I thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning from the Great Escape. I started and finished in one sitting of a few hours; I couldn't put it down. It has many great lessons and relevance to today's projects and project managers and stakeholders.

James E Crotty, PMP
HPS Engagement Program Management Office,
Americas PM Profession Lead

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

Let me start this review by stating I've read and reviewed Mark Kozak-Holland's works before and have given his books high marks. He is an excellent author and brings content to the reader that is both an enjoyable read and presents real value to the reader. He is business-oriented and provides workable solutions to project management that work. Having rated his work highly, when I read this book I wasn't sure what to expect. I've studied history, including military history and watched the movie The Great Escape many times. It is a story of extraordinary courage in the face of life-threatening odds and represents the people who fought and died for their countries. I was hoping Mr. Kozak-Holland would present a work that did not detract from the honorable actions of great men. He didn't, and I am privileged to offer yet another outstanding review for his efforts.

This book develops the planning and actions that really occurred in the prisoner of war camp. Mr. Kozak-Holland involved some of the prisoners who were present and participated in the escape planning and occurrence. He has taken a series of events and honorably translated them into a book that shows how project planning works. He provides step-by-step instructions on what worked and what didn’t and uses the lessons learned to demonstrate project planning in the current world. His discussions regarding the escape are obviously well researched and articulated, and his ability to talk to them in project management terms is without peer. He is clearly extremely knowledgeable in project management and his ability to teach the subject by using historic events is second to none.

Mr. Kozak-Holland has provided business managers, college students, and anyone interested in the subject a series of books that need to be part of every college, university, and library. If you haven't read his books, I strongly recommend you do. They are excellent, and "Project Lessons from the Great Escape" is no exception..
 
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

Having spent over 45 years as a project management practitioner and educator, I have read my share of books on the subject. Too many quickly reduce the reader to a semi-conscious state. Not so "Project Lessons from The Great Escape (Stalag Luft III)". It is exciting, pertinent, and fun. Mark Kozak-Holland takes a great (and true) story and makes the connection to today's project management challenges. A great read and "lessons learned" of the best kind. A must read for PMs.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

I found Mark's most recent book to be quite excellent. His ability to apply project management theory and methodologies to historical events is quite unique - and informative. I have read other accounts in the past regarding the events at Luft Stalag III, but none from Mark's PM-focused perspective. This perspective really provides an interesting and more complete context to the life and death efforts made by the brave POWs at Stalag III.

It is very thoughtful and fitting for Mark to include information concerning the Great Escape memorial project in the book as well.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

The study of history gives us an opportunity to learn from our mistakes and yet we continue to repeat those mistakes. In project management, the outcomes of lessons learned should be applied and in most cases we ignore those lessons and continue to make those mistakes. We have all experienced in our careers as project managers a project that no one wants to do, but it is the right thing to do and yet we are faced with the lack of funding and resourcing making it possible to go forward. The historical example that the author has presented is one of those projects.

The author has carefully dissected the historical event by relating it to the different phases of a project and the nine PMBOK knowledge areas. his assessment is straightforward and to the point. From a project management perspective, Project Lessons from The Great Escape (Stalag Luft III) provides a unique opportunity to learn more about project management and apply that knowledge to our daily activities. Mark again has proven that he is extremely adaptive in taking selected moments in history and exposing us to the principles of project management.
 
Once I started reading, I found that I could not put the book down. I had to finish reading the book. The book even started me thinking about other historical examples that could be used. I would love the opportunity to collaborate on another. Kudos and more kudos to the author for an excellent effort.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

This book and others by Mark Kozak-Holland are a tremendous resource for educators - the stark reality of failed projects and Mark's detailed research, historical accuracy, and the link to the PMBOK, helps us to analyze and understand we are not alone in managing our complex projects today. The incredible resourcefulness and bravery of these men gives us hope on our own troubled projects.

Unfortunately, it is still true today that the risk knowledge area is one that plagues us, especially in the lack of adequate risk response and contingency planning.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

Every project manager knows that having a sound project plan could make or break a project. Should the project fail, the project manager has to worry about job security, their egos, as well as their reputation as a professional. But at the end of the day, do they have to worry if they will live or die?
 
