Escape From Laos by Dieter Dengler Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Escape From Laos
Book Review: Most powerful book I've ever read.
Summary: 5 Stars
Mine will be the eleventh review of this book and consistent with my reviewing colleagues, I too give this masterpiece a 5-star rating. So, Dieter, wherever you are, you are 11 for 11. Not too shabby. (For those of you who didn't know, Dieter passed away in 2001 from ALS.)
But what's so good about it? In a word, honesty. He simply told it like it happened, confident the story would do the work. No bluster, no bravado, and best of all, it does not read like a medal citation the way so many first-hand accounts of this genre do. Just simple honesty.
A collateral benefit of this story is how different we modern westerners are from the Third World. Today, we struggle over dealing with unsavory characters, whether torture can play a valid role in the 'War on Terror,' whether it's okay to incarcerate someone without due process. People of the Third World would think those issues are absurd, they have no such issues, might is right. I hope we continue to struggle and I hope we ultimately get the right answer because I shudder to think what kind of a nation we would become if we allow ourselves to lapse into the Third World's law of the bush.
Third worlders aren't all bad. Dieter himself was surprised at the impact the occasional act of kindness had on him as he moved through his gaunlet of horror. And these acts were by no means casual. If the perpetrators had been caught, they would have been severely punished, possibly executed.
Bottom line: if you have a copy, keep it safe. This book is not likely to be reprinted anytime soon.
-- Ejner Fulsang, author of "A Knavish Piece of Work," Aarhus Publishing
Book Review: Riveting!
Summary: 5 Stars
I finished this book on Memorial Day 2008. It is still relevant to our
position of freedom and life.
Book Review: The Laotian jungle was more deadly than the Pathet Lao
Summary: 5 Stars
The stories of the brave Americans, most of them military pilots, who were captured and tortured in the North Vietnamese prisons are among the most harrowing and compelling sagas in the history of war. The brutality of the guards, the primitive conditions of existence surrounded by concrete and filth, the dysentery, the untreated traumas induced by the pilots' high-speed ejections from their airplanes or from the villagers who found and attacked them before they reached Hanoi. These men deserve all the respect and valor that America can give them.
And, believe it or not, they were the lucky ones. It was the American prisoners who never made it to Hanoi that suffered the cruelest fate. The barbaric cages in the jungles of South Vietnam controlled by Viet Cong were even worse. The jungle diseases tore apart the healthiest of American soldiers and airmen. The POWs held in the jungles were at the utter mercy (or lack thereof) of the captors and their sadistic whims. There was no chain of command, unlike in North Vietnam, where the guards and inquisitors of the POWs sometimes spoke English and knew something of western culture. In the jungle, even the guards were fighting to just stay alive.
Lt. Dieter Dengler was even worse off than those held by the Viet Cong. In the jungle areas of South Vietnam or the Mekong Delta, some Americans managed to escape and find American patrols or outposts. The land or rivers could at least be traveled through. In Laos, if you weren't immediately rescued, you were on your own and as good as dead. Lt. Dengler should have died on impact when his Spad crashed. He actually evaded capture in the dark heart of Laos for 24 hours. Weeks later, he managed to escape and climb a rugged karst mountain only to be forced to retreat because of the brutal conditions and unquenchable thirst. He was recaptured, and eventually ended up in a primitive jungle prison deep in Laos.
There he met some Americans, some of whom had been held captive for up to 3 years. One, Air Force Lt. Duane Martin, had evaded capture in Laos for over two weeks while 3 others from his downed Air Force rescue helicopter were quickly captured and sent to the North Vietnam prisons. Again, those captured 3, unlike Lt. Martin, were the lucky ones. It is a cruel irony that the bravest and strongest of the Americans - those who evaded capture or escaped - were almost invariably killed by the lethal jungles or by the enraged captors who tracked them down. Duane Martin chose to escape with Dieter and his fate is poignantly described by Mr. Dengler. This final escape, with Martin and Dengler fighting the elements and the Pathet Lao to stay alive in the brutal jungle of Laos, is riveting and virtually unique in the recorded history of Americans at war. After 23 days, Dengler was alone and within a day or two of death due to the harsh environment. Then, in what is perhaps the most amazing, miraculous, needle-in-a-haystack rescue in American history, the story climaxes with the blessed appearance of a Jolly Green Giant and a tree-penetrator.
Virtually nobody ever made it out of Laos once in the clutches of the enemy. This inspiring story is a classic of indomitable human will.
Book Review: The Real Deal
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the real story of Dieter Dengler's experiences in Laos. When compared to the movie RESCUE DAWN, it becomes obvious that the movie is a lot closer to the truth than it's critics advocate.Book Review: The ultimate survival manual
Summary: 5 Stars
Best book I read in 2007 and I'm squeamish about war narratives. Riveting, astounding, a profile of courage and mental agility. This is the bible of survival techniques.
I shudder to think what details were edited OUT of this book.
I also recommend the film "Little Dieter Needs to Fly" where Dengler himself takes one back to the scene of these horrors.Little Dieter needs to Fly
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