WHAT: THREE HOSTAGE MEMOIRS
WHO: TERRY ANDERSON, BRIAN KEENAN, TERRY WAITE
THE BOTTOM LINE: New books that belong on the shelf of classics about surviving degradation with dignity and even humor.
BEIRUT WAS ALREADY AN INTERNAtional synonym for homegrown anarchy when it added hostage taking as a cottage industry. Between 1984 and 1992, dozens of Westerners became part of the inventory. Most were the property of various militias with ties to Hizballah, the Shi'ite Muslim Party of God backed by Iran.
The body snatching began with pious denunciations of the decadent West in general and the U.S. in particular. The conclusion...