"I remember reading <em>We Die Alone</em> in 1970 and I could never forgetit. Then when we went to Norway to do a docudrama, peopletold us again and again that certain parts were pure fiction. Since Iwas a Norwegian that was not good enough; I had to find the truth.I sincerely believe we did,&rdquo; writes author Astrid Karlsen Scott.<em>Defiant Courage</em> is the true story of what Jan Baalsrud endured ashe tried to escape from the Gestapo in Norway&rsquo;s Troms District.<br /><br />In late March 1943, in the midst of WWII, four Norwegian saboteursarrived in northern Norway on a fishing cutter and set anchorin Toftefjord to establish a base for their operations. However, theywere betrayed, and a German boat attacked the cutter, creatinga battlefield and spiraling Jan Baalsrud into the adventure of hislife. The only survivor and wounded, Baalsrud begins a perilousjourney to freedom, swimming icy fjords, climbing snow-coveredpeaks, enduring snowstorms, and getting caught in a monstrousavalanche. Suffering from snowblindness and frostbite, more thansixty people of the Troms District risk their lives to help Baalsrudto 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.