Escape from Camp 14 : one man's remarkable odyssey from North Korea to freedom in the west / Blaine Harden.

This is a very well written and riveting book, informative in its details, that describes the life that Shin Dong-Hyuk experienced in North Korea's political prison Camp 14 before he escaped at age 23. His escape was an amazing feat considering the heavily guarded and fortified area and more importantly, the vigilance of other prisoners looking to be rewarded for snitching on or betraying those suspected of planning an escape. He was able to get away partly by sheer luck due to the unexpected fate of a fellow prisoner. As far as can be determined, Shin is the only lifelong prisoner to have escaped from this location. Given his lack of experience and education, it's astonishing that he was able to make his way into China and then South Korea.

Blaine Harden writes that Camp 14 is "the toughest of them all because of its particularly brutal working conditions, the vigilance of its guards, and the state's unforgiving view of the seriousness of the crimes committed by its inmates, many of whom are purged officials from the ruling party, the government, and the military, along with their families." It holds an estimated 15,000 prisoners. Shin was born in Camp 14 and now lives in South Korea and the U.S.

Shin describes life in the prison camp as one of extreme brutality, deprivation and totalitarianism. He had no feelings of affection for his mother and saw her mainly as a competitor for their scarce food supplies, stealing her food whenever he could. He still lives with feelings of guilt for having reported that his mother and brother were planning to escape. After having been imprisoned and tortured, he, together with his father, was taken by guards to witness the public execution of their family members. I admit that I skimmed over these more graphic portions.

Harden gives political, geographical and economic details about the country to provide a context to North Korean's prison camps, and he lists the sources from which he obtained his information at the back of the book. Harden also writes about Shin's existence since escaping from Camp 14 and the often difficult path he's traversing in his new life.