Survivors: Vietnam P.o.w.s Tell Their Stories [Paperback]

Zalin Grant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1994

This book is the moving story of nine American soldiers and pilots who were captured and held prisoner for five years. It could only be told in their own words; so author Zalin Grant interviewed each of the men and wove their accounts together to form a single, compelling narrative of war and survival. They describe the details of their daily existence in a Vietcong jungle prison as the war ebbed and flowed around them: the rats, the terror of American bombing raids, the sickness, starvation, and torture. Through the juxtaposition of their individual stories we see the subtle, destructive tensions that operate on a group of men in such desperate circumstances. Marched up the Ho Chi Minh trail to Hanoi, the prisoners’ physical ordeal gave way to an agonizing moral dilemma. Should they join the ”Peace Committee,” a group of POWs protesting the war? Or should they resist their captors by all possible means as ordered by the secret American commander of the Hanoi prison? After years in the jungle on the edge of survival, each man had to answer the questions: Who am I? What do I believe? These men form a cross section of the army we sent to Vietnam. Their words illuminate not only their individual background and experience, but also the meaning of this war for all of us.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Zalin Grant served as an officer in Army Intelligence in Vietnam and later returned as a correspondent for Time and for The New Republic. He is the author of Facing the Phoenix: The CIA and the Political Defeat of the United States in Vietnam.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 22, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306805618
• ISBN-13: 978-0306805615
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,135,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not great, but still good, January 12, 2000

By 

Johnny Todd - See all my reviews

This review is from: Survivors: Vietnam P.o.w.s Tell Their Stories (Paperback)

An interesting book in that it gives a number of diverse viewpoints. The POWs come from a variety of backgrounds and have different strengths, weaknesses, faults, and redeeming qualities. The number of POWs giving accounts makes it a little difficult to follow until you are well into the book. Human nature, good and bad, manifests itself not only in the treatment meted out by the captors, but in the actions and reactions of the POWs. Some handle themselves admirably and unselfishly while others who were unable to handle the oppressive conditions fall apart and go so far as to betray their fellow POWs and attempt to join the NVA. These individuals attempt to justify their actions through intellectualization but one gets the impression that they know, at some level, that they have betrayed the other POWs and their country. I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. The main drawback is that the individual stories are necessarily limited in scope and we do not delve deeply enough into each man's thoughts.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dying Was Easy; Surviving in the Jungle Was a Daily Struggle, June 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Survivors: Vietnam P.o.w.s Tell Their Stories (Paperback)

Zalin Grant did a masterful job weaving together oral interviews of seven of the twelve survivors of one of the worst death camps run by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. There were 11 deaths from disease and starvation, plus one killed attempting escape during the time period covered by Grant's book. After the unsuccessful Son Toy raid on an empty POW camp in North Vietnam, the Viet Cong moved their southern prisoners by walking them to Hanoi. The journey took six months, but ultimately all of Grant's survivors were released in Operation Homecoming in 1973. This book is must reading for the serious researcher on POWs, or anyone who wants to know how difficult it was to survive jungle captivity. Also recommended is a brand new book by survivor interviewee Frank Anton "Why Didn't You Get Me Out?," which includes most of his experiences covered in Grant's book, but adds Anton's observations about MIAs seen in Laos on his way to Hanoi, plus Anton's concerns about the plight of MIAs written off by the US government many years ago

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A diverse account of life in a Vietnam POW camp., September 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Survivors: Vietnam P.o.w.s Tell Their Stories (Paperback)

Zalin Grant does a masterful job of merging the interviews of the different POW's. The reader is able to take advantage of a wide array of viewpoints on their situation as prisoners. I found myself trying to decide which prisoner was the good guy and which was the bad guy. There was more animosity between some of the prisoners than their was between them and their captors! Anyone who drools over the prospect of learning more about POW life needs to add this tale to their respective library and enjoy!