by Doug Stanton
First published 2003
On July 30, 1945, a Japanese submarine torpedoes the USS Indianapolis in the South Pacific. The impact kills 300 sailors instantly. Nearly 900 men plunge into the ocean, where they drift for four days and nights without rescue. The survivors face relentless dangers: circling sharks, bone-chilling water, and minds breaking under extreme stress. The Navy fails to notice the missing cruiser. No escort ships protect the vessel in hostile waters. When rescue finally arrives, only 317 men remain alive. The ship's captain faces court-martial for the disaster. Journalist Doug Stanton follows three survivors through their ordeal: the captain who commanded the doomed vessel, the ship's doctor who treated wounded men in the water, and a young Marine fighting to stay alive. Their stories reveal how ordinary sailors endured extraordinary circumstances and what drove some men to survive when hundreds of others perished in the Pacific.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, action, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: based-on-true-events, survival
Setting: South Pacific
Period: 1945
360 pages · Kindle Edition · Henry Holt and Co.
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence