Den of Lions [Mass Market Paperback]

Terry Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1994

"Belongs on the shelf of classics about surviving degradation with dignity and even humor." Time
In March 1985, Terry Anderson was swept up in the violent conflict of a turbulent era. At the mercy of Shiite captors for nearly seven years, he lived in chains, wondering fearfully if each day would be his last. But his spirit soared beyond captivity, and he never gave up. Nor did those who loved him. And now, a free man again, he tells the harrowing and poignant story of a hostage's survival and final triumph.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Anderson, an AP correspondent in Lebanon when he was kidnapped by Iranian-backed Shiites in March 1985, offers a wrenching account of his seven-year captivity. Demythologizing the heroic image of a hostage, Anderson recalls how he berated himself, while sitting blindfolded and chained to a wall, for his mistreatment of his first wife and for his arrogance in walking out into the street again after narrowly escaping a kidnapping attempt the day before he was actually snatched. Anderson is also frank--and not always flattering--in his discussion of such fellow hostages as Tom Sutherland, John McCarthy and Terry Waite. The narrative loses momentum as the tedious days pile up, but there are still numerous telling moments: Anderson reembraces Catholicism; he hears hostage William Buckley die in an adjacent room; he is enormously moved by a hostage diary he finds, which was written by a Lebanese Jewish doctor who pined for an estranged son. Interspersed throughout this book are background notes on efforts to free the hostages, Anderson's poems and accounts of the ordeal faced by second wife Madeleine Bassil, who was pregnant with Anderson's child at the time of the kidnapping (he was then engaged to her but still married to his first wife). Unfortunately, the narrative is stinting about Bassil's break with Anderson's sister Peggy Say, and an update on the various hostages would have been appreciated.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-A vivid and engaging account of Anderson's confinement from 1985- 1991 at the hands of Shiite Muslims in Lebanon. He gives a clear outline of the political and religious situation there in the 1980s, the Iran-Contra affair, and the role of the UN in negotiating his release. Anderson is a shrewd observer and offers a candid and detailed description of how he and his fellow hostages survived brutal physical mistreatment and fought psychological deterioration. Any young person interested in current affairs, the Middle East, or journalism will find his book compelling reading. Its greater value may be as a chronicle of a man's ability to survive captivity and emerge from the experience with increased self-knowledge.
Patricia Noonan, Prince William Public Library System, Woodbridge, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (October 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345390547
• ISBN-13: 978-0345390547
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,446,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A heart pummeling hostage memoir of the Beirut crisis., October 21, 1999

By 

Christian Engler (Woburn, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Den of Lions (Mass Market Paperback)

Terry Anderson's Den of Lions is a den of insights into the radical bi-polar terrorist mentality in which he was trapped for over seven years. His descriptions of the bombings, shootings and random daily violence that permeated around the non-citizens and the citizens of Lebanon, make this a classic Middle East hostage survivor's story. Anderson's poems of his cruel incarceration are filled with searing depth that transport you to the various scummy basement cells which he shared with other Westerners. Den of Lions and Hostage by David Jacobson go hand in hand and are important contributions in the collection of Middle East books that help those of us citizens who were not there or too young to remember, the horror that Beirut was during the eighties and early ninties. Very highly recommended!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A gripping, insightful book., July 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Den of Lions (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a Westerner who has lived in Lebanon for many years and yet I gleaned new knowledge of the Middle East from reading "Den of Lions". Terry Anderson is a wonderful writer, and the addition of his fiancee's thoughts and feelings adds depth of insight into the agony of hostage-taking. There are interesting looks into the interaction between hostages and into the daily frustrations of the waste, and yet somehow the not-waste, of almost seven years away from freedom of choice. This is a book that has stayed on my mind.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a Waste of His Life, April 18, 2002

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Den of Lions (Mass Market Paperback)

I do not want this to sound insensitive, but the one thing I kept thinking as I was reading this book is why was he there? The U.S. government was telling U.S. citizens to leave, the Lebanese government did not care, his employer wanted him to leave, and there were increasing hostage incidents. The book his the story of his capture and the seven years he spent as a captive of this militant group. He does a good job in describing the locations he was in, the people that were his captors, and the other persons that he was with. I thought the most interesting parts of the book detailed his conversations with some of his captors and their views on the situation.

The book is a very interesting view of what happened to the author. The details are rich and he does a good job of painting the scenes for us. He also did a good job of explaining the depression of being a captive and what it is like to loss seven years of your life, although I do not think any author could truly express the emotional pain that he must have gone through. If you are interested in this part of the world or this story, this is a great book. It is also interesting given the current climate in the Middle East to read about what was happening 20 years ago.