Glory Denied tells the story of Captain Jim Thompson, U.S. Army, the longest-held prisoner in the Vietnam War, or in any of America's other wars, for that matter, a distinction which is credited generally to Navy pilot Everett Alvarez, but whose time in captivity was actually shorter by several months than the almost nine years of imprisonment suffered by Thompson, four of which were spent in the isolated jungles of South Vietnam as a solitary American after his capture in 1964, and where, without companionship, he survived and on his own endured hardships and torture the likes of which few can fully imagine.

Although a standard narrative could tell this story from an author's single point of view and lift Thompson from his relative obscurity, Philpott has chosen oral history, and here is an example of that method at its very best. Carefully researching background material and skillfully organizing the interviews, supplementing them with appropriate documents, most notably some very insightful self-analyses written for Thompson's psychiatrist, he lets the speakers themselves show us Thompson from every possible angle, through the eyes of anyone and everyone, it seems, involved in this long and complex saga, and through their words the complexity of the man and the situation becomes revealed.

Thompson goes off to Vietnam in 1963, full of good intent, having found his home in the Army Special Forces, intelligent and articulate but with limited background and education, determined to make the best possible career of it, leaving behind a less-than-perfect marriage, albeit one idealized in his own mind. Not the perfect soldier either, we see in early inter-views with his commanding officer that Thompson lacked initiative and an overall perspective, if ever there was such a thing regarding Vietnam, but we sense too the difficulties in maintaining morale, discipline, and efficiency in a remote Special Forces outpost, none of which was more isolated or ill-starred than the team led by Thompson.

Shot down while on a reconnaissance flight over dense jungle, not until 1968 is he marched up the Ho Chi Minh Trail to a camp in the North, where he finds the company of other Americans and eventual release when the peace accords are signed in 1973. However the same rigidity and uncompromising temperament which enabled him to survive in captivity and under duress and torture now begin to work against him. His wife, left to fend for herself with four small children, and for a while believing (or for the sake of finality, hoping) her husband dead, has taken up in the meanitme with another Army man, the only father the smaller children know, and although she returns to Thompson after his release, he can never forgive her, nor can he adjust to the tremendous changes which have occurred in society during his absence. The marriage fails, and the family disintegrates. He becomes estranged from his children, who do not know him, and do not like what they see as they become reacquainted. Alcohol, always a factor in Thompson's behavior, now becomes a crippling enemy, and the Army, apparently doing its best to care for one of its own, and appreciative of his stature and his good public relations work as a kind of professional ex-POW, as he has now become, seems at a loss for a permanent solution. Finally in failed health and alone, he is retired in the grade of colonel, and it is here that Philpott first finds him and becomes fascinated with the story which will evolve into this lengthy book.

Philpott has given us here not just the story of one man, or even of one family, but glimpses of a war and the devastating changes and effects which it wrought in some ways on all of us and on our society, for a whole series of generations. In the end we come away knowing and feeling yet one more facet of the long and sad experience called Vietnam.

Tom Philpott, the author, allows the reader to identify with Jim Thompson, America's longest-held prisoner of war, as well as all of those who shared in his life. You are somehow able to take on each who is interviewed and understand their feelings and pain. Never was I so able to give a character a piece of my heart, I cried for Colonel Thompson and in the end I could only love and respect him. Being a young girl born in 1961 and not having any close ties to anyone who battled in Vietnam, I know very little about that war, I never truly had any interest. After reading 'Glory Denied' I was left wanting to learn more about that part of history. It was uniquely written and one of only a handful of books I place in such a superior class.

This story is bitter sweet in the fact that one man is faced with continued tragedy only to beat the odds and survive.

Colonel is not alone, after reading his story I am sure there are many Americans who admire, love, and support him. Above that, you will be left with an undying pride of being American.

The tragedy of Army Officer, Jim Thompson, is similar to many others who were held prisoner of war, with the exception of the time period - he was held captive for nine years. This story is not by any means an easy book to read. The accounts of his torture and the conditions under which he lived during those nine years will tear at the heartstrings of the staunchest individual. During Thompson's captivity, his wife, who is struggling to survive and raise four children on her own meets an Army man who becomes the only father her children have ever known. After Thompson's release and return home, his life will never again be the same. Thompson is not, nor could he ever be, the same man he was when he left home years ago. The couple reconcile but the marriage is short lived. As in many similar cases when the marriage disintegrates, the children become estranged and soon realize they do not know this man who is not a father to them, but a stranger. They have little recollection of the man he once was, nor do they have have use for the man he has become. Alcohol becomes a factor in Thompson's life and his escape from reality, an anaesthetic for "the real world" - a world that has left him shunned by society, rejected by his family and haunted by the memories that he must live with each and every day for the remainder of his life. All this was bestowed upon a man whose only fateful action was to fight for his country.

Many men returned from Vietnam and found productive lives. Many did not return; others might have found more spiritual peace if they had not survived the horrors. In a sense, Thompson also gave his life for his country, for the man he became upon his return was a man devoid and robbed of a QUALITY life. While he physically returned, the happy, peaceful, successful life he could have had was eternally lost and a part of him will forever dwell in the horrors of Vietnam. Jim Thompson's life is a tragedy, like many other tragedies of war. While the book is emotionally difficult to read, it is an excellent book and cannot help but make the reader feel that no matter what obstacles and challenges we are faced with in our life, we are blessed with having "the freedom to choose" how we live our lives.