Customer Reviews

Prisoner of War: Six Years in Hanoi

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Capt McGrath captures the essence of human depravity in a manner that makes humanity ashamed of its cruelty and proud of its resilience. A book such as this is a great thing to have on one's desk to look at when times get tough - a quick look at it will serve as a definitive reminder of how good one really has it! I have the utmost respect for Capt McGrath and his fellow POWs who served their country honorably and admirably. If you want further insight into Capt McGrath and his fellow POW's plight, I HIGHLY recommend the documentary "The American Experience - Return With Honor."

I have read this book many times and each time I get chills at the thought that a human being suffered through this. Mike McGrath and the other POW's are our nations guardians of liberty and freedom. There time spent in the cells in Hanoi stand as a testament to the human will. They emerged bruised and battered but they returned with Honor.

I purchased this book from the author when he was a Navy commander and the commander of VA-97. He was my squadron commander for a West Pac cruise on the USS Enterprise in 1978. Although I was only an ordnance petty officer, he treated all of his men with the greatest respect. I was touched by his story and eventually became an Air Force officer myself and then a writer. The author sketches are just as dramatic as the writing. One can imagine but never really understand the torture he and many others endured.

John "Mike" McGrath captured the fear, pain and lonliness of being a six year prisoner of war. His pen and ink drawings, many of which depict himself, heighten the value of the easy to read descriptions of various stages of his experience. Every American who reads this book will value the "little" things in life and their citizenship a bit more because of it.

Capt. McGrath just came to the Air Force Academy for a question and answer session for us cadets. If you have any interest in knowing what true endurance and pain are, or you want to know what war is really like, I advise you to read this book and see the movie Return With Honor.

If you are looking to read, forget this one. 100 pages( 50 of which illustrations) of under sized print, not to mention its inordane shape left this book without a chance from the moment I opened it...