama, people told us again and again that certain parts were pure fiction. Since I was a Norwegian that was not good enough; I had to find the truth. I sincerely believe we did, writes author Astrid Karlsen Scott, and Defiant Courage is the true story of what Jan Baalsrud endured as he tried to escape from the Gestapo in Norway's Troms District. In late March 1943, in the midst of WWII, four Norwegian saboteurs arrived in northern Norway on a fishing cutter and set anchor in Toftefjord to establish a base for their operations. However, they were betrayed, and a German boat attacked the cutter, creating a battlefield and spiraling Jan Baalsrud into the adventure of his life. The only survivor and wounded, Baalsrud begins a perilous journey to freedom, swimming icy fjords, climbing snow-covered peaks, enduring snowstorms, and getting caught in a monstrous avalanche. More than sixty people of the Troms District risk their lives to help Baalsrud, who was suffering from snow-blindness and frostbite, to freedom. Meticulously researched for more than five years, Karlsen Scott and Haug bring forth the truth behind this captivating, edge-of-your-seat, real-life survival story. The incredible true story of one man's escape from Nazis in Norway. “I remember reading We Die Alone in 1970 and I could never forget it. Then when we went to Norway to do a docudrama, people told us again and again that certain parts were pure fiction. Since I was a Norwegian that was not good enough; I had to find the truth. I sincerely believe we did," writes author Astrid Karlsen Scott. Defiant Courage is the true story of what Jan Baalsrud endured as he tried to escape from the Gestapo in Norway's Troms District. In late March 1943, in the midst of WWII, four Norwegian saboteurs arrived in northern Norway on a fishing cutter and set anchor in Toftefjord to establish a base for their operations. However, they were betrayed, and a German boat attacked the cutter, creating a battlefield and spiraling Jan Baalsrud into the adventure of his life. The only survivor, a wounded Baalsrud begins a perilous journey to freedom, swimming icy fjords, climbing snow-covered peaks, enduring snowstorms, and getting caught in a monstrous avalanche. More than sixty people of the Troms District risk their lives to help Baalsrud, suffering from snow blindness and frostbite, to freedom. Meticulously researched for more than five years, Karlsen Scott and Haug bring forth the truth behind this captivating, edge-of-your-seat, real-life survival story. Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home. The incredible true story of Jan Baalsrud’s escape from the Nazis in the frigid wilderness of occupied Norway. In late March 1943, in the depths of the Second World War, four Norwegian commandos arrived by fishing cutter in the cove of Toftefjord in northern Norway. They dropped anchor there, hoping to establish a base of operations for a campaign of sabotage against the occupying Nazi forces. But they were soon betrayed. A German boat attacked the cutter, killing all but one of the would-be saboteurs. The lone survivor, Jan Baalsrud, who was wounded in the fighting, then embarked on the adventure of his life. He swam icy fjords, climbed snow-covered peaks, endured snowstorms, and got caught in a monstrous avalanche—all in an attempt to elude his Gestapo pursuers. More than sixty residents of Norway’s Troms District risked their lives to help Baalsrud, who was slowed by snow blindness and frostbite, on his perilous journey to freedom. “Baalsrud and his rescuers,” remarked the New York Times, “displayed an unbelievable level of hardheaded toughness and resilience.” Defiant Courage is the amazing true story of Baalsrud’s escape, which inspired the book We Die Alone and the Oscar-nominated Norwegian film Nine Lives. Meticulously researched for more than five years, Astrid Karlsen Scott and Tore Haug’s account brings out the truth behind this edge-of-your-seat real-life survival tale. "'I remember reading We Die Alone in 1970 and I could never forget it. Then when we went to Norway to do a docudrama, people told us again and again that certain parts were pure fiction. Since I was a Norwegian that was not good enough; I had to find the truth. I sincerely believe we did,' writes author Astrid Karlsen Scott. Defiant Courage is the true story of what Jan Baalsrud endured as he tried to escape from the Gestapo in Norway's Troms District. In late March 1943, in the midst of WWII, four Norwegian saboteurs arrived in northern Norway on a fishing cutter and set anchor in Toftefjord to establish a base for their operations. However, they were betrayed, and a German boat attacked the cutter, creating a battlefield and spiraling Jan Baalsrud into the adventure of his life. The only survivor and wounded, Baalsrud begins a perilous journey to freedom, swimming icy fjords, climbing snow-covered peaks, enduring snowstorms, and getting caught in a monstrous avalanche. Suffering from snowblindness and frostbite, more than sixty people of the Troms District risk their lives to help Baalsrud to freedom. Meticulously researched for more than five years, Karlsen Scott and Haug bring forth the truth behind this captivating, edge-of-your-seat, real-life survival story."--Publisher's description Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION AT ANCHOR IN SCALLOWAY M/K BRATTHOLM THE CONVOYS THE LINGE COMPANY FEARLESS MEN CROSSING THE ATLANTIC I WON'T TELL A SOUL A TRAGIC DECISION BATTLE IN TOFTEFJORD EXPLOSION COURAGE THAT DEFIED DEATH VÅRØYA ISLAND THE GESTAPO BRINGS TERROR A SICKENING FEAR A WARM WELCOME ON HERSØY ISLAND TROMSØ HAPPENINGS FATE OF THE BRATTHOLM MEN A TRIUMPHANT FIND THE HELPFUL MIDWIFE KARANES DÅFJORD DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINS BJØRNSKAR EINAR AND BERNHARD LØVLI A NARROW ESCAPE ALONE IN THE MOUNTAINS. STORM IN LYNGSDALEN VALLEYLOVING HANDS IN THE HAYLOFT BUSY DAYS ON GRØNVOLL FARM A TENDER FAREWELL HOTEL SAVOY HAPPENINGS IN LOFOTEN ISLANDS GEARING UP FOR REVDAL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FJORD PUSHED TO THE BRINK THE MANNDALEN MEN GRAVE CONCERNS FOR JAN PEDER AND NIGO FIND THE SNOW CAVE JAN'S SOLITUDE RESCUED FROM THE SNOW CAVE BENEATH THE SKY IN AVZEVAGGI THE SPIRIT OF THE SAMI AT CROSS PURPOSES CONCEALED IN A CAVE IN SKAIDIJONNI THE SHERIFF'S ASSISTANTS DO NOT ASK ME THIS THE GERMANS IN PURSUIT EN ROUTE TO FREEDOM EPILOGUE SOURCES ABOUT THE AUTHORS. In late March 1943, in the midst of WWII, four Norweigan saboteurs arrived in northern Norway on a fishing cutter and set anchor in Troftefjord to establish a base for their operations. This title tells the true story of what Jan Baalsrud endured as he tried to escape from the Gestapo in Norway's Troms District. " ... the astounding true story of what Jan Baalsrud endured as he tried to escape from the Gestapo in Norway's Troms District."--Page 4 of cover