A Place Called Heartbreak describes the ordeal of Major Fred V. Cherry, who was shot down in combat over Vietnam and spent seven-and-a-half years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.

Major Fred V. Cherry, a confident young Air Force pilot, is shot down over North Vietnam in 1965. He does not know how long he will be held prisoner or how he will be treated, only that his courage, patriotism, and will power will be fully tested.

On 22 October 1965, Colonel Fred V. Cherry (then a Major) was flying a mission from Thailand to North Vietnam. His F-105 fighter jet was fired upon and shot down near the city of Hanoi, North Vietnam. Colonel Cherry ejected safely and was the 43rd American to be captured and taken as a Prisoner of War (POW). He spent 702 days in solitary confinement and was tortured continuously.

Walter Dean Myers is a published author, editor, and illustrator of several children’s books. Some of his published credits include: A Place Called Heartbreak: A Story of Vietnam (Stories of America), At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England and Now Is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom.

Frederick Porter is a published author and illustrator of several young adult and children’s books. Some of his published credits include: A Place Called Heartbreak: A Story of Vietnam (Stories of America Series), Jonathan Chapman The Appleseed Man (Leveled Books) and Jane Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees (Real Reading Series).

Alex Haley, as General Editor, wrote the introduction.