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Title details for Lost at Sea by John Wukovits - Available

Lost at Sea

Eddie Rickenbacker's Twenty-Four Days Adrift on the Pacific—A World War II Tale of Courage and Faith

by John Wukovits
Nathan Agin
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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The forgotten story of American war hero Eddie Rickenbacker's crash landing in the Pacific during World War II, and his incredible twenty-three-day crusade to keep his crew alive
In the darkest days of World War II, an unlikely civilian was sent to deliver a letter from Washington to General MacArthur in New Guinea. Eddie Rickenbacker was a genuine icon, a pioneer of aviation, the greatest fighter pilot of the First World War, recipient of the Medal of Honor, who’d retired to become a renowned race car driver. Now in his fifties, one of the most admired men in America, Rickenbacker was again serving his nation, riding high above the Pacific as a passenger aboard a B-17.
 
But soon the plane was forced to crash-land on the ocean surface, leaving its eight occupants adrift in tiny rubber life rafts, hundreds of miles from the nearest speck of land. Lacking fresh water and with precious little food, the men faced days of unrelenting sun, followed by nights shivering in the cold, fighting pangs of hunger, exhaustion, and thirst, all the while circled by sharks. Each prayed to see a friendly vessel on the horizon, and dreaded the arrival of a Japanese warship. Meanwhile, as the US Navy scoured the South Pacific, American radio and newspapers back home parsed every detail of Rickenbacker's disappearance, and an adoring public awaited news of his fate.
Using survivors’ accounts and contemporary records, award-winning author John Wukovits brings to life a gripping story of survival, leadership, and faith in a time of crisis.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 16, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593671597
      • File size: 257159 KB
      • Duration: 08:55:44

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 20, 2023
      Historian Wukovits (Dogfight over Tokyo) delivers an immersive account of wartime disaster and survival. On Oct. 21, 1942, WWI fighter ace and airline executive Eddie Rickenbacker and seven others took off from Hawaii on a goodwill tour of U.S. bases in the South Pacific. After faulty navigation led their B-17 hundreds of miles off course, they ran out of fuel, crash-landed in the ocean, and escaped the sinking plane in three small life rafts. The 52-year-old Rickenbacker used “every trick” he knew to get his younger companions not to succumb to despair: “He loved hearing someone call him a son-of-a-bitch,” writes Wukovits, “as it proved that the individual still retained the will to live.” In addition to Rickenbacker’s “hard-nosed determination,” Wukovits credits “faith and prayer” with helping all but one member of the group to survive, and points out that the decision to separate the cluster of rafts to increase the odds of an airplane or ship spotting them—which Rickenbacker initially opposed—led to their discovery and rescue. Drawing largely from survivors’ accounts, Wukovits viscerally describes their ordeal and conveys the miraculous nature of the outcome. Readers will be gripped.

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from August 1, 2023

      In the 1920s and '30s, Eddie Rickenbacker was the modern equivalent of a rock star--popular, influential, and admired by politicians and the public at large. A Medal of Honor recipient, he was considered the greatest American fighter ace of World War I and was also a renowned race car driver, head of Eastern Airlines, and owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He even served as the inspiration for Ace Drummond, a popular 1930s comic strip. During World War II, Rickenbacker inspected bases in the South Pacific. In October of 1942, the B-17 Flying Fortress he was on ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. Thus began a 24-day odyssey for the eight survivors--many injured, drifting at sea in small inflatable life rafts, broiling in the day, and freezing at night. The food ran out after three days, and with little water, they were circled by sharks and terrified of an encounter with the enemy. Nathan Agin provides a measured, clearly enunciated performance that allows Wukovits's (Dogfight over Tokyo) meticulously researched story to shine. VERDICT A harrowing tale of courage and survival, and a portrait of a larger-than-life hero. Fans of Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken will love this.--Scott DiMarco

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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