In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors

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In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors

by Doug Stanton

4.27 · rating details · 1,787 ratings · 221 reviews

"The worst part...wasn't the sharks, and it wasn't seeing your buddies die...It was when you realize...they've forgotten us. We can't last out here forever-- we're gonna die..."--Giles McCoy, private first-class, USMC, USS Indianapolis

On the night of July 30, 1945, the Navy cruiser USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese sub, sending 900 men into the bl...more

Mass Market Paperback, 354 pages

Published May 19th 2002 by St. Martin's Press

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Jul 28, 2009

Matt rated it

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Japanese torpedo slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin' back from the island of Tinian to Leyte. Just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes. Didn't see the first shark for half an hour...Sometimes that shark looks right into ya. Right into your eyes. And you know the thing about a shark, he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya he doesn't seem to be living...until he...more

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Sep 02, 2009

Mollie rated it

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In Harm’s Way is a very vivid and detailed telling of the fate of the USS Indianapolis, which was torpedoed by the Japanese in the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, leaving the survivors stranded and drifting on the sea for days. The homecoming of the survivors was marred by the court-martial of their Captain in what the author portrays as a real miscarriage of justice; furthermore, the announcement of the end of the war just two weeks after they were rescued sidelined the survivors’ tragic sto...more

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Jan 26, 2012

Michael rated it

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Recommends it for: Everybody

I would guess that many people only know the story of the USS Indianapolis from the movie 'Jaws' and the story that Quint told in the one scene. This is a story from history that should be known by all Americans. It is a tale of utter despair and the depths to which humans can descend when placed in the worst situation possible.

I had read about and seen television programs about the Indianapolis but I learned a lot more about it than ever before. Doug Stanton did an excellent jo...more

