Customer Reviews
The Long Read Home - By: ianrmillard, 20 Aug 2004 
This is not exactly a riveting read, but will be of interest to many who remember the long imprisonment of McCarthy & who might also remember with respect the loyal & lengthily loyal efforts made by Jill Morell to get him released from captivity.
yes, humbling - By: Matthew Cullen, 28 Jan 2004 
the further you get into this book the more unputdownable it becomes. Whilst it is not a classic of literature, it is very well written, & John McCarthy writes very well about his time in captivity. What came through to me as I read it was the horror of the LENGTH of time he remained there, year after year, so it is good to read at the same time of what Jill Morrell was doing, or trying to do, to help him. In many ways the most eye-opening part of the book is the section describing the difficulties they both found coping with life, & their relationship, after John's return. How do two ordinary people, who've become so well-known they are considered public property, manage to have a life of their own whilst coming to terms with the preceding five & a third years?
humbling - By: deborah mitchell, 11 Jun 2002 
This book is one of my favorites ever. John almost took me into the smalll, terrifying spaces he lived in for 5 years. I can almost smell the place, feel his fear & absolute terror that there is no-one out here is remembering him. Unbeknown to him, Jill faught tirelessly for his release. I read this book a long time ago, but still can feel the empathy with him & Brian Keenan as they sat in darkness........making chess pieces, amongst other things. Their bodies fell apart but thier minds proved that no-one could take away their thoughts, regardless of the fear & isolation. Their spirit was so strong, maybe they hold an experience that makes their (now) free lives so so much more precious than ours.I am so amazed that he kept his spirit & humour throughout.John McCarthy & Brian Keenan have to rate as my 'most wanted' at my my alll time dinner companions.Read this book, you won't be dissapointed. Just be glad that he is now free..and no doubt he has a wonderful life to boot, albeit without Jill. Not an 'happy ever after' story (don't expect 'titanic' romantisism here). He is left with some demons I am sure...but that's another book!!!
A book that had to be written - By: Mr. S. W. Allen, 15 Feb 2002 What can you say about this book? "Well done for getting kidnapped & getting this book out John!". Or, "Jill, you captured your agony perfectly, congratulations!".
I am not sure that conventional congratulations are in order but I AM sure that I was swept away to another place & time in the moments over 3 days that I could steal to read this book. It is a book that had to be written about two unassuming people & their friends kidnapped into a place they had no right to be taken.
Like most people I clearly remember the hostages & Jill's apprarences on TV. But it is fascinating how the affair was conducted by ordinary people trying to raise awareness of a desperate plight in the media & in government.
I wish them both the best for the future.
Wonderfully written memoir of hostage years - By: arzus@egonzehnder.com.tr, 21 Aug 2000 Just as I had read accounts of some of the other Beirut hostages, I decided to read John McCarthy's, & found that I could not put this book down until the last page. Unlike Brian Keenan's book, "An Evil Cradling", which was also very well-written, McCarthy & Jill Morrell go on to explain what happens AFTER he was released & included extensive detail about their reunion & what occurs to a male-female relationship after 5 years of forced separation. I only have one question: are John McCarthy & Jill Morrell still together now? Even though they were so at the end of this book, I have since heard that they no longer are a couple.
