Changes

In 2011, he wrote a book ''Anatomy of a Kidnapping: A Doctor's Story'' about his experiences six years earlier on March 6, 2005, as the victim of [[kidnapping]]. He was taken from the garage of his then residence off Interstate 27 in the Randall County portion of [[Amarillo]], Texas. His younger son, Justin, was at home when the kidnapping occurred, but his wife, Shirley (born 1950), was at church. Older son Jeremy was away at college. The captor, Jack Lindsey Jordan (born 1963 in Seminole, Texas) gained entry from an open garage door, which normally would have been locked. Jordan demanded money and jewelry to pay for transportation and methamphetamines. He drove the doctor along Interstate 40 toward [[New Mexico]] and held him for four hours on a cool windy Sunday. He was released unharmed near a gasoline station in Bushland in Potter County, Texas. At the time of the kidnapping, Berk was the regional dean of the Texas Tech medical branch in Amarillo, but on August 1, 2006, he was moved to the high position at the Lubbock campus. There are two other branch campuses in [[Odessa, Texas|Odessa]] and [[El Paso]]. Before his arrival in Amarillo, Dr. Berk was a medical professor at the James H. Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, where he worked in the fields of infectious diseases, geriatrics, and internal medicine.<ref name=book>Billy Hathorn, Review of ''Anatomy of a Kidnapping,'' ''West Texas Historical Review,'' Vol. 89 pp. 184-186.</ref>   

In 2011, he wrote a book ''Anatomy of a Kidnapping: A Doctor's Story'' about his experiences six years earlier on March 6, 2005, as the victim of [[kidnapping]]. He was taken from the garage of his then residence off Interstate 27 in the Randall County portion of [[Amarillo]], Texas. His younger son, Justin, was at home when the kidnapping occurred, but his wife, Shirley (born 1950), was at church. Older son Jeremy was away at college. The captor, Jack Lindsey Jordan (born 1963 in Seminole, Texas) gained entry from an open garage door, which normally would have been locked. Jordan demanded money and jewelry to pay for transportation and methamphetamines. He drove the doctor along Interstate 40 toward [[New Mexico]] and held him for four hours on a cool windy Sunday. He was released unharmed near a gasoline station in Bushland in Potter County, Texas. At the time of the kidnapping, Berk was the regional dean of the Texas Tech medical branch in Amarillo, but on August 1, 2006, he was moved to the high position at the Lubbock campus. There are two other branch campuses in [[Odessa, Texas|Odessa]] and [[El Paso]]. Before his arrival in Amarillo, Dr. Berk was a medical professor at the James H. Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, where he worked in the fields of infectious diseases, geriatrics, and internal medicine.<ref name=book>Billy Hathorn, Review of ''Anatomy of a Kidnapping,'' ''West Texas Historical Review,'' Vol. 89 pp. 184-186.</ref>   

The kidnapping propelled Dr. Berk to write about his ordeal. He interlaces the narrative with much of his life story, from his birth in New York City, his childhood in New Jersey, his medical education at Boston University School of Medicine, his work at East Tennessee State University, and his relocation to Amarillo, his adopted city which he had grown to love. Since the events of 2005, Dr. Berk was transferred to the main medical campus in Lubbock. The kidnapping changed his life perspective. He had taken precaution to shield his son who was unaware of the intruder in their midst, and he kept his wife in the dark for her own protection after she had returned home and began preparing lunch. The kidnapping and robbery spurred Dr. Berk to gain a greater appreciation for his family and his work as a physician. The crime changed Berk's mind about [[gun control]] laws, which he had first supported as a 19-year-old upon the assassination in June 1968 of [[U.S. Senator]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]]. At the time, Berk did not know the difference between a shotgun and a rifle, an anomaly for most men in West Texas, but he soon purchased a gun for his family's protection and learned how to use it.<ref name=book/>

The kidnapping propelled Dr. Berk to write about his ordeal. He interlaces the [[narrative]] with much of his life story, from his birth in New York City, his childhood in New Jersey, his medical education at Boston University School of Medicine, his work at East Tennessee State University, and his relocation to Amarillo, his adopted city which he had grown to love. Since the events of 2005, Dr. Berk was transferred to the main medical campus in Lubbock. The kidnapping changed his life perspective. He had taken precaution to shield his son who was unaware of the intruder in their midst, and he kept his wife in the dark for her own protection after she had returned home and began preparing lunch. The kidnapping and robbery spurred Dr. Berk to gain a greater appreciation for his family and his work as a physician. The crime changed Berk's mind about [[gun control]] laws, which he had first supported as a 19-year-old upon the assassination in June 1968 of [[U.S. Senator]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]]. At the time, Berk did not know the difference between a shotgun and a rifle, an anomaly for most men in West Texas, but he soon purchased a gun for his family's protection and learned how to use it.<ref name=book/>

Out of self-preservation, Berk studied the psyche of his kidnapper, but he never fell prey to the Stockholm syndrome by which a captive becomes sympathetic toward his captor. He reveals case histories and stresses that a physician must listen carefully to his patients' personal experiences. Such information may be more critical in making accurate diagnoses than sophisticated medical tests. With the goal of survival, Berk delved into Jordan's background and made the criminal think that he was sympathetic to "the mistakes" that Jordan had made in his life. Berk believes that the state prison system failed Jordan, who had been released from custody without rehabilitation, and then the drug addiction propelled Jordan to a further crime spree. In 2007, Jordan was convicted of the aggravated robbery and kidnapping of Dr. Berk, with both offenses netting life sentences.<ref name=book/>

Out of self-preservation, Berk studied the psyche of his kidnapper, but he never fell prey to the Stockholm syndrome by which a captive becomes sympathetic toward his captor. He reveals case histories and stresses that a physician must listen carefully to his patients' personal experiences. Such information may be more critical in making accurate diagnoses than sophisticated medical tests. With the goal of survival, Berk delved into Jordan's background and made the criminal think that he was sympathetic to "the mistakes" that Jordan had made in his life. Berk believes that the state prison system failed Jordan, who had been released from custody without rehabilitation, and then the drug addiction propelled Jordan to a further crime spree. In 2007, Jordan was convicted of the aggravated robbery and kidnapping of Dr. Berk, with both offenses netting life sentences.<ref name=book/>