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Oct 18, 2010

AJ rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Have you ever been stranded at sea with nothing at all besides a life vest and your buddies? That’s the conditions which the men of the USS Indianapolis had to attempt to survive in. There’s no question why author Doug Stanton chose such a horrifying topic for his book, In Harm’s Way. In Harm’s Way is a nonfiction war novel written about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the story of her survivors. Stanton leaves nothing out through his vivid descriptions, making this wartime novel a perfe...moreHave you ever been stranded at sea with nothing at all besides a life vest and your buddies? That’s the conditions which the men of the USS Indianapolis had to attempt to survive in. There’s no question why author Doug Stanton chose such a horrifying topic for his book, In Harm’s Way. In Harm’s Way is a nonfiction war novel written about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the story of her survivors. Stanton leaves nothing out through his vivid descriptions, making this wartime novel a perfect book to read even for a casual reader. Stanton also went the extra mile to create the most accurate novel about the Navy’s darkest days, which allows In Harm’s Way to be finely suited to hardcore war historians at the same time. Stanton’s story esque style of writing also makes his book a page turner, and is semi-easy (only at some points) reading for casual readers.
Doug Stanton uses vivid descriptions and quality details. Stanton does not leave anything out. Everything which you need to know about the Indy and then some is written in this book without a single detail left out. Through this and his horrifying topic, Stanton is able to paint images in my mind that will scar me for the rest of my life, but these images still made me want to keep on reading. A true horror piece would make you turn away and stop reading, while a book such as In Harm’s Way just makes you realize exactly what happened between July and December 1945 to the Indy and Her crew. For example, shortly after the Indy was torpedoed, Stanton wrote, “Lipski had been horribly burned; it was amazing that he was even alive. His hands had been cooked down to the tendons; and his eyes were burned to two blackened holes,” This is only what Stanton wrote recently after the torpedoing. I’ll just let you imagine how graphically he was able to write when survivors’ skin was falling off mid-ocean, men were hallucinating, sharks were circling, most men were basically nude, and, for the most part, no one had eaten or drank for four days straight. These descriptions and details are what sets Stanton’s novel apart from all the others, and really make In Harm’s Way a good story. Because it’s a story, I am able to recommend this book to a casual reader.
Stanton also writes in a style which is suited for fiction stories, rather than an accurate war novel. Why else would he start the book with the suicide of Captain McVay in his seventies, several years after the Indy’s fatal disaster? He describes hate mail and horrifying nightmares before even mentioning that the boat which he had captained had sank. The answer to this question is obviously to hook readers. Most “normal” war accounts tend to be good reading but a little dry. Stanton’s ability to use these writing styles and forms are what keep his wartime novel moving and active, unlike other people’s accounts. Another example is when the crew is actually trying to survive in the water. Some war historians would just say that that over a thousand men went into the water and after four days, only three hundred made it out. The rest either gave up or were eaten by sharks. Stanton on the other hand was able to prolong this part of the book into five chapters. He used his vivid descriptions and his form of writing to make me feel like he was telling some story which he created in his mind. He was able to add the gory effects which other historians previously would leave out. Stanton was also able to add humor in there, again making the book story-like and readable. Also, the actual events that take place in the book make it a natural story. This was the first time in history in which a Captain was court martialed because his ship sank in an act of war. To add more controversy to it, the panel brought in Mochitsura Hashimoto as a witness. Hashimoto is the Japanese admiral who commanded his men to fire the torpedoes at the USS Indianapolis. This is another reason as to why your casual reader would be drawn to reading In Harm’s Way.
Stanton also created the most accurate account possible. Stanton went the extra mile on his research. He read forty-two books by other authors, countless periodicals, several magazines articles, internet pages, newspaper articles, unpublished works, handbooks, brochures diaries, and official log books. For crying out loud, the man’s bibliography is a whopping thirty-eight pages in font ten. That gives him an average of twenty sites per page. He also interviewed countless survivors, even spending days with them in their homes. (He spent a week with the McCoy family). Stanton attended the first ever Indy survivor’s reunion and continues to go to them to this day. The books which he has read are written by notable others, such as Stephen E. Ambrose and Mochitsura Hashimoto. Due to these facts, this is one of the most accurate war accounts written to this day. This alone makes all hardcore war historians want to read In Harm’s Way either to study, or just as some quality reading material.
I’d give this book a thumb’s up and a four and a half out of five because of all of the above stated reasons. Doug Stanton wrote a masterpiece that will forever go down in the history books or at least a few libraries across the nation. I’m also not the first person to believe this either. Stephen E. Ambrose said that In Harm’s Way is “The most frightening book I’ve ever read.” Also, Mark Bowden commented, “Powerful… one of the most poignant tragedies and injustices of World War II.” Fast fact about the story of the USS Indianapolis, apparently Steven Spielberg and the writers of Jaws knew about the Indy. Captain Quint’s famous quote states, “Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin' back from the island of Tinian to Leyte... just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in 12 minutes…Sometimes that shark he looks right into ya. Right into your eyes. And, you know, the thing about a shark... he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be living... until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then... ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin'… So, eleven hundred men went in the water; 316 men come out and the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.” This quote from Jaws makes Captain Quint seem very similar to the real Private Bob Gause and his story. All-in-all Doug Stanton was able to write an easy and fast reading book that is intricate, challenging, and thoroughly accurate at the same time.
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Nov 13, 2011

Natalie rated it

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Stanton puts together a recount of what happened during the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at the end of WWII. He tells this tale through the accounts of the Captain Charles McVay, the ship's doctor, Lewis Haynes and Marine private, Giles McCoy, my favorite.

