Winter of Fire

On December 17, 1981, U.S. Army general James Dozier, a NATO staff officer stationed in Italy, was kidnapped by the Red Brigade and taken to a ``people's prison'' in Genoa. It was the first major terrorist crisis for the Reagan administration. This suspenseful, action-packed account of Dozier's 42-day ordeal also describes why the executive committee of the Red Brigade targeted him. From interviews with brigatisti involved in the abduction, Italian law enforcement officials, U.S. military intelligence officers and Dozier, Collin, professor of government at the University of South Carolina, and film producer Freedman recreate the self-defeating actions of the brigatisti and the aggressive Italian police work. But overshadowing all else in the book is Dozier's brave defiance as a captive threatened with assassination. He was rescued unharmed on January 28, 1982. Photos. (Aug.)