9/12/13: Escape from Camp 14

Hey Guys!

This is my review for Blaine Harden's Escape from Camp 14.

Escape from Camp 14

Author: Blaine Harden

Genre: Realistic, Foreign

Goodreads Blurb: North Korea is isolated and hungry, bankrupt and belligerent. It is also armed with nuclear weapons. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people are being held in its political prison camps, which have existed twice as long as Stalin's Soviet gulags and twelve times as long as the Nazi concentration camps. Very few born and raised in these camps have escaped. But Shin Donghyuk did.

In Escape from Camp 14, acclaimed journalist Blaine Harden tells the story of Shin Dong-hyuk and through the lens of Shin's life unlocks the secrets of the world's most repressive totalitarian state. Shin knew nothing of civilized existence-he saw his mother as a competitor for food, guards raised him to be a snitch, and he witnessed the execution of his own family. Through Harden's harrowing narrative of Shin's life and remarkable escape, he offers an unequaled inside account of one of the world's darkest nations and a riveting tale of endurance, courage, and survival.

Published/ing: March 29, 2012 by Viking Adult

Rating: 4/5

Review: 

I really enjoyed this book. It is unlike most books I have read lately (aka Romance, Contemporary, Zombies) but WOW this book blew me to pieces. 

So as a teenager, it is stereo typically said that we do not have "accurate" world views. And that really makes me mad. When I talk about certain current events, and I'm told that I am wrong. That I don't really know what's happening. 

What I do is prove that wrong. I read articles. I read books. I watch news videos. I watch interviews. I listen to presidential speeches. I know more about what is going on outside of my little city than most adults like to think.

Over the past few months (years) America has been having a row with North Korea. Just last spring there were nuclear threats.  So I thought that'd I'd better educate myself on what is really going on in North Korea, because this is not something that is brought up in schools. 

This book is the perfect way to learn about North Korea and its relations with China, South Korea, and America. We get to see the hierarchical system and the communist rule. We see inside the government and inside the prison camps of escapees and traitor families. We get to see possibly the worst form of massacre in human history (yes, worse than the Holocaust and Stalin). 

I found this book extremely moving and extremely informative. 

If you want to be like me, and know more, I suggest book to you. In fact, I suggest this book to just about anyone. Adult or Teenager. You should know why it's always North Korea this and North Korea that.

Future News:

There was a German movie made off this book in 2012, but as far as that, there is no new news. 


See you guys this weekend hopefully!
~Monty