Buried Alive: The True Story of Kidnapping, Captivity, and a Dramatic RescueA “vivid, absorbing, and chilling” true-life account of surviving nearly a year of captivity in Iraq (Lesley Stahl, 60 Minutes correspondent). AK47s, masked thugs, and brutal urgency erupt from Roy Hallums’ account of his abduction in Iraq, shredding through those frequently sterile cable news reports revealing that another American contractor is being held hostage. Hallums was the everyman behind that report—a fifty-six-year-old retired Naval commander working as a food supply contractor in Baghdad’s high-end Mansour District. His abduction was transacted in a matter of minutes, amidst a hail of gunfire and a handful of casualties. For the first few months of his captivity, Hallums endured beatings and psychological torture while being shuffled from one ramshackle safe house to another. From the four-foot-tall crawlspace where he carried out the bulk of his nearly year-long abduction, Hallums established a surprising degree of normalcy—a system of routines and timekeeping, along with an attention to the particulars that defined his horrific ordeal. His experience is recreated here, rich with harrowing specifics and surprising observations. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 9 | |
| 13 | |
| 19 | |
5 The Mosque | 25 |
6 Prayers | 31 |
7 Breakfast and Beatings | 35 |
8 The Kidnapping Business | 43 |
20 The Romanians | 129 |
21 No Smoking | 137 |
22 AirConditioning | 143 |
23 Munaf | 151 |
24 Another Ransom Paid | 155 |
25 Reward for Information | 161 |
26 Buried Alive | 173 |
27 Road Trip | 179 |
9 Allah Akbar | 49 |
10 Meanwhile Back at the Mosque | 53 |
11 The Critter Shack and Fields of Rock | 61 |
12 Exercise Bike | 71 |
13 Underground | 81 |
14 Rules of the House | 89 |
15 January | 99 |
16 Video Release | 105 |
17 The Family Takes Action | 111 |
18 Americas Funniest Home Videos | 117 |
19 Carries Diary | 123 |
28 Camp Snoopy | 187 |
29 The Perfect Storm | 193 |
30 Rescued | 201 |
31 Barbecue Whiskey and Cigars | 211 |
32 Family Reunion | 219 |
33 Iraqi Justice | 231 |
34 American Flag | 237 |
Acknowledgments | 243 |
Notes | 245 |
About the Author | 249 |
Other editions - View all
Buried Alive: The True Story of Kidnapping, Captivity, and a Dramatic Rescue ... Roy Hallums No preview available - 2012 |
Buried Alive: The True Story of Kidnapping, Captivity, and a Dramatic Rescue ... Roy Hallums No preview available - 2012 |
Common terms and phrases
Al Jazeera Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda in Iraq Amanda Amar American Arabic asked Baghdad Bandar Barbara beat blindfolded called captivity captors Carrie cell cellar concrete dad’s debriefing door Fallujah Fedayeen Saddam floor Florence going guards Hamid hands head hear heard held hostage helicopters hole Hostage Working Group Hussein inside intentionally left blank Iraq Iraqi kidnapped kill knew later Lesley Stahl lived looked Mansour district Mashdanni Memphis military million dollars minutes mosque move Munaf Muslim negotiations never Nick Berg night O’Connor O’Shea okay Omar ordeal Ovidiu Ohanesian Philippines phone numbers prayed prayers pulled ransom released reported rescue Robert Romanians Roy Hallums Russo Sabrina Saddam Saudi Arabia script master shawarma sleep someone sounds started Sunni sure Susan taken hostage talking tape television tell terrorists thought told took underground upstairs videotape wanted Yasser yelling Zein