Hostage My Nightmare

In this grim memoir of his 17 months in captivity, Jacobsen, aided by Astor ( The Last Nazi ), expresses satisfaction with the arms-for-hostages deal that freed him and insists that only the current U.S. no-deals policy and government indifference stand in the way of freedom for remaining hostages. Head of American University of Beirut Medical Center, Jacobsen was kidnapped in May 1985 by Shiite Muslims seeking release of terrorists imprisoned in Kuwait. Blindfolded, chained, beaten and threatened with death, he and five others were locked in a small room. Malnourished and often sick, the group kept up morale with ad hoc religious services, physical exercises, sing-alongs, political arguments and their hopes for a rescue mission. Their captors were sometimes friendly, but Jacobsen was beaten severely after a U.S. TV anchor incorrectly suggested that a ransom appeal (reprinted here) contained a coded message. The authors press for negotiations to free those still being held. (Aug.)