Bouncing Back: How a Heroic Band of Pows Survived Vietnam [Hardcover]

Geoffrey Norman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1990

Outlines the techniques employed by U.S. prisoners during the Vietnam War to maintain their physical and mental health, resist their captors, and communicate with each other. Reprint.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like most U.S. pilots captured in North Vietnam, Navy lieutenant commander Al Stafford was unprepared for the physical and psychological torture that followed. His shame over failing to hold out against it was eased somewhat when he learned that other downed pilots had also been unable to live up to the Code of Conduct. This painful story turns upbeat and inspiring as Norman, a former Esquire editor, describes how these broken men, still in captivity, banded together in a program aimed at fighting off demoralization and despair. "Bounce Back" included a kind of university of the imagination with avidly attended courses in everything from auto repair to wine appreciation. At the annual Christmas parties thoughtfully chosen imaginary presents were exchanged: a coveted power tool, a Stan Getz album. Repatriated after nearly seven years of captivity, Stafford suffered panic attacks and depression, but bounced back once again, so successfully that he was given command of the Navy's survival school at Pensacola, Fla.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Unlike many prisoner of war (POW) histories, Norman concentrates less on the POWs treatment and more on the phenomenon of surviving both physically and mentally that the POWs themselves called "bouncing back." He focuses on just a few of the 591 POWs released in 1973. When the Code of Military Conduct--developed following POW experiences in the Korean War--proved inadequate to guide the prisoners in their dealings with the North Vietnamese, they improvised a way to both resist their captors and maintain a flexible response to them, while keeping their self-respect and solidarity with fellow captives. A variation on stories of POW experiences, this has object lessons for anyone under extraordinary pressure. Recommended both for military collections and general readers. --Mel D. Lane, Sacramento
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1st edition (August 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395451868
• ISBN-13: 978-0395451861
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,432,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experience the triumph of the human spirit!, November 29, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Hahira, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bouncing Back (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Men Survive!, April 25, 2011

By 

Philip L. Sutphin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bouncing Back: How a Heroic Band of Pows Survived Vietnam (Hardcover)

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 ...

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm sorry, but I only remember the funny parts, April 14, 2004

By 

Regan (Kansas City, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bouncing Back: How a Heroic Band of Pows Survived Vietnam (Hardcover)

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.