The heartwrenching bestseller about the only known person born inside a North Korean prison camp to have escapedNorth Koreas political prison camps have existed twice as long as Stalins Soviet gulags and twelve times as long as the Nazi concentration camps. No one born and raised in these camps is known to have escaped. No one, that is, except Shin Dong-hyuk.In , Blaine Harden unlocks the secrets of the worlds most repressive totalitarian state through the story of Shins shocking imprisonment and his astounding getaway. Shin knew nothing of civilized existencehe saw his mother as a competitor for food, guards raised him to be a snitch, and he witnessed the execution of his mother and brother.The late Dear Leader Kim Jong Il was recognized throughout the world, but his country remains sealed as his third son and chosen heir, Kim Jong Eun, consolidates power. Few foreigners are allowed in, and few North Koreans are able to leave. North Korea is hungry, bankrupt, and armed with nuclear weapons. It is also a human rights catastrophe. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people work as slaves in its political prison camps. These camps are clearly visible in satellite photographs, yet North Koreas government denies they exist.Hardens harrowing narrative exposes this hidden dystopia, focusing on an extraordinary young man who came of age inside the highest security prison in the highest security state. offers an unequalled inside account of one of the worlds darkest nations. It is a tale of endurance and courage, survival and hope.