In Their Own Words

Taken hostage by Congolese rebels at the U.S. Consulate he headed in Stanleyville, Michael Hoyt provides the first inside account of the 1964 seizure of the American consulate staff and their one hundred and eleven days of captivity. Their survival and eventual rescue offer a gripping story of courage and frustration, survival and sadness of lives lost. The first time that American diplomats have been held hostage since the Barbary pirate days of the 1800s, these events, as described by the author, present valuable lessons both for the future conduct of hostages and the policies to deal with their taking.