The vulnerability of men serving their country is dramatically recalled in these stories, beginning with two vivid tales of survival at sea. Tales of prisoners of war span five wars, from World War I, with its relatively genteel conditions, to the privations suffered by the men and women who fought the Japanese, Vietnamese, and Iraqis, when civility often took a back seat to expediency and cruelty. In each instance, the prisoner tapped on reserves of fortitude and patience to overcome their captors' brutality.