Customer Reviews

Long March to Freedom: Tom Hargrove's Own Story of His Kidnapping by Colombian Narco-Guerrillas

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3 star:		(1)
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This book is the diary kept by Thomas Hargrove during his 300+ days in captivity after being kidnapped by Guerrillas in Columbia.

While I believe that the book contains exactly what was in Dr. Hargrove's diaries, the way it comes together in the book is ingenious. The way the book came together, you can feel emotionally everything Dr. Hargrove goes through. In the beginning, the diary entries seem slightly upbeat as it seems the ordeal will not last long. As you read on, boredom and sickness set in. As the days drag by, there are many highs and moments of hope as well as many lows and letdowns that could crush a person's will to live. This book has it all!

This book gives the reader a sense of what it is like to be kidnapped and held against your will. As you read, when Dr. Hargrove is happy, the reader is happy. When Dr. Hargrove is bored, the diary entries are boring and the reader gets kind of bored. When crushing blows are dealt to Dr. Hargrove, it makes you feel sick inside.

The only thing I would have liked to see in the book is a little more detail on the ransom negotiations. It would have been great to read from the point of his wife and children, what happened during negotiations, how it happened, and what they were feeling.

If you want to read about the story of a captive who was held for 300+ days, this is a tremendous book. However, just as I said before, when days get long in captivity, the diary entries are not that interesting. Even so, it was well worth reading the book from cover to cover.

Thomas Hargrove's "Long March to Freedom" was the primary source of inspiration for the blockbuster hit, "Proof of Life," that starred Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe and David Morse. The movie is a spinoff of his book. However, don't expect the book to discuss anything other than his experiences as a hostage. The book is mostly comprised of the journals he kept while kept hostage for the 11 + months.

I've had the opportunity to view Dr. Hargrove's journals first hand. The writings are almost impossible to comprehend unless you are an ant as he wrote small words and sentences to maximize his limited ability to write. Needless to say, I can't begin to fathom what it must have been like. Yet, his words give me all the imagination I could ever want. It is a sad tale, but a real one that is packed with his very real experiences. His strength, wit and personality saved him.

As others have stated in other reviews, his journal gives you the feeling that you are right there with him. You can mentally picture where he is with his descriptions. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't focus enough on him as it does with a ficticious love affair, but it does capture some of what I imagine by reading his book.

Today, he continues to better humanity and we should all be greatful for his humanitarian efforts. Unfortunately, there are those that aren't as greatful as they should be. If you are lucky enough to meet Dr. Hargrove as I have been, you'll be simply amazed by the man and his lifetime of experiences around the world!

I HIGHLY recommend this read. It is one you'll not soon forget!

"Long March to Freedom: Tom Hargrove's Own Story of His Kidnapping by Colombian Narco-Guerrilla," is a harsh account of a long ordeal. Hargrove is a a nice guy. He's in Colombia as an expert agronomist to improve agricultural output. Prior to Colombia, Hargrove worked in Vietnam and the Philippines...hence he knew of the many dangers of working in foreign countries. Moreover, he was well aware of the wave of kidnappings in Colombia but nevertheless chose to continue his work.

Parts of Hargrove's diary are heartbreaking while other sections are pathetically boring. Consequently, this book lacks the backbone of a true narrative. One is subjected to the day to day ordeal of over 300 days of captivity. If anything, this book is glaring evidence of the brutality of this guerrilla captors. Fortunately, Hargrove does march to freedom and he is able to publish his diary in captivity. I would love to see a follow-up book with Hargrove's inner thoughts and reflections apart from his diary.

excellent book. the diaries were interesting and personal. my only complaint was that there was not more information about what went on between FARC and thomas hargrove's family to try and gain his release. in some senses, i felt that we got a great picture of hargrove's story but were missing too much of what went on on the outside -- how the negotiations went, etc.

overall, though, a great read. interesting, scary.

The author's year-long kidnap experience in hands of the FARC, Latin America's most prolific kidnap group/army, accurately portrays how one is held and treated by this particular terrorist organization. The movie, Proof of Life, with Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan, is based upon Tom's kidnap but the movie obviously took literary license with the sex and shoot'um up. Tom kept a secret diary and was able to recount with great accuracy the typical daily life of a kidnap victim when taken by the FARC. I consider it a must-read if one wants to understand the psychological challenge of surviving such an event.

I first saw a program with Tom Hargrove talking about this kidnapping he endured and wanted to know more , so looked on Amazon, found the book, got it and read it.
I feel like it filled in some of the blanks that the 1 hour program left out.

Given the topic I bought this book with much anticipation. I felt sorely let down. The author and the editor missed an opportunity to make this a truly fascinating account of what happened. Instead, after the opening of the book detailing his background and his capture, until the end detailing Mr Hargrove's release, it was a dull detailed account of not much happening. Nothing was mentioned of what his family were enduring, or of the efforts to secure his release and any negotiations going on behind the scenes. Whilst the approach taken accurately describes and conveys what Mr Hargrove was going through and how he got through each day, it made the book feel like it was lacking the balance of what was going on with his family. What would have made this book far more interesting is if it had also included details of the efforts made on his behalf to release him interspersed with the account of his captivity.

I AM NOT IN A POSITION TO CRITICIZE THIS VERY VIVID ACCOUNT OF ONE'S KIDNAPPING. PERSONALLY, I KNOW DR. TOM HARGROVE. I WORKED FOR HIM AFTER I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 1994. I WAS HIS SECRETARY FOR THE DURATION OF HIS RESEARCH PROJECT. I LEFT THE INTERNATIONAL RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IRRI) TO WORK IN MANILA IN 1976. SINCE THEN, I LOST CONTACT WITH DR. HARGROVE.

WHEN I READ AN ARTICLE THAT APPEARED IN VANITY FAIR IN JUNE, 1998, THERE WAS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT THE DR. TOM HARGROVE MENTIONED IN IT WAS MY FORMER "BOSS." HIS WIFE, SUSAN, IS A WOMAN OF STRENGTH AND HIS SONS' LOVE FOR HIM SAVED HIM FROM HIS CAPTORS.

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, I CAN STILL REMEMBER HIM AS A QUIET, CONSCIENTIOUS ASSOCIATE EDITOR WHO REALLY LOVES RESEARCH. IN THE YEARS I WORKED FOR HIM (APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS), I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW HIM AS A DEVOTED FAMILY MAN, AND A WONDERFUL BOSS. WE DID NOT ARGUE NOR DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING. I KNOW ! I MADE MISTAKES ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAVE TO RETYPE THE MANUSCRIPT FOR THE HUNDREDTH TIME ON AN IBM SELECTRIC TYPEWRITER (HAS ANYBODY SEEN ONE OF THIS?) , BUT DR. HARGROVE NEVER PUT ME ON THE SPOT NOR DID HE YELL AT ANYONE IN THE OFFICE.

AFTER I LEFT THE PHILIPPINES IN 1981, I HAVE LOOKED FOR HIM, NOT KNOWING THAT HE WAS STILL IN THE PHILIPPINES.

I CONTACTED HIM AFTER I READ THE ARTICLE AND I PROMISED TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH HIM AND HIS FAMILY.

TO EVERYONE, I SHARE MY VIEWS ABOUT DR. HARGROVE, AS A BOSS, AND AS A FRIEND. TO SUSAN, YOU'RE SOMEONE TO EMULATE. TO TOM G AND MILES, GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL.