They Can't Take That Away From Me: The Odyssey of an American POW [Hardcover]

Ralph M. Rentz (Author), Peter Hrisko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2003

Ralph Rentz grew up in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, with one dream: to be a professional musician. Playing clarinet, saxophone, and flute in 1930s big bands, Rentz wanted no part of the looming shadow of war. At age twenty- one, he joined the National Guard to avoid being drafted. Ten days later, he was called up for active duty. Fearful of friendly fire, Rentz then signed up with the Army Air Corps, where he trained to be a radio operator. While on a secret mission in the Pacific, Rentz’s B- 17 was shot down over Malang, Java, where he and the rest of the crew became Japanese POWs. Surviving dysentery, pleurisy, dry beri-beri, tuberculosis, and slave labor, Rentz held on to his dreams of returning to music and waited for a U.S. invasion that never came. 
     They Can't Take That Away From Me recounts not only Rentz’s devastating three-and-a-half years of captivity, but also his involvement in a secret government mission that has never been revealed. Rich with the music of his youth, the book conjures up the losses, longing, sacrifices, and stolen dreams of Rentz’s imprisonment and his return to the United States. Bittersweet and evocative, They Can’t Take That Away From Me explores the irony of human resilience amidst the atrocity of war, and in that survival the unconquerable loss of a man’s most cherished dream.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ralph M. Rentz lives in Fayetteville, Georgia, with his wife, Ellie. Ralph still enjoys listening to big band music; and at 85, he has already started writing another book.

Peter Hrisko was a screenwriter and author living in Los Angeles, California. He was an alumnus of Michigan State University (1987), a former MSU football player and back-up punter. He was a researcher for the documentary In the Line of Fire: Behind the Scenes with the Secret Service. Peter's first book, They Can't Take That Away From Me, The Odyssey of an American POW was published in 2003. He died on June 29, 2004, at the age of 39.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 236 pages
• Publisher: Michigan State University Press (April 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870136720
• ISBN-13: 978-0870136726
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,747,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a "Sentimental Journey", June 9, 2003

By 

C Hamilton (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: They Can't Take That Away From Me: The Odyssey of an American POW (Hardcover)

They Can't Take That Away From Me truly is an odyssey of one, rather atypical, American POW. However, it is more than just a "Sentimental Journey". This memoir is unlike any other WWII story, in that it reaches beyond the prosaic collage of nostalgic gore and glory and invites the reader to hear the song inside the bruised head of a musician who finds himself without his band, his saxophone and clarinet, without his freedom and even his own sanity, but never without his music. It is a tough tale, but it is softened with a lyrical literary style that makes it flow like the Pacific. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about music, adventure and inimitable tragedy.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for WWII Buffs, June 19, 2003

By 

Nancy T. Colon (Lake Mary, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: They Can't Take That Away From Me: The Odyssey of an American POW (Hardcover)

This is not a book for just WWII buffs. I guarantee that anyone who appreciates fascinating and well-written non-fiction with an original angle will love They Can't Take That Away From Me. What sold me was the unique and artistic style employed in this POW memoir; it brought a fresh perspective to Ralph Rentz's struggle, triumph and the invincibility of his nightmare.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars They Can't Take That Away From Me, May 5, 2010

By 

Julie - Remember Bataan and Corregidor (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: They Can't Take That Away From Me: The Odyssey of an American POW (Hardcover)

The book is well-written but the Hollywood screenwriter who helped write it spruced it up with lots of foul language, a "secret mission" to carry gold to Australia, anger and malice toward the commanding officer of the 19th Bomb Group, Col. Eubanks, and tales of the veteran's sexual exploits.
Otherwise the book is in a class by itself. The veteran gives the reader a view into the thoughs of an enlisted airman during the early part of World War Ii and as a prisoner of the Japanese on Java. Few Americans were captured on Java and fewer spent their captivity there for the entire war. Rentz's ordeal is well-presented but (as usual) with little time-line information.
The story is presented with post-war readjustment interspersed with war-time drama. Family life and friends are remembered. His thoughts at liberation and transportation home are especially revealing. What these men went through must never be forgotten.