Tory Burch on Shopbop
Add Prime to get Fast, Free delivery
Amazon prime logo
Buy new:
$29.95
FREE delivery January 15 - 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$29.95
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery January 15 - 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery January 13 - 17
$$29.95 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$29.95
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$13.78
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
A copy that has been read , but remains in good condition, book shows minimal signs of cover wear , all pages are clean from highlighting and handwriting A copy that has been read , but remains in good condition, book shows minimal signs of cover wear , all pages are clean from highlighting and handwriting See less
FREE delivery Tuesday, January 14 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$29.95 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$29.95
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
$29.95
FREE pickup January 14 - 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest pickup January 13 - 17

1.76 mi | Ashburn 20147

How pickup works
Pick up from nearby pickup location
Step 1: Place Your Order
Select the “Pickup” option on the product page or during checkout.
Step 2: Receive Notification
Once your package is ready for pickup, you'll receive an email and app notification.
Step 3: Pick up
Bring your order ID or pickup code (if applicable) to your chosen pickup location to pick up your package.
$$29.95 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$29.95
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Sold by
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Bill Hendon
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

An Enormous Crime: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia Hardcover – May 29, 2007

by Bill Hendon (Author), Elizabeth A. Stewart (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 136 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$29.95","priceAmount":29.95,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"29","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"95","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"PCjcDhd1dQ16YrcrI%2BVXJdgOZuEvIFVbM4Bfm%2FfOxspvHhO9rGzH29c%2Fn7CNVXkYtqsjm73LLdjSD5yIJKylnXFJd%2FuS96%2Btdv8X4Ek6oslLeNjeAGPDDAc%2B2zymD0l%2F2crwsYzJhhc%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$13.78","priceAmount":13.78,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"78","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"PCjcDhd1dQ16YrcrI%2BVXJdgOZuEvIFVbNJJ%2BfbBDq7MmZPVxNCNcpNLEDN8ceDXHOMsyL7J9YhlzhuWO7lU2QppRmEPwMvcVA%2BG7TzBbjfS%2FWuUd1hid72chQhrHSnXv7mD5aQDH9CXdiO%2BFy3MPZdpELmnKuJA%2B4dQTcVzeWqLKNwTNbDTi5u9G2NSGwzDp","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}],"desktop_buybox_group_2":[{"displayPrice":"$29.95","priceAmount":29.95,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"29","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"95","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"PCjcDhd1dQ16YrcrI%2BVXJdgOZuEvIFVbM4Bfm%2FfOxspvHhO9rGzH29c%2Fn7CNVXkYtqsjm73LLdjSD5yIJKylnXFJd%2FuS96%2Btdv8X4Ek6oslLeNjeAGPDDAc%2B2zymD0l%2F2crwsYzJhhc%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"PICKUP","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":2}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The dramatic history of living American soldiers left in Vietnam, and the first full account of the circumstances that left them there
An Enormous Crime is nothing less than shocking. Based on thousands of pages of public and previously classified documents, it makes an utterly convincing case that when the American government withdrew its forces from Vietnam, it knowingly abandoned hundreds of POWs to their fate. The product of twenty-five years of research by former Congressman Bill Hendon and attorney Elizabeth A. Stewart, An Enormous Crime brilliantly exposes the reasons why these American soldiers and airmen were held back by the North Vietnamese at Operation Homecoming in 1973 and what these men have endured since.
Despite hundreds of postwar sightings and intelligence reports telling of Americans being held captive throughout Vietnam and Laos, Washington did nothing. And despite numerous secret military signals and codes sent from the desperate POWs themselves, the Pentagon did not act. Even in 1988, a U.S. spy satellite passing over Sam Neua Province, Laos, spotted the twelve-foot-tall letters "USA" and immediately beneath them a huge, highly classified Vietnam War-era USAF/USN Escape & Evasion code in a rice paddy in a narrow mountain valley. The letters "USA" appeared to have been dug out of the ground, while the code appeared to have been fashioned from rice straw (see jacket photograph).
Tragically, the brave men who constructed these codes have not yet come home. Nor have any of the other American POWs who the postwar intelligence shows have laid down similar codes, secret messages, and secret authenticators in rice paddies and fields and garden plots and along trails in both Laos and Vietnam.
An Enormous Crime is based on open-source documents and reports, and thousands of declassified intelligence reports and satellite imagery, as well as author interviews and personal experience. It is a singular work, telling a story unlike any other in our modern history: ugly, harrowing, and true.
From the Bay of Pigs, where John and Robert Kennedy struck a deal with Fidel Castro that led to freedom for the Bay of Pigs prisoners, to the Paris Peace Accords, in which the authors argue Kissinger and Nixon sold American soldiers down the river for political gain, to a continued reluctance to revisit the possibility of reclaiming any men who might still survive, we have a story untold for decades. And with An Enormous Crime we have for the first time a comprehensive history of America's leaders in their worst hour; of life-and-death decision making based on politics, not intelligence; and of men lost to their families and the country they serve, betrayed by their own leaders.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    587 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Thomas Dunne Books
  4. Publication date
    May 29, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    6.3 x 1.93 x 9.63 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0312371268
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0312371265
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