Like many Gen. X'ers, I first heard about the Indianapolis through the character, "Quinn" from Jaws and his monologue about being one of the 300 survivors. Ironically, the Quinn character was actually modeled on one of ...more

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Aug 01, 2011

Dachokie rated it

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Excellent Summary of a Truly Chilling and Forgotten Story ..., December 19, 2010

It is an odd and sad testament that THE most significant disaster in American naval history has received so little attention for so long. Maybe the demise of the USS Indianapolis belongs in the same category as "Operation Tiger" (the D-Day rehearsal off the English shore disrupted by German E-boats resulting in some 750 American dead) by being a failed subchapter of a more significant, but secre...moreExcellent Summary of a Truly Chilling and Forgotten Story ..., December 19, 2010

It is an odd and sad testament that THE most significant disaster in American naval history has received so little attention for so long. Maybe the demise of the USS Indianapolis belongs in the same category as "Operation Tiger" (the D-Day rehearsal off the English shore disrupted by German E-boats resulting in some 750 American dead) by being a failed subchapter of a more significant, but secretive bigger mission (delivering parts of Little Boy, the first atomic bomb). Regardless, both have been characterized in a less than forgiving and suspicious manner by such words as "incompetence", "negligence" and "cover-up". To be honest, it was actually the eerie tale told by Quint in the movie "Jaws" that piqued my interest in the plight of the USS Indianapolis. The dark, foreboding tone of Quint's delivery in that dimly lit ship's galley is so chilling that it appeared to be pure fiction and I was compelled to learn more about the fate of the ship and its crew. Dave Stanton delivers a stunning and superb account of this naval disaster in his book "In Harm's Way" ... a presentation that I found as chilling as and memorable as Quint telling his story in "Jaws".

"In Harm's Way" is nothing less than a horror story based on reality. Stanton sets the stage perfectly with the first chapter's focus on a retired US Navy captain's quiet and lingering misery almost 25 years after the USS Indianapolis disaster. The captain's story is steeped in mystery and the reader is propelled to hear the entire story about this ship from beginning to end. This chapter is reminiscent of the opening scene of "Saving Private Ryan" when an elderly World War II veteran breaks down amid a cemetery as he is painfully reminded of his wartime experience. Stanton then takes us back to the beginning as he chronicles the history of the USS Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser built in 1932 that had the distinction of carrying President Franklin Roosevelt to South America in 1936. The ship's wartime record commenced in 1942 and she served with distinction throughout the war. Unbeknownst to the ship's crew, the "Indy" was chosen late in the war (summer of 1945) to secretly deliver significant components of the first atomic bomb to the island of Tinian. It is once this cargo is delivered and the ship quietly leaves Tinian without an escort, the mystery and eventual fate of the USS Indianapolis begin to unfold. It is at this very point that the US Navy completely loses track of one of its major vessels. Although at this point in history, the front lines of the Pacific war were more or less defined as a closing ring around the islands of Japan, the enemy still had the determination and means to inflict great damage to Allied ships as Japanese submarines still lurked in the depths of the Pacific. An unescorted heavy cruiser was more than a lucrative target for one of these submarines and fear became reality as the Japanese I-58 fired torpedoes into the "Indy", sinking it in minutes.

While the lead up to the ship's sinking is important background information, the gist of Stanton's book centers on the ordeal of the men who were "fortunate" to survive the initial blast and it's quick plunge to the ocean's floor. Some 900 sailors and Marines slipped into the Ocean that night to fend for themselves ... many were badly burned or wounded. To make matters worse, the US Navy has no idea the USS Indianapolis is even at sea, let alone sunk. Stanton does a great job in keeping the reader abreast of the simultaneous events occurring at sea and at Tinian/Navy headquarters, highlighting the relative incompetence of the Navy in relation to a ship responsible delivering parts of the atom bomb. Left on their own, the survivors are clustered in large and small groups peppered around the sinking site and drifting farther and farther from each other. The story takes a dark turn as it becomes a horrific tale of survival against a blazing sun, salt water, dehydration, starvation, sea sickness and feasting sharks. All these elements combined create a more sinister killer as many of the men succumb to madness. There is an ever-present aura of hopelessness and misery as Stanton weaves incredibly detailed imagery of these men clinging to maintain their sanity, let alone the will to live. It is only after one of its planes spots an initial band of survivors floating in the ocean that the Navy discovers the USS Indianapolis has been sunk ... almost four days earlier.

