Patriot Dreams : The Murder of Colonel Rich Higgins (Paperback)

~ (Author), Richard N. Cote (Author)
Key Phrases: other hostage families, bubba group, other hostages, United Nations, Marine Corps, Secretary General (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an intensely personal account of coping and surviving." -- Marine Corps Gazette

"Continuously absorbing, suspensful, dramatic...a gripping read, a wonderful book." -- Leslie Stahl, CBS 60 Minutes

"Robin Higgins...story will enlighten,[and] enrage...Don't deprive yourself. Read It!" -- Sybil Stockdale --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Patriot Dreams portrays a strong woman in crisis. Amazingly, it reveals a rich and unexpected tapestry of love: love against all odds for her husband who might never return, love for her country, and love for the Marine Corps. It explores the schizophrenic conflict she faced: how to maintain her patriotism in the face of disappointment and seeming betrayal by her own government and the United Nations. It discloses the painful necessity she faced: to conceal her Jewish heritage to protect her husband. And it chronicles the rediscovery and renewal of her faith which sprang from the trials she endured.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Marine Corps Association; 1 edition (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940328240
• ISBN-13: 978-0940328242
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,699,379 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A love story and tragedy of epic proportions--& TWO patriots, February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This is a story about a courageous woman torn mercilessly between her love for her hostage husband and her love and duty to her country. Above all, this is a love story and tragedy of epic proportions...involving not one American hero, but two. In her unrelenting efforts to free her husband from the bonds of terrorists, Robin Higgins went through the Halls of Power, confronting presidents and kings, winding through mazes of red tape, promises, and stone walls. At the same time, as a Marine Corps officer, loyal to her leaders and her country, she had to conduct herself with dignity and grace. Never once did she waver--even in the maddening days following the brutal murder of Colonel "Rich" Higgins. This book is her story...and his...and in gripping detail, Robin recounts this Patriot story. The reader will find it quite difficult to finish this book without anger at the feeble efforts to free the colonel, and without being in awe of the courage of Robin Higgins--a true patriot and heroine.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling story of love, duty, honor and heroism., March 8, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Almont, Colorado) - See all my reviews

Pulled in different directions by her love for her husband, her religion, her duty as a Marine, and her loyalty to her country, Robin Higgins could have been torn apart; but she's too strong for that. Instead, she became a hero, in the truest sense of the word.

I've known many Marines whose chests were festooned with medals for bravery under fire. The Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart are medals awarded to Marines who served "above and beyond the call of duty." We call them heroes. All Robin Higgins got for her service was a broken heart, but she is the bravest Marine I have ever known.

Her story is a love story; of a love tested in the cruelest way. Yet, through it all her love remains strong and true; for the man of her dreams and the country she served. Shes pulls few punches in describing her in-action on the part of her country's government. She fought a futile battle to save her husband.

Robin Higgins reveals with great tenderness a love that continues to this day. Rich Higgins may have died, but the love of this brave woman for him lives on in the pages of "Patriot Dreams." It's a love meant for sharing. Share her dreams.

Colonel Fred Peck, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a book about courage, dedication, and love., March 3, 1999

By A Customer

It is a book about Marines. Its setting is in a scenario of tragedy for our nation, for its corps of Marines, for two of those in the ranks of the Corps, and for a man and woman bonded to each other not only through the ties of marriage, but equally strong, through the mystical ties that bind those who are Marines to each other, and to our Corps.

I knew Col Rich Higgins, and I know LtCol Robin Higgins. I lived through some of the times recounted by Robin in this book; and I was privileged, certainly by tenure of office, but also by the bonds of the Corps, to walk behind Col Higgins as he came home to Andrews Air Force Base on 30 December 1991.

On another occasion of the same era, equally sad, as he viewed the flag-draped caskets of Marines killed in the terrorist bombing of a Marine barracks in the same country in which Rich Higgins would be taken, the Marine Commandant of that moment, General P.X. Kelley, voiced the question, "Lord, where do we get such men?" Rich and Robin Higgins were profound evidence, a decade later, that from wherever that might be, the lines still ran true.

Even in the sadness and frustrations in the loss of Rich Higgins, there was given a strength to the American character, on his part, but more especially, on the part of a devoted wife and friend, and also a fellow Marine, Robin. And there comes to each of us privileged to call ourselves "Marine" beside them, a great sense of pride in what they were, are, and will always be to America, and to its Corps of United States Marines.