She was a ship of destiny.? Sailing across the Pacific, the battle scarred heavy cruiser U.S.S. "Indianapolis had just delivered a secret cargo...
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reviews
Nov 04, 2011
Cheryl
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In July 1945 the cruiser USS Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine in the Pacific. More than 900 sailors spent four days in the water, under scorching sun amidst swarms of sharks with no water or food. No rescue planes searched for them. A Navy patrol plane accidentally discovered them. Ultimately only 316 men survived. Richard Newcomb provides a well researched account of the sailors’ ordeal and the military blunder. Peter Maas’ afterword adds facts which were previously unavailable
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Apr 18, 2008
Patrick
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Good stuff. This covers everything surrounding the delivery of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima and the ship that brought it half-way around the world. After it delivered the bomb the ship, USS Indianapolis, was sunk by a Japanese sub just after 12 a.m. 1,100 men went into the water and only 300 came out. They spent close to 100 hours bobbing in the water, day and night, while the sun opened their skin during the day and they shivered at night. A good deal died at the mouths of shar
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Aug 10, 2010
Scott
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A difficult true story of survival at sea amidst shark attacks. The USS Indianapolis had jsut finished delivering the atomic bombs to Tinian. Because of the secrecy required, not even the naval pacific fleet was aware of Indianapolis location. When sunk in a random Japanese sub attack, nobody knew where they were and the 900 survivors spent over 4 days at sea. Only 315 survived the sharks and were rescued.
Aug 01, 2010
Susan
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A gripping story from the first page to the last. As a high school English teacher, I require my students to read certain genres throughout the year. One of my students chose this book and told me he could not put it down once he started it. That fact that a high schooler would read it from beginning to end speaks volumes of the author's style and expertise as a storyteller. I would highly recommend this book.
Feb 21, 2011
James
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I don't think this was a great book but I could not put it down either. I had always wanted to learn more about the Indianapois and I think this book did a pretty good job. Anyone who is a fan of WWII or Military History (or Jaws, yes, the one with the big shark) should read this book.
Aug 14, 2009
Keith
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Gruesome true story of Indianapolis survivors. Many were killed by sharks. The heavy cruiser was sunk by a Japanese sub after delivering the A bomb to Tinian, and the survivors were only rescued by the lucky sighting by a seaplane. No one had missed them.
Jan 12, 2009
Monica
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This was one of the saddest stories I have ever read, if not the saddest. About the sinking of the uss indianapolis and the loss of over 800 men in the final days of wwII. A horrible miscarriage of justice on so many levels.
Oct 20, 2008
Bill
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One of the best military books I've read. Well written, without much of the military jargon that usually fogs up such a book, it's a captivating story with three elements: incrible details on what the crew experienced as the ship took a torpedoe hit and then sank; an equally detailed description of the several days the survivors spent in the shark infested waters of the Pacific, where more died than did in the sinking; and the court room proceedings and follow-up that reflect the determination
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Apr 05, 2009
Les
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The story of the USS Indianapolis that was torpedoed after dropping off the Atomic Bomb.
Feb 27, 2011
David
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Excellent story that moved quickly. The writing felt a bit dated at times.
Oct 29, 2011
Jaime
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This was a riveting naval tale that actually happened. The style and depth with which the author writes adds to the addiction to the book. This was a wonderful book about the war in the Pacific during the last months of the war.
Feb 11, 2008
Mark
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[Audio] Amazing true story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in WW II and the horrifying ordeal of the survivors as they waited for four days for rescue.
Jun 24, 2008
Frank
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Read of the tragety of the USS Indianapolis, the ship that carried the A-bomb to Tinian to be used on Japan in WWII.
Jan 24, 2008
Paul
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I was drawn to the story of the USS Indianapolis by the famous scene from "Jaws." This is a great piece of history.
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