Rating: 
Summary: Amazing story from a true American Hero
Review: Adm. Denton's account of his years as a POW in Viet Nam is the most compelling I have read. Once I started reading it, I was awe struck and could not stop until I was finished.Adm. Denton served his country in many ways. In addition to his military service, he was a US Senator from Alabama.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a book!!!
Review: Beautifully written, touching, disturbing, encouraging, spiritually enlightening, and tremendously upsetting, this account of a true American Hero's 7 1/2 years of imprisonment in Vietnam will exhaust every human emotion that the reader possesses. I read this book from cover to cover without stopping to breathe. I was shocked by every page. I never allowed myself to believe that human beings could treat each other the way that Admiral Denton was treated by the North Vietnamese. I have the utmost of respect for him, considering the pain that he lived with, not only during his imprisonment, but during the writing of this book as well. A lessor man would make all effort to block these years from his memory, but Jeremiah Denton relived the horror everyday that he spent writing this book. He did this for me, you, and all Americans so that we might begin to fully understand, not only how he was treated and how his faith in God, his family, and his country got him through this ordeal, but the necessity of this badly misunderstood war as well. This is a "must-read" book for any American who hasn't taken the time to stop and thank a Veteran for our freedom. Without the courage and loyalty of men like Denton, our country would not be the wonderful place that it is. I thank God everyday for these men who risked their lives for people like me, whom they don't even know. What greater hero is there?
Rating:
Summary: It must have been hell
Review: Here is yet another first rate tale of an American P.O.W. in North Vietnam. The prisoner is Navy pilot Jeremiah Denton, who was based on the carrier "Independence". His A6 aircraft was shot down in July of 1965. Denton spent the following 8+ years in captivity until the general release in the Spring of 1973. The title refers to the torture "sessions" Denton and his colleagues suffered at the hands of their captors. This reviewer has read several P.O.W. accounts. While all are similar in that they demonstrate great bravery and perseverance in brutal situations, each is also unique: WHWS focuses on the military command structures that existed in prison despite rigorous Vietnamese efforts to stymie them. The senior military commanders/prisoners like Admiral Stockdale, Colonel Robinson Risner and others obviously possessed a tremendous pride and strove to imbue that pride in all P.O.Ws. Denton pulls few punches. It startled this observer to learn that not all prisoners always agreed with the "program" and not all P.O.W.s were the best of buddies behind the walls. The author stresses the ubiquitous "tap code" that allowed communication within the prison walls. There is even an introductory chart to tapping! Denton glosses over his 4(!) years in solitary and concentrates on the other 4 years he was free to "mingle" with his fellow Americans. There is a noticeable lack of venom and bitterness toward the North Vietnamese in the text. The reader may suspect that Denton has come to terms with his years in the Hanoi Hilton and other garden spots of the North. WHWS is rated 5 stars with only 2 minor demerits: One is the absence of ANY maps. Most war books gloss over maps but surely the publisher could have inserted one! The other weakness is the appallingly small type in my paperback edition. Those interested in Admiral/Senator Denton's story may wish to verify before purchase how the many available editions of WHWS handle these issues.
Rating:
Summary: Memorable
Review: If there is one thing you can say about this book, it is that it is memorable. A friend of mine recently sent me a letter that mentioned this book and it brought back the memories of when I read it many years ago. The thing that I remember most about this book was Denton's deep faith in God, and how it sustained him through his ordeal in the North Vietnamese prison system during the Viet Nam war. Another thing I recall was the picture it painted of American servicemen keeping themselves united during an impossible situation. Denton's amazing courage and ingenuity by blinking his eyes to spell out the word "TORTURE" (in Morse Code) during a filmed interview is one of the most incredible events of the American POW chapter of the Viet Nam War. Denton's (and the rest of the Ameican POWs) ability to maintain sanity while suffering through such conditions is a testament to the American spirit, and it makes one think deeply about what it means to be an American. This book should be required reading for anyone who an interest in the Viet Nam War, American Military heritage, or just in American patriotism in the most extreme of circumstances. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Memorable
Review: If there is one thing you can say about this book, it is that it is memorable. A friend of mine recently sent me a letter that mentioned this book and it brought back the memories of when I read it many years ago. The thing that I remember most about this book was Denton's deep faith in God, and how it sustained him through his ordeal in the North Vietnamese prison system during the Viet Nam war. Another thing I recall was the picture it painted of American servicemen keeping themselves united during an impossible situation. Denton's amazing courage and ingenuity by blinking his eyes to spell out the word "TORTURE" (in Morse Code) during a filmed interview is one of the most incredible events of the American POW chapter of the Viet Nam War. Denton's (and the rest of the Ameican POWs) ability to maintain sanity while suffering through such conditions is a testament to the American spirit, and it makes one think deeply about what it means to be an American. This book should be required reading for anyone who an interest in the Viet Nam War, American Military heritage, or just in American patriotism in the most extreme of circumstances. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A triumph of human endurance.......
