Hunter Scott, an 11-year-old boy in Pensacola, Florida, was watching the movie Jaws, listening to Captain Quint tell the story of the sinking of th...
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reviews
Dec 07, 2011
Jake
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Well, this book, in my opinion was pretty neat. I think the author's purpose for this book was to show people how and why many sailors died on the Indianapolis. Also, to show how wrongly Captain McVay was treated in the aftermath. Court Martial-ed? Are you kidding me . . . many ships were sunk in WWII, but one man was apparently to blame for the tragedy.
The theme of this book is stated many times in-between the lines, to find justice for the captain of the USS Indianapoli More...
The theme of this book is stated many times in-between the lines, to find justice for the captain of the USS Indianapoli More...
Dec 03, 2010
Danielle
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 12, 2010
Alisha
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I would never consider myself into military history, but this book had me riveted. Heroism and injustice on such a large scale, and the power of one teenager to literally rewrite the historical record by challenging a navy court-martial. So it's not just my adoration of Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men that makes me recommend this one absolutely for every reader, kid or adult. It's empowering, horrific, incredible stuff, and Pete Nelson did a superb job bringing the story alive on the page. I am goi
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Jun 14, 2009
I read thsi book on a whim as it seemed like the only interesting book in the entire shelf. I don't regret my choice as this book turned out to be a really good read. The book recounts the disater of the USS Indianapolis, which was a naval vessel that was sunk by Japanese torpedoes. After the crew was rescued from the shark infested waters, the captain of the ship was wrongly lambasted by military brass. Because of this, the crew spent years trying to clear the captains name even after he died.
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Apr 13, 2009
Matt
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Left for Dead is a story if the hundreds of men loyal men in the navy serving on the ship the USS Indianapolis. a japanese submarine hit the ship with two torpedoes during the night. this left over onethousand men stranded in the middle of the ocean covered in oil and gasoline from the engines.not only where they in the middle of the ocean they where in heavely shark infested waters left for dead.
one thing i liked about it is that this is a suspensful military story that an eigth gr More...
one thing i liked about it is that this is a suspensful military story that an eigth gr More...
Aug 31, 2009
Sandra
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This narrative combines the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during World War II with a young (11-16 year old) man’s research and consequent work to bring justice to the dead captain who was unfairly blamed and court martialed for the sinking. The story of the sinking is told with focus on six of the men who experienced it, all interviewed by the young man who became fascinated with the story as part of a history fair presentation. The story is tastefully told, but contains the gra
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Jan 28, 2010
Shaquille
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title;left for dead
publisher;November 11th 2003 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Left for dead was a book that had alot of impact on the reader as you read it. Because it talks about these sailors who were in the SS indianopolis and they were shot and sunk by a japanese submarine during World War 2 and the book tells the story of the survivors, what they had to endure and why they weren't rescued for weeks to come. The book includes the before and after, like More...
publisher;November 11th 2003 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Left for dead was a book that had alot of impact on the reader as you read it. Because it talks about these sailors who were in the SS indianopolis and they were shot and sunk by a japanese submarine during World War 2 and the book tells the story of the survivors, what they had to endure and why they weren't rescued for weeks to come. The book includes the before and after, like More...
Mar 13, 2011
1peterm
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I must admit, I am a true slacker when it comes to reading (this is my first entry on GoodReads, and there's less than a week left before the end of the quarter - sorry Miss Grimm!*). I needed a book off the required reading list that could also count as a non-fiction, and Left For Dead fit the bill. Who knew killing two birds with one stone could be so, uh, informational? It's not lengthy (a mere 191 pages) and it showcases one of the Navy's biggest disasters during the end of WWll. Written by
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Nov 26, 2008
Jess
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Hunter Scott saw Jaws and the story of the sinking of USS Indianapolis told within it prompted him to use it as a history fair project. Hundreds of hours of research (including incredible numbers of survivor interviews) and four years later, he found himself on NBC Nightly News, Letterman, and testifying in front of a Senate hearing trying to overturn a court martial.
Technically I haven't read it cover to cover yet, but I liked what I saw. It's a bit too military/detailed for me More...
Technically I haven't read it cover to cover yet, but I liked what I saw. It's a bit too military/detailed for me More...
Mar 25, 2010
Austin
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Just after midnight on july,30 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The ship sank in fourteen minutes. More than a thousand men were thrown into sharkinfested waters. Those who survived the fiery sinking-some injured, many without life jackets-struggled to stay afloat as they were missing.
The navy needed a capegoat for this disaster. So it courtmartialed the captain for "hazarding" his ship. The survivors of the Indianapolis knew that their captai More...
