HERO FOUND: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
HERO FOUND
The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War
BY BRUCE HENDERSON

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In February 1966, Dieter Dengler was shot down over “neutral” Laos in territory controlled by Pathet Lao guerrillas and North Vietnamese regulars. After his capture, the German-born Dengler proved to be no ordinary prisoner. Already a legend in the navy for his unique escape skills, which he had demonstrated during survival training in the California desert, he found himself caught in a desperate situation, imprisoned by the enemy and by the jungle itself. Dengler's heroic impulse was to free not only himself but also other POWs—American, Thai, and Chinese—some of whom had been held for years. In a surreal scene of brotherhood and celebration, Dengler, nearly six months after being shot down, returned to his ship in the Gulf of Tonkin—emaciated and ravaged with tropical maladies, but alive and free.

Bruce Henderson served with Dengler aboard USS Ranger. In this gripping book, he tells the complete story for the first time, drawing on personal interviews with the intrepid pilot, his squadron mates, and his friends and family, as well as military archival materials—some never before made public—and letters and journals. Henderson's riveting account demonstrates why Dengler's story of unending optimism, innate courage, loyalty, and survival against overwhelming odds remains for his fellow flyers and shipmates the best and brightest memory of their generation's war.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bruce Henderson is the author or coauthor of more than twenty nonfiction books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller And the Sea Will Tell (with Vincent Bugliosi?) and Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II. Henderson served as a U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet weatherman from 1965 to 1967. He lives in Menlo Park, California.

MY REVIEW:

Bruce Henderson’s HERO FOUND-THE GREATEST POW ESCAPE OF THE VIETNAM WAR is the heroic story of Dieter Dengler, an American aviator who was shot down over Laos in 1966 during the Vietnam War. Author Bruce Henderson served on the USS Ranger with Dengler and gives the book a first hand account of at least that part of the story. When Dengler escaped and returned to their ship and just prior to it returning to the states, it had been 6 months after Dengler was lost and thought to be dead. His welcome from all those aboard the Ranger was surreal.

Henderson tells a moving, as well as disturbing, depiction of how Dengler escaped from his captors. Already an icon in the Navy for an earlier escape when he was captured, and for his talent at dodging the enemy (having been perfected during his training) Dengler was the leader who came up with the plan, and lead everyone to escape from the POW camp,

Henderson did a great deal of research that included interviews to craft a truly mesmerizing account that doesn’t shy away from man's brutality to his fellow man, but also makes sure readers see how Deigler's courageousness did not allow him to be crushed by such evil. Dieter Dengler, was born in Germany but moved later to the United States and became a US citizen. During his childhood in Germany, he often had to hide or be one step ahead of the Nazis since his family held anti-Nazi sentiments. There he became proficient in the skills needed to survive while in Germany’s Black Forest. This obviously served him well later on in his life.

When Dengler was caught and imprisoned in Vietnam, he was put in with a couple of Americans but also prisoners from other countries. Within days of his imprisonment, he had already shared with his fellow inmates how he was going to escape and got many others to support his plan. The amazing story of enduring the capture that included torture and beatings, supplemented with what one can only presume was some kind of sustenance but hardly what we would call food, is well documented and described. In turn, the difficult escape, in which Dengler took the others with him, was not an easy journey and the hardships they all endured are depicted very well by Henderson.

In the end, "Hero Found" is a tribute to a man some refer to as the most famous P.O.W. to ever escape in our country’s history by overcoming great hardship as well as becoming the standard for an American hero. His pure spirit and will to survive should be an inspiration to us all, especially on this day of all days, September 11.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO MARK AND GOOD PEOPLE
AT HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHING,
I HAVE 3 COPIES OF THIS INSPIRING
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY. HERE IS WHAT
YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN A COPY!

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT "HERO FOUND" AND AUTHOR BRUCE HENDERSON THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO READ THIS BOOK BY VISITING THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY: WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW OF AN INTERVIEW OF BRUCE HENDERSON ON JON STEWART'S DAILY SHOW AND COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON HOW YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU MAY COMMENT MORE THAN ONCE AND EARN EXTRA ENTRIES.

GIVEAWAY ENDS
6 PM, EST, SEPTEMBER 25!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Bruce Henderson
www.thedailyshow.com