Review: In July of 1965, Naval aviatior Jeremiah A. Denton was shot down over North Vietnamese territory and taken as a prisoner of war. When Hell was in Session details the harrowing experiences faced by Denton and many other United States prisoners of war in Hanoi. During his seven and a half years in captivity, quite a bit of that time spent in solitary confinement, he was subject to horrific tortures and treatment that the average person could only experience in their very worst nightmares. It is readily apparent that Denton was a very brave and honorable man with an iron will when he resisited his jailors at every turn. Furthermore, it is a testament to his courage and character that he chose to relive those horrifying years in his mind to be able to write this book with so much detail. Even though this book is only 182 pages, its contents are probably one of the best eye-witness accounts you will read of an American held in Hanoi's infamous Hanoi Hilton prison complex. I've read quite a few books on U.S. captives in Hanoi and this one is at the top. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in this subject material.
Rating:
Summary: A triumph of human endurance.......
Review: In July of 1965, Naval aviatior Jeremiah A. Denton was shot down over North Vietnamese territory and taken as a prisoner of war. When Hell was in Session details the harrowing experiences faced by Denton and many other United States prisoners of war in Hanoi. During his seven and a half years in captivity, quite a bit of that time spent in solitary confinement, he was subject to horrific tortures and treatment that the average person could only experience in their very worst nightmares. It is readily apparent that Denton was a very brave and honorable man with an iron will when he resisited his jailors at every turn. Furthermore, it is a testament to his courage and character that he chose to relive those horrifying years in his mind to be able to write this book with so much detail. Even though this book is only 182 pages, its contents are probably one of the best eye-witness accounts you will read of an American held in Hanoi's infamous Hanoi Hilton prison complex. I've read quite a few books on U.S. captives in Hanoi and this one is at the top. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in this subject material.
Rating: 
Summary: disturbing book not for the faint hearted people
Review: Most people get carried away but their admiration for the author and forget the fact that it is the book they are reviewing and not the author. I definitely admire Jeremiah Denton for his chivalry and courage but reviewing the book is little different. From Historical Fact Finder and documentation perspective this is a great book and the descriptions of the torture are so vivid that sometimes I could not read more than few pages at the time. You will get a first hand description of what actually happened to the prisoners and how they survived. This book should be an encouragement to every survivor of every disaster. From a Political Commentary Perspective - this is just not that good - very childish effort I would say. You will get hundreds of books on Vietnam with better political analysis. (well I will agree to the fact that the author has devoted very little space to political commentary but the little that is there is biased and extremely childish) From a Literary perspective - very nice composition and it is amazing to see how the author has remembered the minute incidents. Sometimes the torture descriptions are little repetitive. But the book is interesting most of the time. It even mentions John McCain. (one thing for sure all these tortures in Vietnam was child's play compared to the humiliation that the prisoners have gone through in Abu Graib. Denton should be glad that the North Vietman guards were not female perverts with digital cameras and he was not forced to a little naked pyramid with his buddies)
Rating:
Summary: Humbling
Review: Mr. Denton and his fellow POWs are the very definition of the the word hero. In this book, Mr. Denton tells the story of his 7+ years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam with grace, dignity, and courage. His great love for the United States and his pride in being an American are evident again and again. He endured unspeakable agony and conditions so horrible they are beyond my comprehension, yet he never wavered in his love for his country, his family, and his God. I am humbled and overwhelmed at the sacrifices this man (and many others) have made on my behalf. The despicable act of the California state "leadership" and Fabian Nunez in barring Mr. Denton from speaking before a California Assembly on Independence Day 2004 is reprehensible and disgusting.
Thank you, Mr. Denton! You deserve our undying gratitude.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: This book was an eye opener. I respect every uniform I see now, and have the upmost pride that those that were POWs are one of my own and beam at their bravery. My favorite quote comes from this book. He states it at he end of the book after he has come home and went through hell on earth, EVEN then he still has pride in his country. It was like he justified his beatings, and starving, and psychological beatings in one statement, "A nation is only as strong as the collective strength of it's individuals." Blew me away! Great book, I'd advise anyone that has pride in being an American to read this book and appreciate he is one of ours. For that matter, I'd advise someone who doesn't have pride in the United States to read it and learn what that Freedom of Speech they use so often costs.
| 
