Product Description

On 17 April 1986 a British television journalist was kidnapped in Beirut. His name was John McCarthy and he was to remain a hostage for the next five years. During those years he was cut off from everything and everybody he knew and loved, from family, friends, and, perhaps above all, from Jill Morrell, the girl he was going to marry. For five years, John McCarthy had to endure the deprivation - both physical and psychological - of captivity; the filth and the squalor of the cells in which he was kept; the agony of isolation and repeated self-examination; the pain of ignorance, of not knowing if those he loved even realized he was alive. For Jill Morrell, the five years of John's captivity were a different kind of hell: the initial shock and disbelief; the gradual acceptance that John had been taken and that her life was changed irrevocably, that all their plans had been shattered. But even as she began to pick up the threads of her life, she was refusing to give up hope. For five years she battled with the mandarins of the Foreign Office; she and a group of friends launched the Friends of John McCarthy, and worked ceaselessly on the behalf of all the British hostages in the Middle East, until the extraordinary day in August 1991 when John McCarthy stepped down from an aeroplane at RAF Lyneham.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30536 in Books
• Published on: 1994-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 672 pages

From the Back Cover
On 17 April 1986 John McCarthy was kidnapped in Beirut. For the next five years he was cut off from everything and everybody he knew and loved, from family, friends and, perhaps above all, from Jill Morrell, the girl he was going to marry.

For five years, John McCarthy had to endure the deprivation - both physical and psychological - of captivity; the filth and squalor of the cells in which he was kept; the agony of isolation and repeated self-examination; and the pain of ignorance, of not knowing if those he loved even realized he was alive.

For Jill Morrell, the five years of John's captivity were a different kind of hell: the initial shock and disbelief; the gradual acceptance that John had been taken and that her life had changed irrevocably, that all their plans had been shattered.

But Jill refused to give up hope. For five years she and a group of friends worked ceaselessly on behalf of John and all the British hostages in the Middle East, until the extraordinary day in August 1991 when John McCarthy stepped down from an aeroplane at RAF Lyneham. A day when they could begin again.

This is their story, a remarkable account of courage, endurance, hope, and love.

About the Author
John McCarthy
As a journalist in television news John McCarthy was sent on his first foreign assignment to Beirut in 1986 aged twenty-nine. His career was abruptly cut short by militiamen who kidnapped and held him captive for five and half years.

Since his release he has written three books - Some Other Rainbow (with Jill Morrell), about his hostage years, Island Race (with Sandi Toksvig), an account of their circumnavigation of Britain, and Between Extremes (with Brian Keenan), a journey through Chile.

John McCarthy continues to work in both radio and television.

Jill Morrell
Jill Morrell was born and brought up in Yorkshire. She, too, graduated from the University of Hull and subsequently worked at UPITN. She lives in London.

Customer Reviews

humbling
This book is one of my favorites ever. John almost took me into the small, terrifying spaces he lived in for 5 years. I can almost smell the place, feel his fear and absolute terror that there is no-one out here is remembering him. Unbeknown to him, Jill faught tirelessly for his release. I read this book a long time ago, but still can feel the empathy with him & Brian Keenan as they sat in darkness........making chess pieces, amongst other things. Their bodies fell apart but thier minds proved that no-one could take away their thoughts, regardless of the fear & isolation. Their spirit was so strong, maybe they hold an experience that makes their (now) free lives so so much more precious than ours.I am so amazed that he kept his spirit and humour throughout.John McCarthy & Brian Keenan have to rate as my 'most wanted' at my my all time dinner companions.Read this book, you won't be dissapointed. Just be glad that he is now free..and no doubt he has a wonderful life to boot, albeit without Jill. Not an 'happy ever after' story (don't expect 'titanic' romantisism here). He is left with some demons I am sure...but that's another book!!!

yes, humbling
the further you get into this book the more unputdownable it becomes. Whilst it is not a classic of literature, it is very well written, and John McCarthy writes very well about his time in captivity. What came through to me as I read it was the horror of the LENGTH of time he remained there, year after year, so it is good to read at the same time of what Jill Morrell was doing, or trying to do, to help him. In many ways the most eye-opening part of the book is the section describing the difficulties they both found coping with life, and their relationship, after John's return. How do two ordinary people, who've become so well-known they are considered public property, manage to have a life of their own whilst coming to terms with the preceding five and a third years?

A book that had to be written
What can you say about this book? "Well done for getting kidnapped and getting this book out John!". Or, "Jill, you captured your agony perfectly, congratulations!".

I am not sure that conventional congratulations are in order but I AM sure that I was swept away to another place and time in the moments over 3 days that I could steal to read this book. It is a book that had to be written about two unassuming people and their friends kidnapped into a place they had no right to be taken.

Like most people I clearly remember the hostages and Jill's apprarences on TV. But it is fascinating how the affair was conducted by ordinary people trying to raise awareness of a desperate plight in the media and in government.

I wish them both the best for the future.