On 30 July 1945 the USS Indianapolis was steaming through the South Pacific, on her way home having delivered the bomb that was to decimate Hiroshima seven days later, when she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Of a crew of 1196 men an estimated 300 were killed upon impact; the remaining 900 sailors went into the sea. Undetected for five days, they struggled to stay alive, fighting off sharks, hypothermia and madness. By the time rescue arrived, only 317 men were left alive.

Interweaving the stories of some of these survivors (including the ship's Captain Butler McVay, who would be unjustly court-martialled for the loss of his ship and, twenty years later and tormented by the experience, take his own life), Doug Stanton brings this incredible human drama to life in a narrative that is at once immediate and timeless. The definitive account of a near-forgotten chapter in the history of the last war, In Harm's Way has become a classic.

And, some 72 years later, in August 2017, the USS Indianapolis was once again making international headlines - with the news that a marine archaeology team had located the ship's shattered remains:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/world/asia/uss-indianapolis-paul-allen.html?mcubz=1

The sinking of the USS Indianapolis is one of the great untold stories of the Second World War; a future classic of war writing that offers a privileged insight into the extremes of human experience.

About the Author
Doug Stanton lives in Michigan, and has worked as a creative writing and English teacher and at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan as writer-in-residence. He has also worked as a commercial fisherman, a caretaker of Robert Frost's house and travelled extensively as a contributing editor for Esquire, Men's Journal and Outside magazines. He has an MFA from the celebrated Iowa Writers' Workshop. In Harm's Way began as a lead feature story in Men's Journal which led to more letters to the editor than any other piece in the magazine's history.

Reviews
The story of the 1945 sinking of the USS Indianapolis ... 1196 men went into the Pacific... their entire ordeal, from the intial fireball to the 1968 suicide of the captian, is spelt out here in vivd, horrific detail. Brilliant stuff. * Later *
A thoroughly researched, powerfully written account of a nightmare at sea, one of the most poignant tragedies and injustices of World War II -- Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down
Superb...it's the stuff about the men in the sea that'll make you weep. Four days without water, being picked off one by one by sharks...and no-one in the world even realising they are missing. Gripping * FHM *
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 . . . absorbing, novelistic . . . illuminating and emotional without being maudlin * Publishers Weekly *


Awards
Short-listed for WH Smith Book Awards (General Knowledge) 2002.



Book Information
ISBN 9780553813609
Author Doug Stanton
Format Paperback
Page Count 432
Imprint Bantam Books (Transworld Publishers a division of the Random House Group)
Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd
Weight(grams) 220g
Dimensions(mm) 178mm * 106mm * 26mm