The book then shifts course to the culpability associated with the tragedy and the blame game begins. Although the struggle of the men in the ocean (of which only 316 survive) is difficult to read, the eventual investigation into events ranging from the "Indy" leaving port to the men's rescue is downright sickening. It is at this point that we discover the suffering from many didn't end the day they were rescued at sea, this is especially true for the captain of the ship who is quickly tabbed as the scapegoat for the entire debacle.

There are several books now available on the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, but I believe Doug Stanton's account is an excellent all-around account of the events surrounding this story. His detail of the men's struggle to survive at sea is as harrowing and unforgettable as anything I've previously read. It is easy to believe the most fortunate of those who served on the Indianapolis may have been the men who died in the explosions that ripped the ship apart, because for the survivors, being alive only seems to prolong the agony stemming from an event occurring almost 70 years ago. (less)

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Jul 05, 2011

Kat Hagedorn rated it

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Shelves: historical-fiction, reviewed

http://tinyurl.com/3lro2y3

I finished this in less than 2 days. I think that's a record for a 250+ page book.

Valid criticisms of this book might include that it reads a bit like death porn, knowing as we do the ending, but those criticisms would have missed the boat (or ship, as it were). As Stanton himself explains in an afterword, his ultimate goal in writing this story was to explore the survivors: their ordeal, their suffering, their lives post-Indianapolis. How do you sur...more

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Nov 12, 2010

Missie rated it

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Shelves: 2010

I love to learn about history through these type of personal accounts. This story took me through a whole range of emotions from happiness, anger, sadness, disbelief and pride. I find that miscommunication seems to be one of the most common factors in some of the most tragic military stories. I am proud of our military men and women and I hope that everyday we become better at communicating with one another for so many different reasons!

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Feb 02, 2012

Rebekkila rated it

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Shelves: book-on-cd, bookcrossing, thrillers

What a great story. The only thing I knew about the sinking of the Indianapolis was that some of those who had made it off the ship were eaten by sharks. After reading this I know that wasn't even the worst of it. The whole tragedy of what the men went through from the moment the ship was torpedoed until they were rescued is something beyond my imagination. I am supportive of the military but I know so little about what the men are going through personally that I think it is good for me to read ...more

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Jan 15, 2011

Barb rated it

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I was not educated on the story of the USS Indianapolis. I am haunted by what the men on this ship experienced; and how senseless their misery was, waiting for rescue. A series of mistakes caused this ship to be "lost", meaning nobody missed it after it sunk. Reading about how some took leadership roles, and so many would not give up. The author touched on this when he realized the survivors all shared a deep held belief that they were not going to give up. Have I left an impressi...more

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Jul 13, 2010

Doug Clemens rated it

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Wow! This book starts off with a bang and the story goes from there. I had never heard of the USS Indianapolis and so this was a great story for me to read. It played an important role in the war and also revealed a lot about our Navy operations. Three things that struck me were the unbelievable conditions endured by the survivors, the incompetence of the Navy in not noticing the ship was missing, and the inexcusable assignment of blame to captain of the ship. It was sad for me to see someo...more

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Jul 16, 2011

Sueij rated it

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Recommended to Sueij by: book club

Shelves: book-club

This book got off to a bit of a slow start for me, as the first third of the book was really setting up the war, the ship, and the circumstances around its travels. Though there were attempts to make the story personal through the experiences of a few crew members, it was mostly (even if well done) a recitation of facts.

Until the torpedoing of the ship. And then the whole thing drew me in and held me tightly. This was entirely the stories of the people who survived this harrowing ordea...more

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Apr 25, 2011

Lisa rated it

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Shelves: 2011-reading-list, nonfiction

Goodreads froze and deleted the review I'd written.

