Surviving Hell: A POW's Journey [Hardcover]

Leo Thorsness (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2008

Thorsness joined the U.S. Air Force in 1951 at age 18 and became a jet pilot during the Vietnam War. During an 1967 mission he was shot down over North Vietnam. Injured and captured, he spent six years in the Hanoi Hilton. When the war ended in 1973, Thorsness was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Surviving Hell is a harrowing story of captivity, as told by the man who lived it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

LEO THORSNESS received his Medal of Honor after he was released from his North Vietnamese prison in 1973. From 1988 to 1992, he served as a senator from Washington State. Mr. Thorness now lives in Huntsville, Alabama.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 132 pages
• Publisher: Encounter Books; 1st Hardcover Ed edition (December 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159403236X
• ISBN-13: 978-1594032363
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars must read, February 10, 2009

By 

Gary D. Burkholder (Yampa , CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Surviving Hell: A POW's Journey (Hardcover)

This is a short quick to the point book. It holds your intrest about a Medal of honor winner an a great american. It suprises you with its humor. Thank you Leo we are all in your debt. Viet Nam veteran

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Hero's Memoir, December 30, 2008

By 

Bruce N. Whitman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surviving Hell: A POW's Journey (Hardcover)

Leo Thorsness is one of only five living United States Air Force Medal of Honor Recipients. He is one of our nation's greatest heroes. "Surviving Hell: A POW's Journey" is his compelling memoir which makes us all appreciate our freedom. Leo writes with passion. He very realistically articulates the horrors of war and imprisonment. "Surviving Hell" teaches us important lessons, including how very fortunate we are. Recommend the book most highly.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courage by another name...THORSNESS!, February 4, 2009

By 

Frank Farrell (Tucson, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surviving Hell: A POW's Journey (Hardcover)

I have known Leo Thorsness for several years and cannot imagine ever again having the great good fortune and high honor of meeting anyone with the character of extraordinary integrity, modesty, and fortitude that he has so devotedly given his family and country! Leo's marvelous book, SURVIVING HELL, reminds me of why I think every day of my own schoolboy friend, "Nugie" Grubb, the return of whose tortured remains were eventually the very first notice to his family, his parents and wife Evie and 4 very young sons, in 1973, only learning after 7 years of silent, patient, and hopeful waiting, that the North Vietnamese had tortured and killed him very early in his January 1966 captivity. The other extraordinary heroes in these stories - like Gaylee Thorsness and their daughter Dawn, and too many other POW families - are chronicled in the collaborative efforts of the late Evie Grubb and Carol Jose in their book, YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN regarding the desperate struggles in their search for information and truth from the North Vietnamese and OUR government, through The National League of POW Families. Leo's book should be a clarion wake up call to all of us, that we will NEVER again allow this to happen to the men and women of our military, and/or their families! None of ALL that I have read over the years, have impacted me as has Leo's humble courage in recalling for US this example of "man's inhumanity to man"! With Sincere & Respectful admiration...and Gratitude!

Bless Them ALL!

Bud Farrell, Korean War B-29 Gunner, Author NO SWEAT (An Amazon listed book)