An Enormous Crime: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia
This item: An Enormous Crime: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia
$29.95
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Jan 15
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Abandoned in Place
$22.00
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jan 7
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
spCSRF_Treatment
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
136 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book informative and well-written. They describe it as an interesting read with clear explanations of the facts. The copy quality is good, but some customers feel the content is sad and depressing.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
AccuracyReadabilityClarityCopy qualityHeartbreak
26 customers mention "Accuracy"26 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and well-researched. They appreciate the author's ability to present the facts in an engaging way. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the Vietnam War, including the POW/MIA saga since 1973.

"This book proves that truth can be more interesting than fiction. The scholarship of the authors is impeccable...." Read more

"Excellent book on a horrible subject. If you think that the Federal Government cares about you then think again...." Read more

"...I thank the authors for their efforts in providing this revealing masterpiece, and I thank them for the efforts they made along with others, over..." Read more

"...This book is accurate in its facts and time line...." Read more

25 customers mention "Readability"22 positive3 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They describe it as a well-crafted novel that exposes corruption in the government. Readers consider it a must-read for everyone, including students. The book provides balanced evidence and is detailed.

"...This book should be mandatory reading for every American....in fact it should be read by every person that does not believe the depths that many of..." Read more

"...have truly outdone themselves in this meticulously detailed, balanced work that offers as much evidence as can be mustered that the U.S. government..." Read more

"This is a remarkable document...." Read more

"...This book is long but reads well...." Read more

3 customers mention "Clarity"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's clarity. They mention it provides a great look at an important issue with intelligence reports and satellite imagery.

"...which includes eyewitness testimonials, intelligence reports and sattelite imagery...." Read more

"This book dealt with a very sensitive subject in a most clear fashion...." Read more

"...Great look at this very important issue...." Read more

3 customers mention "Copy quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's quality. They find it a nice copy, delivered promptly, and that it makes an incredible case with non-declassified documents and information.

"The book makes an incredible case with non declassified documents and information he was privy to as a U.S. Congressman...." Read more

"Excellent in every respect, nice copy, delivered promptly" Read more

"Great copy. Awesome delivery time. Just as described!" Read more

3 customers mention "Heartbreak"0 positive3 negative

Customers find the book heartbreaking.

"...repetitive on some of the intell reports but over all a good if somewhat sad read." Read more

"Sad and Disheartening: Required Reading..." Read more

"This book will break your heart........." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • TAP
    5.0 out of 5 stars engrossing, intriguing and spellbinding
    Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    This book proves that truth can be more interesting than fiction. The scholarship of the authors is impeccable. I continuously referenced the endnotes while reading the chapters.

    As to the subject of the book, I came away with two main points. First, the testimony of thousands upon thousands of refugees from Indochina throughout 70's and 80's. Second, the actions of the government during the same periods but especially during the first Bush administration.