In shorter terms, this is an excellent summary of the Indy's sinking. It relates the lives and deaths of these men in graphic detail without crossing the line into ghoulishness. The book raises questions about where fault lies and who should bear the brunt of responsibility for all those deaths in the water. The beginning would be better if written in a different style that better reflected life on a military vessel, but the autho...more

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Oct 05, 2009

Logan rated it

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The book I read is called In Harm's Way. I heard about this book from my father who read it before me. I found the book interesting since my favorite subject is history and this is during WWII. I think the author wanted to inform us about the struggle the sailors went through to survive. I would recommend this book to a history teacher because of all the history it talks about. To sum up the book, it is action packed and you don't know what will happen next. From this book I learned how poor the...more

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Jan 03, 2010

Brian rated it

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This was an extremely informative and interesting book. It told about how the USS Indianapolis was sunk, but really focused on the 300+ survivors (out of a total crew of 1197) and what things were like for them while they waited for rescue. It was difficult at times to read about all of their trials (without food and water for 4+ days, eluding all of the sharks, hypothermia despite the warm waters of the South Pacific Ocean, delusions and confusion resulting from dehydration and malnourishment...more

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Nov 01, 2011

Kevin Bigley rated it

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Being lost at sea might as well be the same feeling I get when I can’t see the bottom of where I’m swimming; I’m constantly on the edge of freaking out when I inhabit salt water. A tale like that of the USS Indianapolis is unimaginable. This is why author Doug Stanton must be praised so highly. He delivers an epic, jaw-dropping tale of the naval ship that delivered the Little Boy – aka the Hiroshima bomb – and was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, causing 900 men to go adrift in the Pacific Oce...moreBeing lost at sea might as well be the same feeling I get when I can’t see the bottom of where I’m swimming; I’m constantly on the edge of freaking out when I inhabit salt water. A tale like that of the USS Indianapolis is unimaginable. This is why author Doug Stanton must be praised so highly. He delivers an epic, jaw-dropping tale of the naval ship that delivered the Little Boy – aka the Hiroshima bomb – and was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, causing 900 men to go adrift in the Pacific Ocean for four days and nights battling thirst, hallucinations, delirium, salt water, sharks, and themselves.
Stanton is a fantastic writer. He uses personal accounts masterfully, while taking few liberties. Non-fiction can sometimes come across as too boring, laced with needless facts, or too much story and drama which usually leads to melodramatic deviations from the truth. Stanton, who also wrote a fantastic book called Horse Soldiers, finds the drama in the facts, and allows the story to tell itself through the soldiers who lived it.
It was one of the biggest naval blunders of all time: the Indianapolis was without an escort, sunk, and although a distress signal was sent, it was never confirmed by their radio tower, which led to the men of the vessel were doomed to swim in a lost ambiguity, waiting for help that had no idea they were even missing. Horribly injured from the explosions and torpedoes, the men are clinging to life vests and each other, praying that someone will come. Someone does, but that someone is tiger sharks, white tips, and makos. They circle the soldiers for days, preying on them at dusk and dawn, gnawing at them from below the waist.
Deprived of thirst, many of the sailors descended into madness, turning on each other, mistaking one another for Japanese soldiers. Some believed that the Indy was sailing beneath them, underwater, and she had fresh water aboard; they swim down for a relaxing water break, never to emerge again. Many began drinking saltwater, which at their level of dehydration acts as a mild form of acid/poison causing their digestive systems, and blood cells to explode leading to instant death. Some simply gave up and offered themselves to the circling sharks.
Help finally arrives, but only 317 are saved from the original 900 that hit the water.
It is an epic tale that Stanton tells masterfully, intricately following a handful of soldier’s mental states, and bargains with God. A fantastic book that I may reread someday.
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Jan 17, 2009

Kristine rated it

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I read this upon a friend's recommendation. It isn't really "my genre" but I figured the reading would be mind broadening. It is about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during WW 2 and how the government handled the event/or didn't has the case was.

It was gripping. I couldn't stop listening. It was very graphic. I will never watch the movie (I saw it in the library). It made me sad. It is a story that needs to be told and people need to be aware, which is why I g...more

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Apr 06, 2011

Mike Wolstat rated it

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I guess I never really needed to know what it was like to drift for days in the open ocean without a boat, but there are very few more vivid scenes that I suppose I'll ever read about. There is something in the discovery of the extremes of human endurance that I find inspiring and I was in tears at the end of this when the survivors were being plucked from the water.