The navy needed a capegoat for this disaster. So it courtmartialed the captain for "hazarding" his ship. The survivors of the Indianapolis knew that their captai More...
Jun 10, 2009
Gonzalo
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Left for dead was a book that had alot of impact on the reader as you read it. Because it talks about these sailors who were in the SS indianopolis and they were shot and sunk by a japanese submarine during World War 2 and the book tells the story of the survivors, what they had to endure and why they weren't rescued for weeks to come. The book includes the before and after, like the "accidental" court martial of the captain. and everything else including how a child called hunter clea
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May 28, 2010
Holly
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This is a fascinating infomational book. The first part of the book covers the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during WWII and the court martial of its Captain. In the second half an eleven-year-old boy (55 years later) researches the event and works diligently for a few years to exonerate the Captain. Left for Dead is in the juvenile nonfiction area at my local library. I think this title is suitable for high school age students and just OK for middle school age children. There are dozens of bl
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Mar 23, 2011
Irene
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This book is an amazing example of how first-person research makes such a difference. Hunter Scott was in middle school when he started asking questions about the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. When he tried researching his questions at the library, he found very few answers. Rather than shrugging off his curiosity, he started tracking down the survivors and asking them questions for a history fair project. This book retells their stories and their quest for reversing the cour
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Sep 08, 2011
Andrew
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I really liked this book because it is based on a horrific military event. Men are swimming for their lives and around them and dead and injured men getting eaten by sharks. A japanese submarine shot two missles into the american ship the USS Indianopolis. The vessle was returning from the Heroshima bomb mission. Currnetly in the book the men and floating in a circle , and if they are lucky they will not get eaten by a shark, but not all of the sailors are so lucky.
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Dec 10, 2009
Lissa
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Anyone who has seen Jaws has heard this story- a WWII ship is torpedoed, leaving over a thousand men in shark-infested water for four whole days. "Left for Dead" explores this story, while summing the story up with the eventual exoneration of Captain McVay. Despite the fascinating subject matter, I felt Nelson was too detached from the story. If a fifth-grade boy heard this story, they'd probably be morbidly fascinated by the hints of cannibalism that went on during the sailors' agony,
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Jul 16, 2009
Shirley
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Titlewave gives Left for Dead a fifth through eighth grade interest level. I found it very interesting reading as an adult. It is amazing what Hunter Scott, an eleven-year-old, accomplished with what began as a history fair project. The book, written by Pete Nelson, is a great motivator for young people. Not only does it speak of heroism, patriotism, and overcoming challenges. it also addresses some of the consequences of war and tries to answer questions such as why many of our veterans avoid
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Nov 02, 2011
Andrea
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Non-fiction books like this is the reason why kids don't like to read non-fiction books. It's technical, confusing, and doesn't allow us to connect to the people on an emotional level. Yes, it was touching, but I didn't feel like I connected to the people the author wrote about. The final two chapters were the best. It summed up more of the events that happened as a narrative rather than an explosion of details on paper.
If the book wasn't made to look like children's non-fiction, I co More...
If the book wasn't made to look like children's non-fiction, I co More...
Feb 08, 2010
Mrs. Nannini
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rowing up on the Jersey shore, I was never all that terrified of sharks. Most of my friends had the attitude, swim and let swim; or rather swim away quietly and let the sharks keep circling around off the jetty. This all changed when the movie "Jaws" was released. Mass shark hysteria hit the beaches and no one was allowed to swim very far offshore. Now, every time I went into the ocean, all I could see was the shark's underwater view of us just waiting to attack!
Jaws also m More...
Jaws also m More...
May 04, 2010
Blaine
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This is an awesome book! The 10 first chapters which tell the story of the USS Indianapolis, were very engaging. Despite knowing how it ended, I was still riveted. There was much detail on the sinking, and the ordeal the sailors went through as they waited in shark-infested waters for four days to be rescued. The book explained the troubles they went through from personal, medical, and scientific points of view, giving the reader a great understanding of the sailors' suffering. Of course, at ti
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Nov 11, 2008
Mark
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Some films make history while others unintentionally help to change it. How many times have you or I viewed the movie Jaws and been riveted by the monologue of Robert Shaw's character, Quint, explaining how he had been on the USS Indianapolis, the ship that delivered the atom bomb intended for Hiroshima, that went missing after being torpedoed by a japanese sub leaving over 1000 sailors to be at the mercy of the shark-infested sea? And while the actor got the dates of the sinking wrong the res
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May 13, 2008
Shannon
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While this book says it's about a young man's search for justice for the captain of the USS Indianapolis, it's mostly about the tragedy that happened when the ship sunk right at the end of WWII with a bookend story of how this middle-schooler's history fair project finally helped right the wrong of the captain's court martial.
