Book excerpt: These men for whom there is little else that life has to offer, little or nothing to lose; these are men who are at the limits; these are men who might walk on hot coals without burning their feet.' In the folklore of World War II, the memory of those heroes who staged 'Great Escapes' from PoW camps still endures. But what of the other side of the coin: the audacious and daring breakouts of gangsters and villains today? The focus of Prison Break is one these 'Great Escapes' from civilian prisons, whether the escape is planned or opportunistic, aided from within by corrupt guards or facilitated by a violent gang of intruders. We travel with out subjects as they go over walls, tunnel out, or are lifted from the exercise yard into the skies. The exploits of such legendary Houdini type figures as the 18th Century rogue Jack Sheppard and the Canadian serial escaper Wayne Carlson are recounted alongside tales of breakouts from seemingly unassailable jails; Alcatraz, Northern Ireland's Maze prison, and the Bangkok Hilton.