Six Minutes to Freedom (Paperback)

by Kurt Muse (Author), John Gilstrap (Author)
Key Phrases: Tomás Muñoz, Father Frank, Kurt Muse, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"This true story reads better than any fiction...harrowing, entertaining, and inspiring."

Product Description
Kurt Muse handed over his passport at Torrijos International Airport, just as he’d done countless times. Instantly, he sensed that something was wrong. Rather than the cursory glance followed by the whack of the entry stamp, the bureaucrat held the little book in both hands. He seemed to be studying it. And then he smiled. Kurt followed the clerk’s gaze to a piece of paper taped to his partition. The sign was handwritten in Spanish:

Kurt Muse American Citizen Arrest Him

His life was over.

Born in the United States, raised in Panama, Kurt Muse grew up with a deep love for his adopted country. But by the late 1980s, Panama was suffering under the regime of Manuel Noriega. Innocent people disappeared. Beatings and murders became commonplace.

For Kurt Muse, accepting such a dictator was not an option. For two years, Kurt and a few friends operated clandestine radio stations on low-tech equipment smuggled into Panama. At first, they broadcast on a small scale. But in late 1987, the group realized that they could override any transmission from a government-run radio network, and Radio Constitucional was born.

Muse and his compatriots chose Noriega’s Loyalty Day address, simulcast on every radio station in the country, for its first transmission. Just as Noriega began his self-serving message, Radio Constitucional seized the airwaves, urging the people to rise up in defense of their freedom. Kurt knew that if his identity was revealed, he and his family would be in grave peril. But he had no idea what kind of terror, confusion, and betrayal lay in store for all of them.

Six Minutes to Freedom spins the remarkable tale of Kurt’s arrest by Noriega’s henchmen and his months of imprisonment; the squalid conditions he faced in Panama’s infamous Modelo Prison; his eyewitness accounts of his fellow inmates’ torture; and the plight of Kurt’s family as they fled for their lives. And it reveals, for the first time, the astonishing details of the long-awaited day when helicopters arrived in a firestorm of bullets to whisk Kurt Muse from under the noses of thugs who had been ordered to kill him.

This is Kurt’s thrilling and highly personal story—the story of an American hero on foreign soil, who risked his life for his beliefs and for freedom…and became the only American civilian ever rescued by the elite Delta Force. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Citadel (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806528044
• ISBN-13: 978-0806528045
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #111,709 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Books > History > Americas > Central America > Panama
  #50 in	Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Activism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't let the cover fool you, this is a Clancy-esque non-fiction story that's not just about Special OPS! , October 18, 2006

By	Ryan Fisher (Santa Maria, CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Six Minutes to Freedom: How a Band of Heros Defied a Dictator and Helped Free a Nation (Hardcover)

Don't be dissuaded by reviewers who haven't read this book!
This book is far from propaganda!
Authors Muse and Gilstrap have made clear criticisms of the political and military failures of U.S. administrations and the CIA in Panama. That being said, the sins of previous leadership eventually have to be fixed, 1989 was as good a time as any!
The story reads like a Clancy novel sans a volume of technical data. I couldn't set it down, selfishly burying myself in it for the better part of two days.
Muse's story is inspiring in all the right places: spiritually, patriotically, and emotionally.
I'm divided as to whether or not a movie would do it the justice it deserves, but a great read nonetheless.
Stories of Central American politics seldom catch my interest, on recommendation of a friend; I found the book quite enjoyable.
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS DESERVE AND GENERALLY APPRECIATE YOUR OPINIONS!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read of those who served in Panama, September 11, 2006

By	Raymond J. Liles (Atlanta Georgia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Six Minutes to Freedom: How a Band of Heros Defied a Dictator and Helped Free a Nation (Hardcover)

This is an awesome story and a book that I could not put down.

I was stationed in Panama at Ft Clayton serving in the Military Police and up to this time knew just bits and pieces of the Kurt Muse story. I can't imagine that anyone stationed in Panama during that time did not know about Kurt but to finally get a chance to read his story straight from him is an honor.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Six Minutes to Freedom, August 10, 2006

By	Roland E. Beard II "action book worm" (Conroe, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Six Minutes to Freedom: How a Band of Heros Defied a Dictator and Helped Free a Nation (Hardcover)

This is one of the best true life stories I've read in years. This is partly because my wife and I personally know one of the principal players in the rescue. One of the Delta Force members is a former neighbor who will remain unidentified and forever honored in my estimation of one of America's finest fighting men. The book keeps the reader on the edge of their seat as any good book should and every page turned is full of something unexpected! I wish I could meet Kurt Muse and get his personal feedback about my (our) friend. These are men who are the true definition of "Hero" and not some sports figure who cannot even spell! Once I finished the book, my wife grabbed it and is still enthralled with what she reads.
R. E. Beard, II