Glory Denied: The Vietnam Saga of Jim Thompson, America's Longest-Held Prisoner of War

Tom Philpott

May 2012 · W. W. Norton & Company

About this ebook

Now hailed as a classic, one of the most unforgettable and heartbreaking books ever written about the Vietnam War.

Glory Denied is the harrowing and heroic story of Floyd "Jim" Thompson, captured in March 1964, who became the longest-held prisoner of war in American history. Tom Philpott juxtaposes Thompson’s capture, torture, and multiple escape attempts with the trials of his young wife, Alyce, who, feeling trapped, made choices that forever tied her fate to the war she despised. "One of the most honest books ever written about Vietnam" (Oliver Stone), Glory Denied demands that we rethink the definition of a true American hero.

Ratings and reviews

My review is only one star because the title is an outright lie. There were ovwr 700 POW's left to rot in southeast Asia, some sending May Day signals as late as the 1990's. John McCain was given classified Intel confirming this, and buried it. So did George Bush. If you want to read the truth then you need to read An Enormous Lie. Written by a former Senator, and head of the POW MIA investigation committee, and a woman whose father went MIA, but may still be alive.. . There is no glory in war, and there is no honor in Washington. I respect the subject of this book, but the POW's did NOT come home. And your elected 'Heroes' in Washington knew damned well, and did everything they could to bury the truth. John McCain should rot in hell.

About the author

Tom Philpott is a syndicated columnist and freelancer writer. His weekly column, “Military Update,” appears in more than forty daily newspapers in the United States and overseas. He lives in Centreville, Virginia.