In harm's way : the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the extraordinary story of its survivors / Doug Stanton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stanton, Doug.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indianapolis (Cruiser).

World War, 1939-1945--Naval operations, American.

World War, 1939-1945.

Shipwrecks--Pacific Ocean.

Shipwrecks.

Pacific Ocean.

Physical Description:

333 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : H. Holt, 2001.

Summary:

On July 30, 1945, after completing a top secret mission to deliver parts of the atom bomb "Little Boy," which would be dropped on Hiroshima, the battle cruiser USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine. An estimated 300 men were killed upon impact; close to 900 sailors were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where they remained, undetected by the navy, for nearly five days. Battered by a savage sea, they struggled to survive, fighting off hypothermia, sharks, physical and mental exhaustion, and, finally, hallucinatory dementia. By the time rescue -- which was purely accidental -- arrived, all but 321 men had lost their lives; 4 more would die in military hospitals shortly thereafter.

The captain's subsequent and highly unusual court-martial left many questions unanswered: How did the navy fail to realize the Indianapolis was missing? Why was the cruiser traveling unescorted in enemy waters? And perhaps most amazing of all, how did these 317 men manage to survive?

Drawing on new material and extensive interviews with survivors, In Harm's Way relates the tragedy of the USS Indianapolis not as a history of war, but as a portrait of men battling the sea. Interweaving the stories of three survivors -- Charles Butler McVay, the captain; Lewis Haynes, the ship's doctor; and Private Giles McCoy, a young marine -- journalist Doug Stanton has brought this astonishing human drama to life in a narrative that is at once immediate and timeless. The definitive account of a little-known chapter in World War II history, In Harm's Way is destined to become a classic tale of war, survival, and extraordinary courage.

Contents:

Prologue: Sailor on a Chain 1

Part 1 Sailing To War

1 All Aboard 13

2 Good-bye, Golden Gate 39

3 The First Domino 63

Part 2 Sunk

4 The Burning Sea 91

5 Abandon Ship 119

6 Hope Afloat 139

7 Shark Attack 163

8 Genocide 183

Part 3 Rescue

9 Dead Drift 209

10 Final Hours 237

11 Aftermath 251

12 Back in the World 269.

Notes:

Includes bibliographic references and index.

ISBN:

0805066322

OCLC:

45582590