Throughout our nation’s history American servicemen and civilians have resisted captivity in every form, drawing on special powers of ingenuity, determination, and patriotism to escape– sometimes repeatedly. Robert Doyle’s penetrating look at some extraordinary escapes by Americans breaks new ground in escape psychology, shedding light on the types of people who try to breakout and those who do not. This engrossing study probes the personal and social impacts of escape, the many motivations that spur such acts, and the concept of the escaper as the ideal prisoner and the ultimate patriot.
Traumatic Defeat: POWs, MIAs, and National Mythmaking
War breeds myths, especially those made up by the vanquished to explain or soften their loss. Occasionally the myths of the defeated center on prisoners of war (POWs) and those missing in action (MIAs) to justify the lost struggle, mute national guilt, and sometimes even reject the reality of defeat
