Review by Booklist Review
One of the more notorious snafus of World War II concerned the July 1945 sinking of the cruiser USS Indianapolis by a Japanese submarine, with the loss of almost 900 sailors. Richard Newcomb's Abandon Ship! (1958) successfully recounted the disaster, but Stanton's account isn't at all redundant. Superbly crafted, it benefits from sympathetic research on the Indianapolis survivors, the horror of their experiences, and their courage in surviving. After the 300 men who hadn't been blown up, burned, drowned, or devoured by sharks were rescued, it emerged that the disaster was exacerbated by the navy's having incompetently lost track of the Indianapolis, which delayed rescue. Yet only Indianapolis captain Charles McVay was punished, and his heroism after the sinking was officially ignored, albeit not by the men he encouraged to hang on during four days of drifting in the ocean and, for many, dying. That horrible ordeal Stanton renders vividly, thanks to the recollections of several living survivors and his evocative narrative style. Expect strong demand for this powerfully engaging book. Gilbert Taylor
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Given the stringent precision of the U.S. Navy and military during wartime, how could a WWII battleship carrying over 1,000 men be torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sink, leaving the survivors to bob in the Pacific Ocean at the mercy of elements and predators, without anyone realizing the loss for more than four days? Stanton not only offers a well-researched chronicle of what is widely regarded as the worst naval disaster in U.S. history, but also vividly renders the combatants' hellish ordeal during the sinking, and the ensuing days at sea as well as attempts to cope with the traumatic aftermath. Stanton documents the facts of the case, embellishing his story with lurid details gleaned from interviews with survivors. Though the ship's captain would become the first and only in U.S. naval history to be court-martialed for the loss of his ship, Stanton offers a solid body of evidence to justify the survivors' partially successful efforts to exonerate him. Stanton's omniscient narrative shifts among the individual perspectives of several principal characters, a successful technique that contributes to the book's absorbing, novelistic feel. Readers, of course, must trust Stanton and his research in order to be truly consumed, but the authority of his voice should win over all but the most obsessive skeptics. Illuminating and emotional without being maudlin, Stanton's book helps explain what many have long considered an inexplicable catastrophe. (May 21) Forecast: Following on the heels of the bestselling Abandon Ship, recently resurrected by Peter Maas, this book is unlikely to be ignored. A $150,000 marketing campaign includes a nine-city author tour, national print advertising, and target marketing to the military and naval market. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Has anyone not yet heard of the tragedy of the USS Indianapolis? Several books, many articles, a TV movie, and constant replays on the History Channel have been dedicated to this fiasco. Journalist Stanton has written a compelling, eminently readable account of the Indianapolis for the nonspecialist. Just before the end of the war, the heavy cruiser was sent from San Francisco to Tinian in great secrecy, carrying the atomic bomb. After delivering her cargo, the ship was ordered to the Philippines and torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on July 20, 1945. Because of a foul-up at naval headquarters, no one realized that the ship was overdue, and a search was not organized. Consequently, survivors of the torpedoing were in the water for several days, and 600 died from exposure and shark attacks. Finally, after five days, the navy sent out rescue vessels, and 318 were saved. The navy high command decided to save its reputation by scapegoating Capt. Charles Butler McVay. At his court-martial, the jury of admirals was instructed to find him guilty, a verdict surviving crew members tried to overturn for 50 years. Last year, the navy finally admitted that McVay was not in any way responsible for the loss of his ship, though sadly it was too late for McVay; he committed suicide 20 years after his court-martial. Richard Newcomb first revealed this story in his Abandon Ship! (1958), which has recently been reissued by Harpercollins with an update by Peter Maas. Newcomb's book is more scholarly, and he had access to many survivors then still living. His book's coverage of the new trial held in 2000 is also more thorough than Stanton's. Both books are worth purchasing and should be in every public and college library. Stanley Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Adult/High School-On July 16, 1945, the battle cruiser USS Indianapolis left San Francisco for Tinian Island in the South Pacific. The secret mission, the identity of which was unknown to even Captain Charles Butler McVay, was to deliver parts for the atomic bomb "Little Boy" that was to be dropped on Hiroshima. After the delivery, the ship headed to Guam where it was to rejoin the fleet for the proposed invasion of Japan. It never made it. On July 29, 1945, the cruiser was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Stanton begins this harrowing true story with Captain McVay's suicide in 1968, and continues in a style that reads like an adventure novel. More than 1200 men were aboard the Indianapolis when it left San Francisco; approximately 300 were killed by the torpedoes. The rest were tossed into the South Pacific and remained there for nearly five days facing dehydration, starvation, exposure, and recurring shark attacks. Due to a series of tragic errors, no rescue operation was mounted. The 321 men who ultimately survived (four of whom subsequently died) were found purely by accident. Captain McVay, scapegoated by the Navy, was court-martialed and convicted of negligence, despite the ongoing protests of his remaining crew. At the time, their story was lost in the euphoria of Japan's surrender and the Navy's desire to ignore their errors. It is time their story is told and Stanton has done it magnificently, with meticulous research and great poignancy.-Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A crisp, well-executed reconstruction of naval warfares darkest chapter: the sinking and abandonment of the USS Indianapolis. Mens Journal editor Stanton sets out to vindicate Captain Charles McVay and to force the navy to declassify information relating to one of the worst disasters in naval history. After fulfilling a secret mission (the delivery of atomic bomb parts from Guam to Tinian) in July 1945, the cruiser Indianapolis was sent for gunnery practice in Leytewithout destroyer escort, and without classified information regarding Japanese submarine activity. The ship was torpedoed and sank in approximately 12 minutes, spilling about 900 sailors into the Pacific. On shore, her hurried SOS message was intercepted, then disregarded, by the radiomans commanding officer. Furthermore, she was not noted missing by naval administrators for more than five days. Following a suspenseful account of the sinking, Stanton assembles a detailed chronology of the horrors endured by the floating survivors via a risky device: He narrates the sinking and its aftermath by assuming the voices of Captain McVay, the ships doctor, and one of the few surviving Marine guards. The latter two (and other survivors) were interviewed by Stanton; McVay, the only Navy captain ever court-martialed for losing his ship in wartime, shot himself in 1968 after years of torment. The authors minute depiction of their privationsfrom shark attacks that killed an estimated 200 to homicidal dementiais appropriately terrifying; he captures his characters surreal horror at watching their comrades needlessly perish prior to a belated rescue (which is also dramatically rendered). The conclusion explores the remaining survivors efforts to officially clarify what really happened (and McVays actual heroism), but the dark heart of the tale lies in its sustained, gruesome survival narrative. Stantons prose has qualities of jittery brightness, but this dramatic recreation plays to his strengths and feels passionate and correct. His personal veneration of the survivors sustains a positive tone, despite uglier historical truths. $150,000 ad/promo; author tour
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