Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POWs in Vietnam (Plume) [Paperback]

Monika Jenson Stevenson (Author), William Stevenson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Plume | Publication Date: September 26, 1991

The bestselling expose of a major political scandal--in the tradition of All the President's Men and Spycatcher. The story of a five-year investigation by two award-winning journalists, Kiss the Boys Goodbye reveals heartbreaking evidence of POWs abandoned in Vietnam, of official obstruction and missing files, censored testimony and thinly veiled threats from government sources. 16 pages of photographs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Plume (September 26, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452266718
• ISBN-13: 978-0452266711
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,716,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Expose Of Government DesertionOf Its Vietnam Vets!, May 20, 2002

By 

Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed its Own POWs in Vietnam (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a book that should make ordinary American citizens exceedingly sad and angry. Although some may argue that its message is old news, and certainly very dated information, the horror and outrage it should occasion is neither old nor dated. For what the authors contend, and go on to impressively prove, is that our national government deliberately and maliciously betrayed its own soldiers trapped as Prisoners Of War (POWs) in Vietnam, abandoning them in favor of a quick and otherwise painless exit from the war in Southeast Asia. This, as the authors argue, is a truly devastating indictment of the Nixon administration, and one for which they cannot be forgiven.

However, it is more than that. It is also a bizarre story of men left behind for the sake of political expedience and due to a number of highly classified clandestine operations, which were purposely kept from the American people. The story line begins with the sad saga of a young ex-marine who escaped from Vietnam on the late 1970s and claimed to have seen a large number of fellow American servicemen still being held by the Vietnamese. However, he was quickly charged with desertion and collaboration with the enemy, in what seemed to be a desperate effort on the part of governmental officials to bury both him and his story of American prisoners as deeply as possible from public view. From here the plot takes a number of bizzare twists and turns.

As the authors began to investigate the young marine's story, layers of deception, half-truths, and active censorship began to emerge. What they finally uncovered was an amazing tale of official deception from the highest levels in government, and also a very well organized and relentless abuse of official governmental power. This book reveals convincing evidence of American soldiers and sailors deliberately abandoned for political expedience, and of families torn apart by these acts. It also raises quite provocative questions concerning the very nature of democracy, and the corruptibility of ordinary men given such power. Similarly, they show how the use of claims of national security were used to derail efforts to learn the truth, and of an active conspiracy to keep the public from discovering the truth.

There are many of us who have long believed that Nixon and Kissinger made a pact with the devil himself in order to to extricate the United States fro the ongoing horror of Vietnam. What is truly mind-boggling is to discover just how right we were to suspect that they, and many others in the government since that time, would take such drastic action as they have to conceal these facts and to evade the truth. This is a worthwhile book, and one that demands to be read. I hope you can approach it with an open mind. Its arguments and the evidence associated with it are, in my opinion, very convincing. Enjoy!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Astounding revelations and information, March 5, 2003

By 

Kyle Tolle (Phoenix, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POWs in Vietnam (Hardcover)

Kiss the Boys Goodbye is a well detailed and researched book on the continuing plight of the POW/MIA saga which has repeatedly surfaced since the end of the Vietnam war. The book is basically the continuation of Monica Jensen Stevenson's investigation which started when she worked for 60 Minutes and aired a program of POW/MIA's which was not to her satisfaction.

That is to say, the media, being 60 Minutes, edited the program and other matierial to suit what would be acceptable to the U.S government as to not cause the government any embarrassment or uncomfortable questions on the subject. Stevenson, unhappy with the final result, decided to quit working for 60 Minutes and wrote this book on her own with her husband William Stevenson.

This book will probably make the reader angry and suspicious of what just really has become of our U.S. soldiers that were "lost" in Vietnam and those who were taken as prisoners of war. There are multiple accounts in the book of government cover-up's, intimidation, media suppression of facts, outright lies to military dependants who lost loved ones in Vietman, and manipulation to coerce people from digging too deep to find true answers.

Kiss the Boys Goodbye contains many interviews and intelligence information gleaned from former POW's, former U.S. intelligence operatives, U.S. politicians, families of the missing, and others that has placed them at risk for retaliation and humiliation from the government.

This book will give startling examples of recent intelligence that proves Americans are still alive and being held against their will in Vietnam and what has actually been done to address the issue by our govenment in recent years (which hasn't been much). Beyond that, the reader will be given information why the govenment has refused to help bring missing men home. Namely, the "secret wars" that the United States fought in Cambodia and mostly Laos and how the wars there were financed by drug money and the spurious dealings of the CIA.

As a member of our military for 15 years now, I find myself sad, disturbed, shocked, and angered by the outrageous acts perpetrated by our government and their callous disregard for our own military men. Probably everyone who reads this book whether a part of the military or not, will find themselves feeling the say way. I also took it upon myself to research this subject more closely and have found many, many books related to this subject that back up Monica Jensen Stevenson's information and findings.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone who would like a truthful explanation on the fate of our POW's, what has been hidden from the public by our govenment, and the illegal use of power by our govenment and it's intelligence agencies.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading!, January 9, 2000

By 

Michael J Woznicki "Michael J Woznicki" (Holland, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed its Own POWs in Vietnam (Mass Market Paperback)

This gripping expose of a major political scandal of the Vietnam War is the story of a investigation by two award-winning journalists. Kiss the Boys Goodbye shows evidence of POWs abandoned in Vietnam.

From the government obstruction and missing files to censored testimony the book reveals that the power brokers are really in control. The well-detailed book leaves virtually no stone unturned.

The book is not only a "good read," it also contains a wealth of important information that no researcher of the Pow/MIA issue can do without. The author has gone to exhaustive lengths in the detailing of this American tragedy.

Consumed by the book from the first page, I am most impressed by the way the author is able to bring out the truth. So for those looking for truly honest answers you would do well to get this book today.