"He had dreamed as a youngster during World War II of being a military man. Marrying shortly after high school, he was drafted by the army in 1956 and sent to a faraway land called Vietnam in 1963, at a time when America still seemed innocent.

In fact, Floyd "Jim" Thompson might have led a perfectly ordinary life had he not been captured on March 26, 1964, just three months after arriving in Vietnam, becoming one of the first Americans taken prisoner and, ultimately, the longest-held prisoner of war in American history.".

"Now, for the first time, Thompson's epic story and that of his family, who also paid dearly for his sacrifice, are brought to life in Glory Denied, a searing reconstruction of one man's tortuous journey through war and its aftermath.

Weaving together scores of interviews with Thompson and his family; comments from friends, fellow soldiers, and former prisoners of war; and excerpts from service records, medical reports, and intelligence briefings, Tom Philpott delivers an exceptionally nuanced and moving portrait of a man, a family, and a nation."--BOOK JACKET.