Customer Reviews

Bouncing Back

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Mr. Norman did an excellent job of relating the unimaginable horrors of the Vietnamese prison system. The prisoners will come to life as you learn of their collective and individual exploits. These men are the true definition of what a hero is, though they think of themselves as "just doing my job" This book is a must-read for the inspirational story fan.

Unlike other books that concentrated on the biography of a specific Vietnam POW hero, this book concentrated on Al Stafford's lessons, and other POWs' lessons, for surviving AND living within the basics of the Military Code of Conduct. All POWs appeared to have "broke" at some point, but these heroes learned the tricks of "bouncing back" without compromising their honor and our national security.

Again, many of these books should be on required reading lists for high school and college students. Model your life after heroes who have faced adversity and "bounced back" to again contribute to society ...

Stuck in Vietnam with no hope for rescue, U.S. POWs submitted to horrible torture and overpowering hopelessness learned to "bounce back." That is, deal with everything happening to them and move on. They had to, or they would surely perish.
Being a POW is obviously not a temporary vacation. These guys paid. Some paid with their lives, some paid with their sanity, some are still paying. But they kept their optimism, or rather someone kept it for them, and they made it through.
This book is inspirational as well as remarkable. If Stafford could make it through loss of freedom, loss of privacy, loss of will, and bounce back, what can't we do? The way the soldiers stuck together through it all, determined to do their duty, is just incredible. They didn't give up on their country though all signs pointed to their country giving up on them.
For anyone wanting to read a first-hand account of Vietnam War POWs, this is the book. It delves into the physical and mental torture, the thought processes, and the going home. And you learn through this book that home is never the same.

I found this book to be very captivating and informative. The author allows the reader to experience imprisonment through the eyes of the POW. I read this book because I was born after the war and did not know anything about it...I have more respect for the people that actually lived through it now, and I think it has done me more good than if I would have read a book dealing with all the political viewpoints from someone who was not there. Could not put it down, very inspiring.