    To claim as McCain and Kerry did during Senate hearings in 1991 that all these refugee accounts were not believable is stunning to say the least. To say, or to mean, that there was not one, single, believable refugee testimony amongst thousands (maybe tens of thousands) is statistically flabbergasting.

    Also, the government's actions, during 70's and especially the 80's, can only be seen as suspicious; classification of POW intelligence and not allowing congressmen and senators on the relevant committees to see it, the Bush state department telling U.S. Laotian and Vietnamese diplomatic personnel to ask the two communist regimes to look into sightings of American POW's (as if the two regimes would be honest about it), CIA and DIA personnel, during Bush presidency, telling Laotians to not smuggle out POW's for cash reward because there is no reward when in reality there was.

    Sadly, only the first two and a half years of Reagan's term gave any hope of getting back POW's, both diplomatically and otherwise. And these slipped through the proverbial fingers. According to the authors it seemed to be Reagan's immediate underlings (Armitage, Wolfowitz, Bush the VP and others in the shadows) that turned Reagan's mind away from saving what may have been left of the POW's. I know to some this sounds like conspiracy theory but sometimes the conspiracy is true.

    I think this book will be one of the seminal works of this subject matter. It is definitely heart-breaking to think of the good men left behind and what some politicians did to the families of POW's.
    11 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
    Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent book on a horrible subject. If you think that the Federal Government cares about you then think again. The elites only care if it effects them politically. Reading this book will make your blood boil.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Limey Smokejumper
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and well written book
    Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    No matter which side of the POW argument one is on, one certainly cannot discount this book. I always found it hard to believe that America would leave its soldiers behind. America, of course, would not. For that would mean Americans had forsaken those tasked to protect them, their own kin - even if the war itself is flawed, the soldiers, sailors and airmen are doing their duty to the U.S.A., and one cannot ever fault them for that. That politicians might leave soldiers behind in order to benefit themselves would, sadly, no longer surprise me; hawkish, non-participating politicians, by their very decisions and blustery rhetoric, routinely risk soldiers lives. The American people generally know very little of what goes on behind the scenes of any war or ongoing national espionage and counter-terrorism operations, and the stories of those at the sharp end are never told and the soldiers little known, if ever. That some were left behind, I now have less doubt than once I did, given the brutality of that Asian war. I am just curious as to the numbers. Either way, the only thing we can each do is ask the question, for what harm is there in that? When defensive politicians immediately start throwing their toys out of the pram at those questions then makes me wonder what they're trying to hide.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Suzanne Natafji
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Enormous Crime That Hasn’t Been Solved – Why?
    Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I. The Main ‘Cast of Characters’:
    A. 2 main investigators: A NC Congressman (Bill Hendon) and an attorney (Elizabeth Stewart) working together, both trying to find answers about what happened after the Vietnam War.
    B. ‘Major USG Players’: Nixon, Kissinger, Reagan, Bush (‘41’), McCain, Kerry (originally a vet who threw away his war medals at an anti-war rally in DC and later becoming a ‘major player; - US Secretary of State), C. Powell, Schultz, and Rumsfeld, among others.
    C. ‘The Missing GIs’ – the ‘Stars of the show’: Where are they now? How have their families here coped with their absence? How have they psychologically coped by not being able to come home?

    II. The Major ‘Plots’:
    A. ‘Plot 1’: There had been satellite photographs taken of fields in S. Vietnam with English language messages and special graphics code with US military significance.
    B. ‘Plot 2’: Scores of sightings of tall, white, foreign-speaking, non Vietnamese men working and living in rural areas.

