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Anatomy of a Kidnapping: A Doctor's Story    by Steven L. Berk Amazon.com order for
Anatomy of a Kidnapping
by Steven L. Berk
Order:  USA  Can
Texas Tech University Press, 2011 (2011)
Hardcover
* *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

Steven L. Berk, M.D., author of Anatomy of a Kidnapping, used the skills he had learned in medical school to save himself from a kidnapper with a gun.

He had been taught that, as a doctor, no matter the situation, he had to approach it calmly and with precision. Decide on a course of action and move on it. Not panic and make a possibly bad situation worse. This attitude had served him well in his many years of practice and he realized it would serve him well as he faced a man who seemingly had nothing to lose.

Berk's story tells of his background and his years of helping others. Now was the time to help himself. He had seen a mouse in his garage and left the garage door up to allow the mouse to escape. As he worked in his home office, he realized someone was in the room with him - a man with a gun and a determined look on his face.

The man wanted money and any valuables that might be in the house. Fortunately, Berk's wife was not home at that moment. One of his sons was out of state at college. His second son was waiting to be picked up by a friend to attend church. Berk managed equanimity when his son called from another room to say he was leaving.

He ended up in the gunman's van searching for ATMs that would enable Berk to give the man money. The rest of the story is for you to discover for yourself the outcome of the kidnapping.

Anatomy of a Kidnapping is a tale, simply told of a man who did what he felt he had to do to survive. I found it interesting, but without the edge of suspense that I felt might have fit in here.

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