This book also goes a long way to exonerate the captain of the ship, who was subsequently court-martialed, something t...more

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Aug 30, 2011

Pamela rated it

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Recommended to Pamela by: Curt Keown

The title explains the story: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors. This book tells the WWII history from the sailor's point of view, not the Navy's. Doug has a complete bibliography and an index. The narrative reaches out and grabs you as if it were a novel. But it is so well documented you know it is real and not fiction. It is a very sad book. I recommend it to anyone who loves history, or ships, or the ocean, or sharks. And I say shame on you, A...more

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Dec 15, 2010

Andrew Russell rated it

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Shelves: non-fiction, 2010

This book provided an at times harrowing and poignant account of the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis. It provides this mainly through the eyes of three of the survivors - Captain McVay, Marine Giles McCoy and Dr Haynes.

There were times during the reading of this book when I felt emotion, particularly the gruesome descriptions of what happened to some of the sailors through shark attacks and exposure and the aftermath and consequences for Captain McVay. Overall however, although i...more

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Jun 05, 2010

Seth rated it

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Shelves: american-history, war

Another book not to read when you are stressed. This is the story of the ship that took the A-bomb over to Japan. Their mission was so secret that nobody realized when they didn't report back on time (the ship had been sunk by a Japanese sub on the way back). Those who survived the initial sinking were in for a few days of hell. With few exceptions, everyone was floating in life jackets that began losing their buoyancy after a few days. Their top halves baked in the sun while their bottom h...more

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Oct 30, 2010

Nate rated it

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Like About Face and the Pat Tillman story, this book leaves one highly disillusioned. I know I should praise the heroism of the survivors of this horrific tragedy (and that is a given), but my primary reaction to this book was actually one of disgust and great cynicism concerning the US military. At every step of the way the USS Indianapolis was exploited - in the mad rush to get the atomic bomb over to Japan she was rushed through maintenance repairs, upon arrival in the Pacific her captain w...moreLike About Face and the Pat Tillman story, this book leaves one highly disillusioned. I know I should praise the heroism of the survivors of this horrific tragedy (and that is a given), but my primary reaction to this book was actually one of disgust and great cynicism concerning the US military. At every step of the way the USS Indianapolis was exploited - in the mad rush to get the atomic bomb over to Japan she was rushed through maintenance repairs, upon arrival in the Pacific her captain was given false information about Japanese sub activity, upon being sunk her SOS messages (whose sendings were heroic efforts in and of themselves) were disregarded, and her non-arrival at her destination was conveniently ignored (multiple times). You want to scream in rage "How could this happen". Next, when the very small minority of her crew who survived the torpedoing were finally wrenched from the sea 3-4 days later, starving, delerious, sun-scorched, hypothermic, hallucinating, and psychologically traumatized from seing mate after mate snatched under the waves by sharks, the story made the news for about 1 day before the very bomb she delivered was used to end the war. Instead of a ticker tape parade for the heroes who delivered the bomb that ended the war - sacrificing their ship and most of their lives in the effort - the survivors returned to San Diego months later to a lame welcome party from the local Salvation Army. Noone, least of all the Navy, wanted to disrupt the feel good vibe of VJ day with a horror story like this. As one final awful insult, the captain, portrayed by the author and corroborated by every survivor as a truly decent man, was court-martialed by the US Navy for not "zig-zagging" to avoid submarine fire. I cannot imagine anything more ludicrous than a ship that size "zig-zagging". Eventually he decides he would rather not live than continue to receive the hate mail that never ceased even 20 years after the war. This is an important story that desperately needed to be told, but is not a feel good one, at least to me. (less)

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May 26, 2008

Nola rated it

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Recommends it for: History buffs, WWII buffs, someone interested in the past

Recommended to Nola by: Found at a booksale

Shelves: nonfiction-historical

Most nonfiction books, I've found, tend towards being dry and overly academic. Historical ones in particular have never managed to hold my attention for very long. Yet, as I read Doug Stanton's In Harm's Way, I found myself drawn into the story, connecting with and grieving for the men onboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis. I also found myself frequently shouting insults at the Navy's handling of the situation. And, although I am a fast reader, this is certainly one of the fastest times I've ever clo...more Most nonfiction books, I've found, tend towards being dry and overly academic. Historical ones in particular have never managed to hold my attention for very long. Yet, as I read Doug Stanton's In Harm's Way, I found myself drawn into the story, connecting with and grieving for the men onboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis. I also found myself frequently shouting insults at the Navy's handling of the situation. And, although I am a fast reader, this is certainly one of the fastest times I've ever clocked on a nonfiction book - due a great deal to the fact that I couldn't put it down. In short, In Harm's Way was an intriguing and involving look at one of the Navy's darkest days.

Admittedly, Stanton skews the reader in favor of Captain McVay by starting the book with the depression which motivated the man to suicide. Thus, as readers, we recognize his sense of grief that he carried with him for more than 20 years; we learn about his nightmares; and, indirectly, we learn about the lingering anger held by the family of the lost sailors. At some point, too, he discloses the fact that McVay was courtmartialed - as Stanton states, he was "the first captain in the history of the U.S. Navy to be court-martialed subsequent to losing his ship in an act of war." So readers can easily sort through the idiocracy that led to the sinking and subsequent hammer of the Navy being dropped.
The author's research is amazing; he obviously spent a great deal of time interviewing survivors of the disaster. Because this is a history and not a novel, he does a lot of the 'forbidden' telling, rather than showing; conversations are scanty or described, actions are told from multiple perspectives, etc. Where a novel would suffer from this, however, a history is enhanced. The detail provided in a story that was fifty-five years old when first published is amazing, and I did wonder at times if he took at least some artistic liberty. If he did, it was surely minimal; anyone who would fabricate part of the story would likely have added more. In fact, the scarcity of detail only leant more credibility to the book.
There are some books that you pick up, knowing the ending, and fail to enjoy the story because of it. This was not one of them. Although I knew the "legend" of the sharks beforehand, and was told by the author of McVay's courtmartial from the get-go, it did not affect my perception of the book in the slightest. I grew incensed on the ridiculous procedures of the Navy; for instance, when you read McVay's orders, he is clearly given leeway not to zigzag in times of poor visibility, and yet despite testimonies of his crew regarding the poor visibility, he was found guilty for not doing so. The reason? Visibility must have been good if he could have been shot. By the same token, they claim he failed to abandon ship quickly enough. I'd like to take the folks who made that call, put them on a ship at midnight, torpedo it, and then charge them with not evacutating quickly enough. Similarly, I'm curious why so much effort was spent on investigating why the ship sank, but relatively none focused on why the survivors sat out in the water for five days while the Navy neglected to notice the loss of one of her warships. Oh, wait, I forgot - it's the CYA syndrome.
In short, Stanton clearly provided enough information to sway the average reader to rally in protest of McVay. I'm curious as to whether or not his book had any effect on the overturning of the courtmartial, which happened just before publication. Did someone slip the Navy a copy of what was to come? It seems like a remarkable coincidence otherwise.
I'm smart enough to know that a good writer can paint a picture of essentially what he wants, and I have no doubt that Stanton is a talented author. What he has done, in my case, has compelled me to begin reading other books on the sinking of the Indianapolis, though I harbor doubts that any others will be as well presented. The respect and admiration he has for the survivors - as well as the sense of loss he feels for those who did not come out of the water alive - shines clearly through in this must-read book.
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Dec 08, 2008

