Abandon Ship! : The Saga of the U. S. S. Indianapolis, the Navy's Greatest Sea Disaster

by Newcomb, Richard F.; Maas, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780060184711
• ISBN10: 006018471X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Sailing across the Pacific, the battle-scarred heavy cruiser Indianapolis delivered a secret cargo that would trigger the end of World War II. Then, continuing westward, she was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine. More than 900 men spent 4 horrific days and 5 nights in the ocean with no water to drink, savaged by a pitiless sun and swarms of sharks. Incredibly, nobody knew of their plight until a Navy patrol plane accidentally discovered them. Miraculously, 316 crewmen still survived. Originally published in 1958, Abandon Ship! is the compelling story of this greatest single disaster in U.S. naval history. Chillingly updated by bestselling author Peter Maas, the book includes 2 new essays in which Maas, the author of The Terrible Hours, looks at new evidence of the U.S. Navy's role in the disaster, and discusses the impact of Abandon Ship! on the lives of survivors of the ordeal.

Author Biography

Richard F. Newcomb served as a wartime naval correspondent during World War II and received a Purple Heart. He is a retired news editor of the Associated Press and the author of six books Peter Maas is the bestselling author of eleven books

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Peter Maas
Foreword	xxi
Abandon Ship!	1	(420)
Afterword	421	(18)
Peter Maas
Glossary	439	(6)
Survivors	445	(36)
Index	481