Held Captive: The Kidnapping and Rescue of Elizabeth Smart

My hand trembled with each and every page I read. With each word my mind went back to when I was kidnapped, beaten, tortured and raped in Moscow in January of 1992 by early Al qeada operatives. Maggie, you have written a spine chilling account of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and rescue. I applaud you for your writing skills. -Yvonne Bornstein, Author, Eleven Days Of Hell- My True Story Of Kidnapping, Terror, Torture and Historic FBI and KGB Rescue

I am a 14 year old girl, who never even really knew Elizabeth Smart was taken from her Salt Lake City home, until she was found. My family and I brought up Elizabeths remarkable rescue at breakfast one morning and it made me very interested to find out what truly happened to this young girl. Elizabeth, being only a sophmore in Highschool is my Ro-Model because she has inspired me to believe miracles do happen, if you have faith in yourself. I feel Elizabeth has gone through so much and has maintained who she is and managed to put up with all that torment for 9 months. She is truly a remarkable person and deserves to be back with her family. I think this book about Elizabeths torment and rescue is truly heartbreaking but is also a remarkable story to read. Elizabeth is truly an angel on Earth.

I in all honesty have not read this book but I came across a disturbing review by someone that said they think this book is just some Mormon way of getting publicity. I am angered and enraged by this statement. Myself being from Utah I am Mormon/LDS the same faith as the Smart family. I lived through the horror that SLC went through when Elizabeth was taken from her family. NO ONE has the right to say that this book was a way to get publicity for our church. This poor teenage girl will have to live her whole life with the hellish memories of her nine month captivity. Why can't some people respect this and just leave that whole family alone? Elizabeth deserves privacy and I don't think anyone should judge our church or her by a book.

"Held Captive" is the edge-of-your seat page-turner it is because Maggie Haberman and Jeane MacIntosh, the book's authors, were clever enough to let this suspenseful tale run its inevitable course. No sugar sprinkles, no hype, no sentimentality, the entire horror tale told in such a skillful manner that the pace doesn't falter for a second. And what a sickening tale it is! A beautiful little 14-year-old abducted from her bed in the middle of the night in full view of her terrified younger sister and --worse yet!--unrecovered for nine months! The kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart had frightened the nation on and off since it was first revealed by the Salt Lake City police in June 2002.But to read about it, as we did then, in bits and pieces in newspapers and magazines is different from absorbing the whole stomach-churning story as step by ominous step, the search actually chugged on. The Smart family's anxiety is unimaginable, yet the authors bring it insightfully to the fore. As they do with the lunatic minds of Elisabeth's kidnappers, the bizarre, religion-besotted Brian Mitchell and his pathetic companion Wanda Barzee. A revolting pair! "Held Captive" was written by two top-notch New York journalists, and their clear-headedness shows. Read it. You will never forget it.

This book is a detail of events, starting many years prior to the abduction, woven into a comprehensive chronology that is highly readable. The information is based on interviews with family members and previously published material. The two authors' investigative journalism background is apparent -- the book approaches the subject matter-of-factly. The authors took care to be thorough with little sensationlism. This is not a creatively embellished interpretation of persons and events. I especially liked how MacIntosh and Haberman included information from experts knowledgeable in cult practices and from missing children recovery agencies. Overall, I think the authors did a fine job piecing the story together while being sensitive toward the young victim and her family.I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the investigation and events that lead to Elizabeth's joyful rescue.