Midnight Return [Kindle Edition]

Billy Hayes (Author)

Book Description

For Billy Hayes, being arrested in 1970 and sentenced to life in a Turkish prison was both the worst and best thing that ever happened to him. As chronicled in the book and film, Midnight Express, and now in the sequel book, Midnight Return, this fascinating journey into peril, fame, and fortune was a strange voyage of discovery that extended far out beyond the bars--from the isolation of a prison cell to worldwide notoriety. Midnight Return takes us on that ride, using photos, maps, and old handwritten letters in this vivid portrait of a most unusual experience.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Billy Hayes's book, Midnight Express, about his experience in and escape from a Turkish prison, was made into an Academy Award-winning film in 1978. He has been writing, acting, and directing in theater, film, and television since then. Hayes lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Wendy.

Product Details

• File Size: 1907 KB
• Print Length: 242 pages
• Publisher: CurlyBrains Publishing (March 19, 2012)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007MSRX8U
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,754 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Return to Midnight Express April 19, 2012

By Candace Brenner

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Having enjoyed Midnight Express I often wondered what happened to the collegiate smuggler, who was trapped in a middle east prison, escaped alone and made a movie about it.
What kind of man did he grow up to be? How did he use that experience, gain from it? What sort of person is he today? What happened to the people who tried to help him and did those relationships survive?
Midnight Return answered all these questions and more. The particulars of his escape were enthralling and the people he came to know during that time and how they contributed to his escape became real as he filled out their histories.
How the media made him an immediate (almost) success and the road he traveled after his return to the States made for interesting reading. His involvement with the Hollywood movie scene and the New York stage scene displayed facets of the escaped prisoner one would never suspect and maybe would have never emerged. Billy's visit with Tennessee Williams in an attempt to obtain stage rights was of particular interest.
One thing I learned about Hayes and his experience intrigued me. I was very surprised to learn that Billy used yoga to maintain some semblance of balance during his imprisonment and continues to do so today.
All in all Midnight Return is worth your while. It's an interesting and well written book, a thrilling travelogue and an inspiring story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Fascinating Tale June 16, 2012

By Beatriz

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Having been enthralled by Midnight Express, I had to, of course, get Midnight Return. This book is not as compelling as Midnight Express, but I didn't expect it to be. Nothing could equal his plunge into hell and the suffering he experienced in the first book. Yet Midnight Return was a most interesting read and it kept me faithfully reading night after night. Turkey simply changed his life forever in more ways than one. It forced him to mature and he went from being just another spoiled Long Island kid to a man of substance. Always a creative person (that's why he loved traveling so much) he came to terms with his real vocation after Turkey and became a fine writer and actor. He met fascinating people like the great Tenessee Williams and did things he would have never done if Turkey didn't happen to him. I was disappointed that he still smokes joints, however. After such a bitter experience, I would have thought that he would never touch the stuff again and I'd also hope he would lecture young people to stay away from drugs. He was lucky enough to have a second chance while many don't and he should be aware of it and use that knowledge to help others who simply throw away their lives needlessly in pursuit of that temporary high drugs give you.

The Turks complain of the damage he did to the country with his first book but he also brought them a lot of tourists, people like me who after reading his first book, wanted to visit the country and did. When I was there the first thing I thought about was his book and his searing experiences in that mysterious, fascinating country.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who may have forgotten April 12, 2012

By Richard Atkins

After the quick passage of almost 35 years, a mature and wisened Billy Hayes rekindles the fascination and horror that we felt when his original book and film came out and seared the Turkish prison scenes into our memory. But, neither covered everything, and for those of us who were "Midnight Express" junkies, this new information is clearly a must read. Many of the interesting details are here, to round out the horrific experience, and to glory in the publicity and fame that followed the harrowing escape, with Billy's life and fears and experiences continuing to haunt and intrique the reader and observer of the whole experience. It may be a good time to refresh your memory and then read this most interesting book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Triumph of the Human Spirit November 13, 2012

By Willkie

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Billy Hayes is the author of Midnight Express, which documented his ordeal in a Turkish prison for drug smuggling. This book is the sequel, exploring the aftermath of that escape, and how it influenced his life. As such, it is a moving narrative of the emotional toll such an experience has on the human psyche.

The opening chapters detail the last few months in prison, giving us a taste of the cruel and inhumane treatment at the hands of the brutal guards. It then moves into the escape itself. Hayes does a fine job of relaying the fear,indeed terror, as he sneaks around trying to get to each leg of his planned route. I found I was on the edge of my seat, barely daring to breathe, lest someone hear me and thereby expose him.

It then moves on to his resumption of life in the US. He is very expressive at describing his awkwardness at fitting into normal life. This is especially true as he deals with the fame that his past has bestowed upon him. His book, Midnight Express, and subsequent movie, exacerbates this phenomenon, and he sometimes feels trapped by it. In some ways, you can almost say he just moved into a different prison--that of the confines of celebrity. He is also tormented by the pain of Harvey Bell, one of his cell pals whom he left behind in the Turkish prison. The movie portrayed all Turkish people in a bad light, angering them immensely, particularly the prison guards, who take it out on Harvey. Hayes sends him money regularly, but is unable to shake off the guilt. I understand that's a common reaction, much like an accident survivor who can't understand why he was spared when others died.

He demonstrates some colorful writing skills throughout.... During his escape, he is hiding in a ditch and when he lifts his head, he sees several tanks under camouflage nets. He heads in the other direction, so as to "Let sleeping tanks lie." Encountering a river, he explains, "This river in the darkness promised both an end and a beginning for me." And "Squatting by that dark river like some hunted animal, I felt so terribly alive, I thought I'd burst out of my body." Hearing soldiers in the distance, he says, "My body kept quivering, pumping adrenalin, sending out fear vibrations as lethal as blood in the Pacific."

Upon reaching freedom, and feeling the excitement in the airport, he says, "I felt like radar, sending out this questing pulse of energy...or like a tuning fork, throbbing with the vibrations of everything around me." Upon getting back home, he revels in the sounds of the city, saying "A garbage truck rumbled and clanked on the corner, enjoying its breakfast piled high on the curb." On the subway, being so close to women again, he "felt as randy as three-balled billy goat."

But perhaps my favorite line is this: "To accept myself for who I am brings me peace; to strive to become the man I think I must drives me mad; I live in a state of peaceful madness." How profound!

I had never read Midnight Express, nor seen the movie, but this book motivated me to purchase both. For those who have already done either, this follow-up is a must-have. It is the story of one man's journey through hell and back, and the coming to terms with who you are, what you've done, where you've been, and how to mold it all together into a peaceful existence. I believe that's called the Triumph of the Human Spirit. And Billy Hayes has that in spades. Read more ›