Hannah rated it

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This is the fascinating and haunting story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis near the end of WWII. This book takes you from the men boarding the USS Indianapolis all the way to the end of the mens' lives. The descriptions of the experience these men had during the torpedoeing; floating in the ocean for 4+ days; encountering sharks, death, and carnage everywhere; etc. is quite vivid and disturbing at times, but always sobering. I highly recommend this book, for age 17-18+(if not sensitive)

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Jul 22, 2007

James rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: People on a sinking ship kick

Every review I've read seems focused on how terrifying the sharks are. Although sharks are sharks and just plain scary, there's much scarier stuff happening in this book. Or maybe I'm just desensitized. Still, I found the descriptions of the effects of dehydration and drinking saltwater stuck with me much more than the circling sharks. Also horrifying were the grins on the faces of the men as they announced that they were going to swim for it, only to sink after swimming 100 yards. And then...more

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Jul 07, 2009

Matthew rated it

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In Harm's Way is an informative book, but it is not very gripping in terms of a narrative. At no point does the reader feel particularly connected to or invested in the sailors who are struggling through this horrific experience, most likely because the book is told in a very clinical, far removed historical perspective, as opposed to from the perspective of the persons who actually participated in the event. Thus the book is all information and description, no intimacy or heart.

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Sep 10, 2009

Craig Stratton rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: historical-non-fiction

Remember the scene in "Jaws" where Quince tells Brody and Richard Dryfus about his experience in the Navy when his destroyer was sunk in the Pacific and the crew was hunted by sharks for 2 days before rescue? This is the book about that ship and crew. It is extremely terrifying, especially since it is a true story. The crew's encounter with sharks is only about 40% of their dangers as they cling to life waiting for help. Great book.

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Feb 16, 2008

Diane rated it

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Shelves: true-tales

Here's a true story that beats the heck out of any fictional thriller. Anyone who's seen the original "Jaws" movie remembers Quint's desciption of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. While Quint's numbers may have been different, the description held: 1,196 men went into the water, 321 came out; sharks got the rest.

In Harm's Way gives the back story and the epilogue, the lives of the men who went onto the ship, their mission, the mistakes that led to delays in looking ...more

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Jan 19, 2011

Bruce rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

Well researched and well-written account of the unimaginable ordeal suffered by the crew of the cruiser that delivered the components for the Hiroshima bomb. 5 out of every 6 men on the ship died, most while floating in the Philippine Sea for five days and five nights with the sharks. The court-martialed captain was vindicated decades after his suicide. Great read for any fans of the Navy in WWII.

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Jun 12, 2009

Joanne Baines rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: have-it, print

There are so many facets to WWII, this is just a spec in the big story. However, this is another story that should be told. The Navy LOST these guys! It's an ugly story written very well. The book is compelling enough to be a novel. BTW, there is that scene in Jaws when the Captain is telling that horrific story about the downed ship and the sharks... this is the ship that he's talking about.

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About Doug Stanton

Doug Stanton lives in Traverse City, Michigan, and has worked as a creative writing and English teacher at college level, and at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan as writer-in-residence.

He has also worked as a commercial fisherman, and caretaker of Robert Frost's house in Vermont. He has travelled extensively as a contributing editor for Esquire, Men's Journal and Outside magazines...more

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“Where does a man go when there are no more corners to turn, when he's running out of hope, out of luck, out of time?” — 3 people liked it

“McCoy, drained and hollow-eyed, couldn't take his eyes off the life vest belonging to the boy who'd slipped away from the group during the night. The empty vest spooked McCoy. All its straps were still tightly tied-it looked like some trick that Houdini might've played. Then McCoy peered into the water and got another shock: the boy was floating below him, spread-eagled, about fifteen feet below the surface. He lay motionless until a current caught him; then it was as if he were flying in the depths. Jesus, McCoy thought, Mother of God. He started saying the rosary over and over. McCoy had never been overly religious; his mom was the spiritual one in the family. But now he began the process of what he'd later call his purification; he'd started asking God to forgive him of his sins. He was resolved to live but he was getting ready to die.” — 1 person liked it

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