Buried Alive : The True Story of Kidnapping, Captivity, and a Dramatic Rescue (NelsonFree)

A true-life adventure sure to shock as well as inspire. AK47s, masked thugs, and brutal urgency erupt from Roy Hallums' account of his abduction in Iraq, shredding through those frequently sterile cable news reports revealing that another "American contractor is being held hostage . . ." Hallums was the everyman behind that report?a 56-year-old retired Naval commander working as a food supply contractor in Baghdad's high-end Mansour District. His abduction was transacted in a matter of minutes, amidst a hail of gunfire and a handful of casualties. For the first few months of his captivity, Hallums endured beatings and psychological torture while being shuffled from one ramshackle safe house to another. From the four-foot-tall crawlspace where he carried out the bulk of his nearly year-long abduction, Hallums established a surprising degree of normalcy?a system of routines and timekeeping, along with an attention to the particulars that defined his horrific ordeal. His experience is recreated here, rich with harrowing specifics and surprising observations. "In November 2004 Roy Hallums was working late at his office in Iraq at the Saudi Arabian Trading and Construction Company, supposedly well-protected by armed security guards, when four kidnappers broke in and hauled him away at gunpoint. The next ten months were the darkest of his life. Hallums spent most of his time in a concrete pit beneath a farmhouse, constantly bound and blindfolded. A small pipe in the ceiling provided the room's only oxygen – and its only link to the outside world. Hallums banked on one group in particular not forgetting his existence -- the US military. And sure enough, on September 7, 2006, they successfully rescued him. This is the edge-of-your-seat story of a trip through hell for Hallums, the daring rescue mission, and faith that brought him through the experience."--Publisher's website Introduction / By Dan O'shea -- Kidnapped! -- Shootout At The Compound -- Captive -- The Family Is Notified -- The Mosque -- Prayers -- Breakfast And Beatings -- The Kidnapping Business -- Allah Akbar! -- Meanwhile, Back At The Mosque -- The Critter Shack And Fields Of Rock -- Exercise Bike -- Underground -- Rules Of The House -- January -- Video Release -- The Family Takes Action -- America's Funniest Home Videos -- Carrie's Diary -- The Romanians -- No Smoking -- Air-conditioning -- Munaf -- Another Ransom Paid -- Reward For Information -- Buried Alive -- Road Trip -- Camp Snoopy -- The Perfect Storm -- Rescued -- Barbecue, Whiskey, And Cigars -- Family Reunion -- Iraqi Justice -- American Flag. Roy Hallums With Audrey Hudson. Includes Bibliographical References.