    III. The ‘Treatment’.
    A. Near the end the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese demanded billions of USDs in war reparations. This money was US taxpayer-funded.
    B. The US was not winning the war and was becoming mired in it. It had to stop.
    C. To ‘Save (US) Face’, Kissinger at the Paris Peace Talks, negotiated to end the war and pay the Vietnamese for war reparations and engage in money-making contracts for rebuilding the country.
    D. Slowly, the 2 main investigators, Congressman Hendon and Attorney Stewart began to gather massive amounts of data, all pointing to people ‘high-up’ not wanting to touch this topic with a 10-foot pole.
    E. The ‘Major Players’ (minus the ‘Stars of the Show’) currently sit on Boards of Directors of very important companies, Think Tanks, etc. and have a major say in big profit-making organizations. (Look at what some of the sons of these men are currently doing around the world in ‘Big Business’ ventures.)

    IV. ‘Outcome’:
    A. With massive amounts of data at hand, the people in ‘high places’ still do not want to get our trapped men out of Vietnam.
    B. The current Ken Burns’ Movie on this war mentions, almost in hindsight, that there could be men still left there for some reason.
    C. What could those reasons be?
    D. How could any government forsake their own people, to make money like the Marshall Plan after WWII?
    E. Why would anyone leave their men behind? The military says that it leaves no men behind. How could this have happened? Why?
    F. What affect does this have on the families of the missing POWs?
    G. Has this happened again in other wars?

    I have only given the buyer a rough framework of what he/ she will find out by reading this book, but I highly recommend that you buy it and read it to know more about US history and what happens to GIs during and after wars.

    Talk to Vietnam Vets and get their take on what they experienced during this war. Some may now feel like talking and saying more. Talk to vets from all wars and engage them in this topic. Learn something from the people that were on the front lines and came back.
    13 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • ComputerUserSince1966
    5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this book. Betrayal of our soldiers is inacceptable.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Everyone should read this book which explains in details the fate of American and ally soldiers after all the wars since 1941. But the Pentagon Brass does not like that it be revealed. Hence a gang of politically correct "specialists" pretend that it is not true. e.g. a "professor emeritus" by the name of Henry Mark Holzer tried to discredit Bill Hendon's book in a long and detailed 13 page pamphlet which I read carefully. But in fact, in this VERY pamphlet by Holzer, he must confirm many of the facts described in Hendon's book. Everyone should read this book. Betrayal of our soldiers is inaceptable. A real shame. Bill Hendon is right to expose it.
    Report
  • Arthur R Clinton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on September 14, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This is a very interesting perspective on the MIA issue.
    Report
  • Client d'Amazon
    4.0 out of 5 stars MIA
    Reviewed in France on February 17, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Il est terrifiant d'apprendre que des hommes ont été abandonnés dans cet enfer et cela par la volonté d'autres hommes..
    One person found this helpful
     Report
  • JK
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Thorough Account Of The PoW Issue
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    This book documents the efforts made by Congressmen and Military personnel to find living Prisoners of War in South East Asia. Laotian, Cambodian and Vietnamese governments refused to cooperate until war reparations were paid but made it very clear they would 'solve' the PoW issue once new hospitals, schools, factories and medicine as well as billions of Dollars were handed over to these countries.

    Congressmen Bill Hendon made great headway in Laos and was at the forefront of the repatriation effort and was reassured by Laos officials the PoW's would be found once good relations continued.

    You will read first hand witness accounts of live sightings from former high level officials in the South Vietnamese Military and Government who came forward and even offered to go back and gather intelligence on the PoW's they saw.

    CIA intelligence gathered throughout the war showed PoW's being used as human shields throughout North Vietnam, placed on bridges, power plants and the like. When the 597 came home in 1973 the CIA cross-referenced the intelligence they already had with the released prisoners, to their shock not one of the 597 men who came home were ever at the locations the CIA knew prisoners were being used as human shields. Neither were any of the 597 who came home ever interrogated by the Soviets, what happened to the ones who were?

    Many questions remain unanswered, most people simply do not care as you'll see in the 1 star reviews. But any logical person who looks at the evidence has to come away with the feeling something has to be done.
    One person found this helpful
     Report
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars amazing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    very very convincing. at first i thought it was all circumstantial evidence but it is not. a very good book.
    One person found this helpful
     Report