In Project Lessons from The Great Escape (Stalag Luft III), Mark Kozak-Holland takes a historical event and relates it to Project Management principles used in the workplace today. As a current student of Project Management and an employee working with many Project Management Professionals, I found this book to be a nice contrast from the other Project Management materials currently used in the classrooms and workplace. Kozak-Holland uses terms and ideas found in the guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). He also relates the events to the nine knowledge areas used by Project Management Professionals today. By applying these principles to a famous historical event, Kozak-Holland takes the blandness of the PMBOK and combines it with a story, which makes the reader forget that they are reading a book to be used for teaching.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

One of the most dramatic escape attempts ever carried out by prisoners of war took place at Stalag Luft III in eastern Germany in World War II. It was a prison camp populated almost exclusively by allied airmen shot down over Germany. Nearly all were crew members of bombers that were devastating the German cities. The German population considered them to be criminals and there were many instances of downed fliers being brutally killed by the revenge-minded civilian population. Therefore, if a POW was to escape from the Stalag, there was little possibility of being aided by the civilians if it were to become known that he was the member of an Allied air crew.
The POWs in the camp were well organized and controlled, in many ways the camp represented a village isolated in the region but in contact with the outside world. Red Cross parcels arrived on a regular basis and there was a strict military chain of command that was respected by both the POWs and their German military guards. Within this context, the POWs planned and carried out an elaborate tunneling system that allowed several hundred POWs to flee the camp.
 
In this book, the author relates the project of escaping from the camp to other major projects in less life-threatening circumstances. There is the process of setting the overall goals, soliciting and examining all possible options, making a decision regarding what option to pursue, managing the project, setting the timeframe for termination, acquiring and efficiently allocating limited assets, and carrying out the escape attempt. Of the hundreds of men who fled the camp on the night of March 24, 1944 only three made it back to allied territory and over 50 of those captured were executed by the Gestapo. What was considered the greatest point of success was that immediately after the escape, 70,000 German soldiers were tied down in the search and re-capture of a few hundred men.
 
While I agree that some of lessons of the great escape can be applied to the modern business world, one must be very careful in too tightly winding the analogy. I cite the following reasons why some space must be maintained.
 
1) This project was carried out in a time of war, being bombarded by memos and business plans is nowhere near the threat of death by bombs and bullets.
2) The men in Stalag Luft III were under military discipline, where the order of a superior officer must be obeyed. Attempting to relate military command structures to civilian processes is a difficult one to do right.
3) The POWs in the stalag were not able to leave, not even request a transfer. This will impart a cohesion that cannot exist in civilian life, where a person is free to quit and pursue another job.
4) Being airmen, the POWs in Stalag Luft III were more intelligent, educated and highly trained than most other members of the military. Given the large number of POWs in the camp, this meant that nearly every skill would be present.

Rating: [4 of 5 Stars!]

Project Lessons from The Great Escape is a fascinating read! Mark's use of a familiar story (thanks to The Great Escape starring Steve McQueen and Sir Richard Attenborough, MGM, 1963) is an excellent way to illustrate the nine knowledge areas of the Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK). As a former F-15E Weapons System Officer (WSO) with combat during DESERT STORM and past President of the PMI Central Virginia Chapter (PMI CVC) I was captivated by Mark's analysis. While true that what happened in Stalag Luft III can't be too tightly tied to today's business environment; the illustration of the importance and cohesiveness of the nine knowledge areas remains. The story is a great means by which to illustrate modern project management methods and provide a springboard for conversation to leverage the lessons of the past and apply them to today. I highly recommend this book and others from Mark's "Lessons From History" series.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

An entertaining and informative book that connects The Great Escape to the PMBoK knowledge areas in a way that teaches you without sounding like a classroom textbook. Our department's group of PMPs will be using this book as a reference during our weekly lunch and learn sessions to discuss how we can better plan our contingencies. This book has taught me that almost any obstacle can be overcome with some basic brainstorming and resourcefulness. I would highly recommend this book.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

I thought this was an excellent book.  It took project mgmt and applied it to a real life or death scenario.  Unlike most text books this was so easy to read and and enjoyable.  I found after reading it that I actually picked up the project mgmt concepts and seemed to retain them better than I do when reading "dry" text books.  I have to go back and read those 2 or 3 times to get the concepts but writing in this manner definitely helped me learn more.  I have seen the movie numerous times and to actually read about what really happened was very eye opening.