Category: Adult
Details: Hardcover, 256 pages
SkoMomma's Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
If you've ever wondered how frightening life as an American in post-Saddam Iraq, then Buried Alive by Roy Hallums provides all the detail you would ever want to know. Hallums, a contractor working in Iraq, was captured and spent 311 days in captivity, most of it in an underground room. Hallums details the entire experience from his capture, to his detainment, and finally to his rescue including the viewpoints of his family here in the United States. Hallums was captured by a gang whose sole purpose was to kidnap and make money through large ransoms paid sometimes by the captor's government, employer, or family. Hallums spent his time with several other individuals including individuals from France, Iraq, and the Philippines.
The book was easy to read and interesting, however I felt that it lacked emotional substance. Hallums would describe being beaten and starved in such a matter-of-fact manner that it made it difficult to really connect with him as an individual. That's not to say that I wasn't relieved that he was rescued from this harrowing experience, just more insight into his thoughts and feelings during his imprisonment. From the context, the reader can glean the frustration Hallums' family had with the United States government. According to the family, the government shared little information, provided little guidance and left the family struggling to believe that anything was being done by them to rescue Hallums. Personally, I was disappointed to hear that the government did not provide the support that the family needed until the pieces of the puzzle started to form and they were able to locate Hallums' location.
The book was easy to read and interesting, however I felt that it lacked emotional substance. Hallums would describe being beaten and starved in such a matter-of-fact manner that it made it difficult to really connect with him as an individual. That's not to say that I wasn't relieved that he was rescued from this harrowing experience, just more insight into his thoughts and feelings during his imprisonment. From the context, the reader can glean the frustration Hallums' family had with the United States government. According to the family, the government shared little information, provided little guidance and left the family struggling to believe that anything was being done by them to rescue Hallums. Personally, I was disappointed to hear that the government did not provide the support that the family needed until the pieces of the puzzle started to form and they were able to locate Hallums' location.
Overall, I felt the book was educational, but I wouldn't be likely to recommend it as a must read.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
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