Hostage: The History, Facts & Reality of Hostage Taking

"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.