Hostage: The History, Facts & Reasoning Behind Political Hostage Taking

by John C. Griffiths

Hostage is a highly topical study of the phenomenon of hostage taking, both historically and in the world today. It explores such areas as the history of hostage taking and how it has evolved, the seizing of hostages, the treatment of hostages and the relationship that develops between captor and captive, escapes and releases, negotiations, the trauma and subsequent long-term effects, and the response by the government and police to hostage-taking. Drawing on a large number of individual cases and in dialogue with many key hostages, terrorists, and negotiators, John C. Griffiths dramatically re-creates the main hostage events of the post-War era and asks how effective it is as a means to an end.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book when I was wandering through a second hand store. I was really interested at first as I thought this would be an exciting read. Turned out to be a bit of a dry read- very academically written and formatting. It was still quite interesting though, although I would often take breaks between chapters as it can be dry.

[David Szatkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting and random book I found by recommendation. The author looks at various motives and effects of hostage taking. The results give context and deeper insight to these events, resolutions, and wider impact.