A harrowing, adrenaline-charged account of America's worst naval
disaster - and of the heroism of the men who, against all odds,
survived.
On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South
Pacific by a Japanese submarine. An estimated 300 men were killed upon
impact; close to 900 sailors were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where
they remained undetected by the navy for nearly four days and nights.
Battered by a savage sea, they struggled to stay alive, fighting off
sharks, hypothermia, and dementia. By the time rescue arrived, all but
317 men had died.
The captain's subsequent court-martial left many questions unanswered:
How did the navy fail to realize the Indianapolis was missing? Why was
the cruiser traveling unescorted in enemy waters? And, perhaps most
amazing of all, how did these 317 men manage to survive?
Interweaving the stories of three survivors - the captain, the ship's
doctor, and a young marine - journalist Doug Stanton has brought this
astonishing human drama to life in a narrative that is at once immediate
and timeless. The definitive account of a little-known chapter in World
War II history, In Harm's Way is destined to become a classic tale of
war, survival, and extraordinary courage.