Playing the POW Card

On the crowded shelf of political autobiographies, John McCain's new book, Faith of My Fathers (Random House; 349 pages; $25), stands out in at least one way: it ends when the hero is only 36. It's not surprising that the Republican presidential hopeful would want to end the story there, with his release from a Vietnamese POW camp after 5 1/2 years of captivity. His Vietnam saga is, to say the least, riveting: try to imagine being strung up by your broken arms, beaten senseless by your captors and, then, when they offer you the chance to go home, saying no...