Indianapolis by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic

 Started: 2/16/2021

Finished: 2/27/2021

Year: 2018

Pages: 578

Genre: Military Non Fiction

Grade: A

Type: hardcover

Reason for reading: Goodreads.com giveaway

Blurb (from book jacket): "Just after midnight on July 30, 1945, days after delivering the components of the atomic bomb from California to the Pacific Islands in the most highly classified naval mission of the war, USS Indianapolis is sailing alone in the center of the Philippine Sea when she is struck by two Japanese torpedoes. The ship is instantly transferred into a fiery cauldron and sinks within minutes. Some 300 men go down with the ship. Nearly 900 make it into the water alive. For the next five nights and four days, almost three hundred miles from the nearest land, the men battle injuries, sharks, dehydration, insanity and eventually each other. Only 316 will survive.

"For the better part of a century, the story of USS Indianapolis has been understood as sinking tale. The reality, however, is far more complicated-and compelling. Now, for the first time, thanks to a decade of original research and interviews with 107 survivors and eyewitnesses, Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic tell the complete story of the ship, her crew, and their final mission to save one of their own."

Opinion: Wow. I'm not usually a reader of military books and not even sure why I entered the giveaway other than because the USS Indianapolis is the boat that is discussed in Jaws during one of my favorite scenes. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. Very compelling stories from the survivors and about bs that the US Navy did to one of its own.