It's well-written and well-balanced. I think the author did a good job of explaining the sinking, the horror of being left at sea for four days, and that the blame More...
It's well-written and well-balanced. I think the author did a good job of explaining the sinking, the horror of being left at sea for four days, and that the blame More...
Mar 12, 2008
Jake
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The tragic, yet not well-known story of the USS Indianapolis is portrayed in sometimes horrific, sometimes clinical detail in this biography. It tells the story of both the ship and the boy who sought to bring it's story to light. He gathered first-hand accounts from all the survivors he could make contact with, all in the name of a junior high history fair project. It was a long road, and many times he felt he should give up, but the relationships he made with the crew, and the belief they had
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Dec 13, 2007
Stephanie
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This is the amazing account of how the Navy battleship USS Indianapolis was hit and sunk by two torpedoes in the middle of the South Pacific. The sailors who survived the attack then had to survive five nights and four days in shark infested waters. A middle school boy, named Hunter Scott, was watching the movie Jaws where Captain Quint tells the story of the Indianapolis and the men being attacked by sharks. He decided he wanted to know more about the event and chose the USS Indianapolis as the
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Mar 29, 2008
babyhippoface
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Shocking, frightening, disturbing, infuriating, and all true. This book gave me an even greater respect for our servicemen and women, both past and present.
After delivering parts for “Little Boy,” the atomic bomb that days later would be dropped on Hiroshima, World War II cruiser USS Indianapolis was hit by torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. The huge ship sank in only 12 minutes, leaving over 880 crew members covered in oil and struggling for life in shark-infested Pacific waters. More...
After delivering parts for “Little Boy,” the atomic bomb that days later would be dropped on Hiroshima, World War II cruiser USS Indianapolis was hit by torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. The huge ship sank in only 12 minutes, leaving over 880 crew members covered in oil and struggling for life in shark-infested Pacific waters. More...
Dec 11, 2011
Dayna
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If you've every watched Jaws you've heard of the Indianapolis, it's one of the most riveting scenes in the movie. Here is the true story which is every bit as riveting. The story begins with the sinking of the Indianapolis, continues through the court martial of its Captain, and the search for justice for Captain McVay and the other survivors. A search spear-headed by an 11-year-old boy. A fantastic tale of courage and the power of an individual to change things. We highly recommend this book!
Feb 23, 2009
Karen
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This is a great read about the survivors of the USS Indianapolis whose ship was torpedoed in the waters of the South Pacific in July 1945 and sunk, leaving them in shark-infested waters for five days before their rescue. It tells the story of an eleven-year-old boy who researches this topic for a history project in 1997 and begins a crusade to right a wrong by the U.S. Navy which takes him all the way to the Capitol Building. The survivor accounts are incredible and have given me a fascinating
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Oct 18, 2011
Lexi
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Everyone should read this book. The sinking of the USS Indianapolis remains the worst disaster in US Naval history, and yet most people (myself included before I read this) know little or nothing about it. The original inspiration for this book was a school project on "Triumph and Tragedy," and the book certainly captures both the unimaginable tragedy of the Indianapolis and the belated triumph its remaining survivors experienced when their captain was exonerated. Beyond that, this boo
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Sep 06, 2009
Rose
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Captain Charles Butler McVay III was court martialed after his ship, the USS Indianapolis, was torpedoed by the Japanese. Of about 1200 on board, 880 sailors died. The USS Indianapolis carried the atomic bombs to Tinian before being hit. The story is about a boy who studied the details regarding the attack and subsequent court martial for a history fair project, and led to the eventual exoneration of Captain McVay. Great story!
Mar 02, 2009
Dianne
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This book is outstanding! An 11 year old boy was watching Jaws and heard the story of the Indianapolis. He turned to his father to ask if it was true. His father helped him research and send out memos to the survivors.
A heart-wrenching story which made my blood boil at the government for blaming the captain.
I would highly recommend this book to junior and senior high school students.
Amazing book!
A heart-wrenching story which made my blood boil at the government for blaming the captain.
I would highly recommend this book to junior and senior high school students.
Amazing book!
Mar 04, 2010
Carolyn
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I could probably give this book 5 stars. I loved this story. It has all the elements of a page turner, and it's real life drama. Although the story could be considered a tragedy since it tells about the worst navel accident in US history, the fact that a 12-year-old boy is able to set a few things straight years after the fact, makes this an engaging, motivational narrative of the difference one person can make.
