We see that javascript is disabled or not supported by your browser - javascript is needed for important actions on the site. Read more

What's New - Home - Login

Member $avings: $81,566,959.71 | Books Available: 795,588 | Members Online: 114

Swap Used Books - Buy New Books at Great Prices!

How To Swap Books Sign Up Search submenu

PBS Market (New Books)

Gift Buying Guide

Book Browser Advanced Search Books Posted Today Member Book Reviews Award Winning Books NYT Best Sellers Amazon Best Sellers Most Traveled Copies Club Wish List

Discussion Forums Book Lists

Club Lists My Book Lists My Watched Lists Create a List

Blog Donations

School Donation Program In Memory of... Military Donation Program Friends of PBS

Box-O-Books Maps The Eclectic Pen Fun Stuff

20 Questions Sudoku Bookmark Creator

Top 100

Requests Posts Swappers Referrers Reviewers

Pulse of PBS Spread The Word

Invite Friends Bookmarks Facebook Page Facebook App More Ways...

Photo Gallery Recipes Club Tag Cloud Member Testimonials

Help Center submenu

How To Swap Books Browse Help Docs Ask the Librarian PBS Member Icons Live Help

Kiosk

PBS Market (New Books) Go Shopping Buy Credits Buy PBS Money Upgrade Membership Gift Certificates Transfer Credits

Need Help?

Search - Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

Out of Captivity Surviving 1967 Days in the Colombian Jungle
Author: Marc Gonsalves, Tom Howes, Keith Stansell, Gary Brozek

On February 13, 2003, a plane carrying three American civilian contractors—Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Tom Howes—crash-landed in the mountainous jungle of Colombia. Dazed and shaken, they emerged from the plane bloodied and injured as gunfire rained down around them. As of that moment they were prisoners of the FARC, a Colomb... more »ian terrorist and Marxist rebel organization. In an instant they had become American captives in Colombia's volatile and ongoing conflict, which has lasted for almost fifty years. In Out of Captivity, Gonsalves, Stansell, and Howes recount for the first time their amazing tale of survival, friendship, and, ultimately, rescue, tracing their five and a half years as hostages of the FARC. Their story takes you inside one of the world's most notorious terrorist organizations, going behind enemy lines with vivid and haunting imagery. Their words conjure a reality that few people have ever encountered—from sleeping on beds literally carved out of the jungle to escaping Colombian military air strikes under the cover of darkness to being bound with steel chains by their captors. Describing backbreaking starvation marches and forced isolation, the authors chronicle their confrontations and interactions with the FARC guerrilla soldiers—a motley crew of brainwashed, idealistic teenagers and seasoned vet-erans who've been around long enough to realize that the only way out of the FARC is in a body bag. Though the physical punishments their bodies endured were unrelenting, the psychological battles they waged were the ultimate test of their resolve. With candid detail, Gonsalves, Stansell, and Howes relate the perilous mental struggles they each experienced, as they grappled with feelings of guilt, fear, and anxiety for the families and lives they'd left behind. Exposing the transformative power of captivity, they show how they turned these fears into strengths, using their memories and their families, their pasts and their futures, to motivate them in their quest for survival. Despite the odds and the conditions, despite the chains and the silence, and despite the often tense relationships they experienced with their fellow Colombian hostages, they had one another, forging a bond that allowed them to cope with the horrific conditions of their confinement. This brotherhood enabled them to persevere through the worst that the FARC threw at them while always reminding them of their ultimate goal: freedom. A harrowing account of one of the longest civilian hostage crises in United States history, Out of Captivity is a remarkable and compelling exploration of how far three Americans were willing to go as they fought to stay alive for themselves, their families, and one another.

ISBN-13: 9780061769535
ISBN-10: 0061769533
Publication Date: 2/1/2010
Pages: 480
Rating:

Currently 3.7/5 Stars.

3.7 stars, based on 5 ratings

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Edward B. reviewed Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle on 11/22/2010 + 3 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

8 stars - Great read - hard to put down. A very inspiring and honest story of courage and determination. It reveals the cruelty and shallowness of the FARC rebel movement, and insight into human behavior and adaptability under conditions of confinement and adversity.

Share/Like this Review?

Read All 2 Book Reviews of "Out of Captivity Surviving 1967 Days in the Colombian Jungle"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

Angie B. (kjmom) reviewed Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle on 12/29/2010

It was interesting to hear the stories but it was a slow read. Very thick book and a bit redundant.

Share/Like this Review?

Read All Book Reviews of "Out of Captivity Surviving 1967 Days in the Colombian Jungle"

Genres:

Back to the Top ↑

Search - Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

Top Member Book Reviews

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

Loading...