Historical fiction
A story untold. Left in the dark. For seventy years. This novel tells that story, shines a light on that darkness. Our prisoners-of-war in Korea are truly the forgotten men of the forgotten war. The prisoner-of-war camps along the Yalu River saw half the prisoners die during the first winter. Then the Chinese began their efforts at “re-education.” The Chinese attempted to convince the prisoners of the decadence of capitalism and the glories of communism. Those "students" who failed to demonstrate the correct amount of enthusiasm were punished.
Swede is one who fights back. Only nineteen years old, he escapes three times and pays a price for each. He is starved and exposed to the freezing winter night while buckets of water are thrown on him. His guards beat him-and worse. Swede decides they might kill him, but he will never give up. Finally allowed to rejoin the main camp, he teaches others to resist, becoming one of the worst of the men the Chinese fear - the Reactionaries.