This book was horrific. In a nice world, if there were prisoners of war taken, they would be kept in a clean facility with access to medical care and food. The world, however, is not nice. Starvation, beatings, cruel torture, and forced labor are among the things that a lot of prisoners of war have faced over the years. I would say that is still the case in a lot of places. I cannot imagine being in a country that was not my own, not speaking or understanding the language in a lot of cases, and being subjected to the things that they went through. Being able to make it home and communicate their experiences is so invaluable to the historical record. People treated returning veterans and pows in an abhorrent manner after Vietnam, and this book might adjust some of those attitudes and perspectives. So unfortunate.