Gonzo Book Club - Out of Captivity: Surviving 1967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

Say what you want about Oprah. The woman is a media mogul and she has a book club. Why shouldn't Gonzo Guide Green Bay have a book club as well? We're a media force to be reckoned with, right?


Whatever. This may be our only discussion of a book, it might not. We aren't making any promises and we aren't taking any prisoners.


And speaking of prisoners, the book on the Gonzo literary hotplate this evening is, Out of Captivity: Surviving 1967 Days in the Colombian Jungle.

What a an experience to read about, people. In the book the authors/survivors recount their experiences as captives of a rogue Colombian para-military group called the FARC. Don't ask what FARC stands for. They are communists, and they take and kill hostages...that should tell you enough.

The survivors, Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Tom Howes detail how they made it through a plane crash in the middle of the Columbia jungle, only to be quickly captured by members of the FARC. They recount their experiences marching through extremely rugged terrain on several occasions only to find themselves once again malnourished, living in deplorable conditions surrounded by guards and other hostages, none of whom they could trust. Certainly a focus of the book was on the physical toils, but the agony of their situation played out in their mental corridors.

The book provided a unique perspectives on relationships, values, hope, and what really remains when you boil a man down to his core. Reading this book gives you a glimpse of how these men suffered through finding that out for themselves. You can't help but wonder when you read about their experiences what would be left of you? Honestly, that is what makes this book so good. It makes you ask this question of yourself after every page.

Gonzo Guide Green Bay gives Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle 5 salutes out of 5.

Read, please. It is good for your cranium, and provides you with some interesting things to talk about at parties.

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Gomez Gonzo
Gonzo Editor-at-Large
gomez@gonzoguidegreenbay.com